Social Science Timeline

Question 0

George Bissell helps develop the first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania

Answer 0

1859

Question 1

People in Mesopotamia collect and trade Bitumen

Answer 1

3000 bce

Question 2

Thomas Edison creates the Electric Light Company

Answer 2

1878

Question 3

George Westinghouse introduced alternating current

Answer 3

1886

Question 4

The first Public Utility Holding Company Act is signed into law

Answer 4

1935

Question 5

President Eisenhower delivers his “Atoms for Peace” speech to the United Nations

Answer 5

1953

Question 6

The USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, is launched

Answer 6

1954

Question 7

M. king Hubbert predicts oil production in the US will peak between 1965 and 1971

Answer 7

1956

Question 8

The first commercial nuclear power plant in the US is commissioned in Pennsylvania

Answer 8

1957

Question 9

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC) is formed

Answer 9

1960

Question 10

Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring

Answer 10

1962

Question 11

The original Clean Air Act is passed

Answer 11

1963

Question 12

Ohio’s Cuyahoga River catches fire

Answer 12

1969

Question 13

The first Earth Day is celebrated in April 22

Answer 13

1970

Question 14

President Nixon creates the Environmental Protection Agency

Answer 14

1970

Question 15

Congress substantially strengthens the Clean Air Act

Answer 15

1970

Question 16

The National Environmental Policy Act is passed

Answer 16

1970

Question 17

The Natural Resources Defense Council is formed

Answer 17

1970

Question 18

Clean Water Act is passed

Answer 18

1972

Question 19

DDT is banned in the US

Answer 19

1972

Question 20

The October War (also known as the Arab-Israeli War or the Yom Kippur War) begins

Answer 20

1973

Question 21

The OPEC oil embargo creates gas shortages in the US, Western Europe, and Japan

Answer 21

1973

Question 22

President Nixon announces Project Independence

Answer 22

1973

Question 23

The Endangered Species Act is passed

Answer 23

1973

Question 24

The Safe Drinking Water Act is passed

Answer 24

1974

Question 25

Rowland and Molina show chlorofluorocarbons are harming the ozone layer

Answer 25

1974

Question 26

The International Energy Agency is passed

Answer 26

1974

Question 27

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is authorized

Answer 27

1975

Question 28

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act is passed

Answer 28

1975

Question 29

The first Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards are implemented

Answer 29

1975

Question 30

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is passed

Answer 30

1976

Question 31

President Carter creates the Department of Energy

Answer 31

1977

Question 32

Oil is first transported to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Answer 32

1977

Question 33

The National Energy Policy Act is passed

Answer 33

1978

Question 34

The contamination of Love Canal is discovered

Answer 34

1978

Question 35

The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act is passed

Answer 35

1978

Question 36

Iranian Revolution causes a global oil crisis

Answer 36

1979

Question 37

Three Mile Island disaster occurs

Answer 37

1979

Question 38

CERCLA (Superfund) is passed

Answer 38

1980

Question 39

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurs

Answer 39

1986

Question 40

The U.S. signs the Montreal Protocol

Answer 40

1987

Question 41

On March 4, the Exxon Valdez tanker spills oil in Prince William Sound

Answer 41

1989

Question 42

Congress again strengthens the Clean Air Act

Answer 42

1990

Question 43

The Energy Policy Act is passed

Answer 43

1992

Question 44

The (second) Energy Policy Act is passed

Answer 44

2005

Question 45

The Energy Independence and Security Act is passed

Answer 45

2007

Question 46

Deep Water Horizon rig explodes, spilling crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico

Answer 46

2010

Question 47

Shale Gas supplies 25 percent of US total Natural Gas supply

Answer 47

2011

Question 48

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurs

Answer 48

2011