Timeline of US History 20th Century

Question 1

1901

Answer 1

President William McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York.
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as president, after the assassination of President McKinley.
The Hay–Pauncefote Treaty was signed.

Question 2

1902

Answer 2

The first Rose Bowl Game was played between the University of Michigan and Stanford University.
The Elkins Act was signed into law.
The Drago Doctrine was announced.
The Newlands Reclamation Act was signed into law.

Question 3

1903

Answer 3

The Hay–Herrán Treaty was passed.
The Ford Motor Company was formed.
The Department of Commerce and Labor was created.
The first World Series was played between the Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed.
The movie The Great Train Robbery opened.
The Wright brothers made their first powered flight in the Wright Flyer.

Question 4

1904

Answer 4

The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine was issued.
The Panama Canal Zone was acquired by the United States from France for $40 million.
United States presidential election, 1904: President Theodore Roosevelt was reelected to a second term, defeating New York Appeals Court Judge Alton B. Parker.

Question 5

1905

Answer 5

The Niagara Falls conference was held.

The Treaty of Portsmouth, negotiated by President Theodore Roosevelt, was signed, ending the Russo-Japanese War .

Question 6

1906

Answer 6

Women’s suffrage and civil rights activist Susan B. Anthony died.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake killed over 3,400 people and destroyed over 80% of San Francisco; being the deadliest earthquake in American history.
The Hepburn Act was signed into law.
The Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act were signed; establishing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese war; becoming the first statesman to win a Nobel Prize.

Question 7

1907

Answer 7

The Tillman Act was signed into law.
The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 was signed.
Oklahoma was admitted to the Union, becoming the 46th state.
Monongah Mining Disaster: A coal mine exploded in Monongah, West Virginia, killing at least 361.

Question 8

1908

Answer 8

The Aldrich–Vreeland Act was signed into law.
The Bureau of Investigation (later the FBI) was established.
The Ford Model T appeared on the market.
United States presidential election, 1908: U.S. Secretary of War William Howard Taft was elected President, defeating former Nebraska Representative William Jennings Bryan.
The Root–Takahira Agreement was reached.

Question 9

1909

Answer 9

William Howard Taft implemented Dollar Diplomacy.
The NAACP was founded by W. E. B. Du Bois.
Robert Peary became the first person to reach the North Pole.
The first redesigned Lincoln Penny was released to the public.

Question 10

1910

Answer 10

The Boy Scouts of America was created.
The Mann–Elkins Act was signed into law.
The Mann Act was signed into law.
The Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act was signed into law.

Question 11

1911

Answer 11

Standard Oil Company v. United States: The Supreme Court found Standard Oil guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry; subsequently dividing Standard Oil into several geographically separate firms.
The first Indianapolis 500 was held; being won by Ray Harroun.

Question 12

1912

Answer 12

New Mexico was admitted to the Union, becoming the 47th.
Arizona was admitted to the Union, becoming the 48th state.
Girl Scouts of the USA was created by Juliette Gordon Low.
The RMS Titanic crashed into an iceberg in the northern Atlantic Ocean, sinking the ship entirely less than three hours the initial collision, killing over 1,500 of the 2,224 passengers aboard.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot, but not killed, while campaigning for President as the candidate for the progressive Bull Moose Party.
United States presidential election, 1912: New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson defeated incumbent President William Howard Taft, former President Theodore Roosevelt and union leader Eugene V. Debs.

Question 13

1913

Answer 13

The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing an income tax, was ratified.
The Armory Show opened in New York City, introducing American and European modern art to the American public.
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing direct election of Senators, was ratified.
After mass civilian casualties in the Battle of Bud Bagsak, the Moro’s surrendered their rebellion, ending the Philippine–American War.
The Underwood Tariff was signed into law.
Henry Ford developed the modern assembly line.
The Federal Reserve Act was signed into law; establishing the Federal Reserve System.

Question 14

1914

Answer 14

Ludlow Massacre: The camps of striking coal miners were attacked by the Colorado National Guard; killing 25, including 11 children.
World War I: Austria-Hungary invaded the Kingdom of Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; triggering the start of World War I.
The first Mother’s Day was observed.
The Federal Trade Commission was established.
The Clayton Antitrust Act was signed into law.

Question 15

1915

Answer 15

The controversial movie The Birth of a Nation opened in Los Angeles, becoming the largest-grossing movie at the time.
The RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo, killing 1,198 passengers; partially contributing to the U.S.’s later involvement in World War I.

Question 16

1916

Answer 16

Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the United States Congress.
The Adamson Railway Labor Act was signed into law.
The Federal Farm Loan Act was signed into law.
The Jones Act was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson was reelected to a second term, defeating Associate Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes of New York.

Question 17

1917

Answer 17

The United States acquired the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25,000,000.
The Zimmermann telegram was published, helping shift public opinion in favor of U.S. involvement in World War I.
The United States declared war on Germany, beginning the U.S.’s involvement in World War I.
The Espionage Act was signed into law.
The Lansing–Ishii Agreement was signed.
First Red Scare: The scare, marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism, began.

Question 18

1918

Answer 18

World War I: President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which assured citizens that the war was being fought for a moral cause and for postwar peace in Europe, was issued.
The Sedition Act of 1918 was signed into law; forbidding the “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” against the United States government during a time of war.

Question 19

1919

Answer 19

Red Summer: Heightened racial scrutinization of African-Americans during the Red Scare prompted mass racial riots among Whites in Bisbee, Arizona, Longview, Texas, Washington D.C., Chicago, Knoxville, Omaha, and Elaine, Arkansas.
Inflation from the Post–World War I recession lead to the strike of 4 million workers; prompting the Boston Police Strike, Seattle General Strike, Steel Strike of 1919 and Coal Strike of 1919.
World War I: The Treaty of Versailles ended the war.
The Black Sox Scandal, involving the fixing of the 1919 World Series, occurred.
President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the Volstead Act was overridden by the Senate, establishing the Eighteenth Amendment.
The United States Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, becoming the first time in U.S. history the Senate rejected a peace treaty.

Question 20

1920

Answer 20

The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing prohibition in the United States, was ratified.
The first radio broadcasts were made, in Pittsburgh and Detroit.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was ratified.
Wall Street Bombing: Wall Street, the financial district of the United States, was bombed, killing 38 people.
United States presidential election, 1920: Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding was elected President, defeating Ohio Governor James M. Cox.

Question 21

1921

Answer 21

The Emergency Quota Act was signed into law.
The Tulsa Race Riot occurred; resulting in the deaths of up to 300 African-Americans and leaving more than 8,000 homeless.
The first meeting of the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921 was held.

Question 22

1922

Answer 22

The Fordney–McCumber Tariff was signed into law.

Question 23

1923

Answer 23

President Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
Vice President Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President, the day following the death of President Harding.
Teapot Dome scandal: Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall resigned as a result of the scandal.
The Equal Rights Amendment, written by women’s suffragist leader Alice Paul, was first introduced in the Senate.

Question 24

1924

Answer 24

J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation.
The Immigration Act Basic Law was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1924: President Calvin Coolidge defeated former Solicitor General John W. Davis and Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette.

Question 25

1925

Answer 25

Scopes Trial: High school teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, for teaching human evolution in the classroom.
Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected Governor of Wyoming, becoming the first woman elected governor of a U.S. State.
WSM first broadcast the Grand Ole Opry.

Question 26

1926

Answer 26

The broadcast network NBC was founded.

Question 27

1927

Answer 27

The radio network Columbia Broadcasting System (later CBS) was founded.
Bath School disaster: Andrew Kehoe detonated over 500 pounds of dynamite and incendiary pyrotol which he planted in an elementary school in Bath Township, Michigan, where he later detonated the first ever car bomb in the U.S. in a suicide attack at the scene of the bombing; killing a total of 44 people and being the deadliest mass murder at a school in U.S. History.
Charles Lindbergh made the first trans-Atlantic flight.
Sacco and Vanzetti were executed.
The Jazz Singer, the first motion picture with sound, was released.

Question 28

1928

Answer 28

The Kellogg–Briand Pact was signed.
United States presidential election, 1928: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was elected President, defeating New York Governor Al Smith.
Disney’s animated feature Steamboat Willie, featuring Mickey Mouse, opened.

Question 29

1929

Answer 29

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre became one of the most infamous slaying between rival gangs of the Prohibition era; resulting in the deaths of 7.
Wall Street Crash of 1929: The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted a record 68 points.
The Museum of Modern Art opened to the public in New York City.
American Samoa officially became a United States territory.

Question 30

1930

Answer 30

The Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act was signed into law.

Question 31

1931

Answer 31

The Empire State Building opened in New York City.

Question 32

1932

Answer 32

The Stimson Doctrine was published.
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established.
The Norris–La Guardia Act was signed into law.
The Bonus Army protests began in Washington, D.C.
Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
United States presidential election, 1932: New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected President, defeating incumbent Herbert Hoover.

Question 33

1933

Answer 33

The Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, moving the beginning and end of the terms of elected federal officials to January 20, was ratified.
Giuseppe Zangara assassinated Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak in an attempt on President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s life.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Frances Perkins United States Secretary of Labor, becoming the first woman to hold a cabinet level position.
New Deal: The Agricultural Adjustment Act, Civil Works Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, Farm Credit Administration, Home Owners Loan Corporation, Tennessee Valley Authority, Public Works Administration, National Industrial Recovery Act were all established or brought into force.
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, ending prohibition, was ratified.

Question 34

1934

Answer 34

Dust Bowl: The Dust Bowl, characterized by severe drought and heat waves in the Great Plains, began.
The Tydings–McDuffie Act was signed into law, establishing the Philippine Commonwealth.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was established.
The Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act was signed into law.
The Glass–Steagall Act was signed into law.
The Indian Reorganization Act was signed into law.
John Dillinger was killed.
The Federal Housing Administration was established.

Question 35

1935

Answer 35

The FBI was established, with J. Edgar Hoover as its first director.
The Works Progress Administration was established.
The Social Security Act was signed into law; establishing the Social Security Administration.
The Motor Carrier Act was signed into law.
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States: The Supreme Court ruled that the National Industrial Recovery Act, a central piece of President Roosevelt’s New Deal program, was unconstitutional.
The National Labor Relations Act was signed into law.
The Motor Carrier Act was signed into law.
The Revenue Act of 1935 was signed into law.
The Neutrality Act of 1935 was signed into law.
Louisiana Senator Huey Long was assassinated.
The Congress of Industrial Organizations was founded.

Question 36

1936

Answer 36

United States v. Butler: The Supreme Court ruled that the processing taxes instituted under the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act were unconstitutional.
The Second London Naval Treaty was signed.
The Robinson-Patman Act was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1936: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reelected to a second term, defeating Kansas Governor Alf Landon.
The Flint Sit-Down Strike began.

Question 37

1937

Answer 37

The Neutrality Act of 1937 was signed into law.
Hindenburg disaster: The LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire, crashing at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey after departing from Frankfurt, Germany; killing thirty-five passengers and one ground crewman.
The Golden Gate Bridge opened in San Francisco.
Panay incident: A Japanese attack was made on the United States Navy gunboat USS Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze River outside of Nanjing; killing three Americans.

Question 38

1938

Answer 38

The Fair Labor Standards Act was signed into law; establishing a federal minimum wage.
Orson Welles performed a broadcast of The War of the Worlds.

Question 39

1939

Answer 39

Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became the first full length animated film.
The Hatch Act, aimed at corrupt political practices, was signed into law, preventing federal civil servants from campaigning.
Invasion of Poland (1939): Nazi Germany invaded Poland.
In response to the Poland Campaign, President Roosevelt requested a cash and carry policy to replace the Neutrality Acts.

Question 40

1940

Answer 40

The Smith Act was signed into law.
The cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry debuted.
Billboard publishes its first music popularity chart.
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, reinstating the U.S. military draft, was signed into law.
U.S. presidential election, 1940: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reelected to a third term, defeating corporate lawyer Wendell Willkie of Indiana.

Question 41

1941

Answer 41

American Nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, with fellow U.C. Berkeley researchers, discovered the chemical element plutonium.
World War II: Lend-Lease, which supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, France and other Allied nations with vast amounts of war material, began.
President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry.
World War II: The Atlantic Charter was drafted by Britain and the United States to serve as a blueprint for the postwar world.
Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Empire of Japan declares war on the United States and Britain, attacking the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Sinking six U.S. ships, including the USS Arizona, and destroying 188 aircraft, the attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in the deaths of 2,402 Americans, leaving 1,247 wounded.
The United States declares war on the Empire of Japan, beginning the U.S. entry into World War II.
The United States declares war on Germany and Italy, after both nations declared war with United States.

Question 42

1942

Answer 42

The Congress of Racial Equality was established.
The Office of Price Administration was established.
Automobile production in the United States for private consumers is halted by the War Production Board.
Japanese American internment: Internment and seizure of property began, per Executive Order 9066 issued by President Roosevelt.
The U.S. surrenders to Japan in the Battle of Bataan, beginning the three year occupation of the Commonwealth of the Philippines by Japanese forces.
President Roosevelt signed Executive order 8734; establishing the Office of Price Administration.
Pacific Theater of Operations: The Doolittle Raid begins the first U.S. bombing of Japanese archipelago.
The Aleutian Islands Campaign begins the Japanese occupation of Alaska Territory.
The Battle of Midway was fought.
The Guadalcanal Campaign begins in the Solomon Islands.
The Manhattan Project, leading to the development of the first atomic bomb, began.
The Revenue Act of 1942 was signed into law.
The Cocoanut Grove fire, the deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. History, killed 492 people in Boston.

Question 43

1943

Answer 43

The Casablanca Conference was held.
The Broadway musical Oklahoma! opened.
The Detroit Race Riot occurred; resulting in the deaths of 34 Whites and African-Americans and leaving 670 injured.
Armistice of Cassibile: General Dwight Eisenhower publicly announces the surrender of Italy to the Allied Powers; with Italy later declaring war on Germany one month later.
The Cairo Conference was held.
The Tehran Conference was held between the “Big Three” Allied leaders of World War II.

Question 44

1944

Answer 44

Normandy Landings (D-Day): The Invasion of Normandy, one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history, began in the Allied Powers broader Operation Overlord; leading to the Liberation of Paris.
The G.I. Bill was signed into law.
United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference: Delegates from 44 nations met to discuss a new post-WWII monetary policy.
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference began, starting the first talks between world leaders on the establishment of the United Nations.
U.S. presidential election, 1944: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reelected to a fourth term, defeating New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey.
The Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s final major offensive of World War II, began; being the deadliest military battle for the United States during World War II.

Question 45

1945

Answer 45

The Yalta Conference was held in the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Iwo Jima began.
The Western Allied invasion of Germany began.
The Battle of Okinawa began, being the deadliest battle of the Pacific War.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia; with Vice President Harry S. Truman succeeding him, becoming the 33rd President.
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler committed suicide alongside wife Eva Braun in Berlin.
Germany surrenders to the Allied Powers, leading to the End of World War II in Europe.
United Nations Charter: The United Nations was founded, replacing the League of Nations.
The Potsdam Conference was held in Occupied Germany.
Operation Downfall: The United States conducted the only two atomic bombings during a war on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; killing between an estimated 150,000-246,000 people.
Surrender of Japan: In a broadcast to the Japanese public, Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, surrendering to the Allied Powers.
The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed between the Empire of Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Republic of China, France, Netherlands, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay; marking the end of World War II.
Nuremberg Trials: The military tribunals against Nazi Germany leadership began.
Strike Wave of 1945–1946: Nationwide labor strikes were held, with over 4.6 million workers striking.

Question 46

1946

Answer 46

Automobile production in the United States for private consumers resumed.
The Employment Act was signed into law; establishing the Council of Economic Advisers.
The Philippines regained independence from the United States.
Benjamin Spock’s The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care was published.
The United States Atomic Energy Act of 1946 was signed into law; establishing the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
President Truman signed Executive Order 9808; establishing the President’s Committee on Civil Rights.

Question 47

1947

Answer 47

The Truman Doctrine was declared, establishing “the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
President Truman signed executive order 9835; establishing the Federal Employee Loyalty Program to search out the “infiltration of disloyal persons” in the U.S. Government.
Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color line in Major League Baseball.
The Marshall Plan was announced by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall.
The Taft Hartley Act was enacted, with the House and Senate overriding President Truman’s veto of the bill.
The Roswell UFO incident occurred near Roswell, New Mexico.
The Presidential Succession Act was signed into law.
The National Security Act of 1947 was signed into law, establishing the Central Intelligence Agency.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was signed in Geneva.

Question 48

1948

Answer 48

The Charter of the Organization of American States was adopted.
Texaco Star Theater, the first top-rated United States network television show, debuted on television.
The Berlin Blockade, the first major crisis of the Cold War, took place.
The Selective Service Act of 1948 was signed into law.
President Truman signed Executive Order 9981, leading to the desegregating the United States Armed Forces.
U.S. presidential election, 1948: President Harry S. Truman was reelected to a second term, defeating New York Governor and 1944 Presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey, and South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond, in what is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in American political history.
The Polaroid camera was first offered for sale.

Question 49

1949

Answer 49

In the 1949 State of the Union Address, President Truman proposed the unsuccessful Fair Deal; his administration’s agenda for economic and domestic policy.
Allied-occupied Germany was divided into East and West Germany.
North Atlantic Treaty: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded.
The Nuremberg Trials ended, with the convictions of 24 major Nazi political and military leaders, among others.
The National Security Amendments of 1949 was signed into law by President Truman, renaming the Department of War the Department of Defense.
First Lightning: The Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb.

Question 50

1950

Answer 50

Second Red Scare: McCarthyism, the term to describe “the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially of pro-Communist activity” of Senator Joseph McCarthy,[310] began after heightened fears of Communist influence in America.
A grand jury found former State Department official and President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Alger Hiss guilty on two counts of perjury in connection with charges that he was a Soviet spy.
Senator McCarthy came to national prominence after claiming to have a list of 205 State Department employees who were members of the Communist Party and “helping to shape [the U.S.’s] foreign policy.”
Korean War: The North Korean military began the Communist lead invasion of South Korea.
President Truman ordered U.S. air and naval support to aid South Korea against the Northern lead invasion; prompting the beginning of the U.S. involvement in the Korean War.
The McCarran Internal Security Act was enacted, with the House and Senate overriding President Truman’s veto of the bill.
The comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, was first published.
Truman assassination attempt: Two Puerto Rican nationals attempted to assassinate President Harry S. Truman while he stayed at Blair House.

Question 51

1951

Answer 51

The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing term limits for President, was ratified.
President Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his commands after criticizing the limited war efforts of the Truman administration, and starting unauthorized talks with China in the Korean war.
The ANZUS Treaty was signed.
The Japanese Peace Treaty Conference was held San Francisco.
The Mutual Security Act was signed into law.

Question 52

1952

Answer 52

The McCarran–Walter Act was enacted, with the House and Senate overriding President Truman’s veto of the bill.
United States presidential election, 1952: Five-Star General and former Chief of Staff of the United States Army Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President, defeating Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II.

Question 53

1953

Answer 53

Molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick published their paper on the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed on conspiracy to commit espionage after they were found guilty of giving U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.
The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, ending the Korean War.
Operation Ajax: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned to power after the CIA conducted a coup d’état in Iran.

Question 54

1954

Answer 54

Tournament of Roses Parade: The parade was the first national color television broadcast.
Geneva Conference (1954): A conference was held where the United States attempted to find a way to unify Korea and restore peace in Indochina.
Brown v. Board of Education: The Supreme Court declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students, and denying black children equal educational opportunities, were unconstitutional.
Army-McCarthy hearings: Senator McCarthy was nationally discredited after failing to provide credible evidence supporting accusations of communist activity in the U.S. government amid the two months of televised hearings.
Operation PBSUCCESS: The CIA organized the overthrow of Guatemala’s democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán.
The United States became a member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high of 382.74, the first time it closed above its peak set before the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
The United States and the Republic of China signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, amid the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.
The first successful kidney transplant on a human was performed in Boston.

Question 55

1955

Answer 55

The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) began.
The announcement that the polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was found to be “safe, effective and potent” was made by the University of Michigan.
Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois.
The Warsaw Pact was signed, establishing a mutual defense arrangement subscribed to by eight Communist states in Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union.
Disneyland opened at Anaheim, California.
Emmett Till was kidnapped, beaten and murdered in Money, Mississippi after reportedly flirting with a white woman; with the pictures of his open casket funeral, and the acquittal of his captors, the public reaction of Till’s death helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.
Actor James Dean was killed in a highway collision in Salinas, California.
Vietnam War: President Eisenhower deploys the first American personnel from the Military Assistance Advisory Group to South Vietnam after the First Indochina War.
Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, inciting the 386-day Montgomery Bus Boycott led by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations merged into the AFL-CIO, becoming the largest labor union in the United States.

Question 56

1956

Answer 56

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, authorizing the construction of 41,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System over a 20-year period, was signed into law.
Hungarian Revolution of 1956: The United States refused to support the revolution.
United States presidential election, 1956: President Dwight D. Eisenhower was reelected to a second term, defeating 1952 Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson II in the rematch election.

Question 57

1957

Answer 57

The Eisenhower Doctrine, wherein a country could request American economic assistance or military aid if threatened by outside armed aggression, was proclaimed.
Dr. King, Rustin, Lowrey, Shuttlesworth and Abernathy founded the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC).
Little Rock Integration Crisis: Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deployed members of the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African-American students from integrating in the Little Rock Central High School.
The Civil Rights Act of 1957, primarily a voting rights bill, was signed into law.
President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent members of the 101st Airborne Division to escort the Little Rock Nine to their classrooms in response to Governor Faubus’ efforts preventing school desegregation.
Space race: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
Atoms for Peace: The Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the first commercial nuclear power plant, went into service.

Question 58

1958

Answer 58

Explorer 1: The first U.S. satellite was launched into space.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act was signed into law; establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit.
The National Defense Education Act was signed into law.

Question 59

1959

Answer 59

Alaska was admitted to the Union, becoming the 49th state.
The Day the Music Died: Musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and pilot, Roger Peterson, were killed in a plane accident.
The First Grammy Awards was held.
U.S. Army Master Sargent Chester Ovnand and Major Dale M. Buis were killed in South Vietnam, being the first two official American casualties of the Vietnam War.
Hawaii was admitted to the Union, becoming the 50th state.

Question 60

1960

Answer 60

The Greensboro sit-ins, sparked by the refusal of four African American college students to move from a segregated lunch counter, began similar widespread acts of civil disobedience to protest Jim Crow laws.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was founded.
U-2 incident: A CIA U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission over Soviet airspace.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960, establishing federal inspection of local voter registration polls and penalties for those attempting to obstruct the right to vote, was signed into law.
The first ever general election debate between presidential candidates was held between Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy and Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon.
United States presidential election, 1960: Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy was elected President, defeating Vice President Richard M. Nixon and becoming the youngest person to be elected to the office of the Presidency.
Boynton v. Virginia: In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that African-Americans were protected from racial segregation on buses by the Interstate Commerce Act.
The National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam was formed.

Question 61

1961

Answer 61

The United States broke diplomatic relations with Cuba.
President Eisenhower gave his farewell address which warned of the “military–industrial complex”.
The United States embargo against Cuba came into force.
President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924, establishing the Peace Corps.
The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, which granted electors to the District of Columbia, was ratified.
Bay of Pigs Invasion: The failed U.S. led invasion and attempted coup d’état of Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro took place.
The Freedom Rides began in Washington D.C. after the failure of to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling in Boynton.
Alan Shepard piloted the Freedom 7 capsule to become the first American in space.
President Kennedy proposed the Apollo program, with the goal of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”
Vietnam War: President Kennedy deployed an additional 400 U.S. military advisors (900 total) to South Vietnam; totaling 3,200 American troops by 1963, and more than 11,000 by mid-1964.

Question 62

1962

Answer 62

John Glenn orbited the Earth.
A decision was reached in Baker v. Carr which enabled federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases.
A decision in Engel v. Vitale determined that it was unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools.
Marilyn Monroe died of an apparent overdose from acute barbiturate poisoning at age thirty-six.
Cuban missile crisis: A nuclear confrontation took place between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Question 63

1963

Answer 63

Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, attributed to sparking Second-wave feminism, was published.
Gideon v. Wainwright: In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to counsel is protected under the Sixth Amendment.
Birmingham campaign: The nonviolent led protests against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama was launched by the SCLC.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail: Dr. King was arrested amid the Birmingham campaign, writing an open letter defending the strategy nonviolent protest.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into law.
NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers was assassinated at his home in Mississippi by white supremacists, hours after President Kennedy gave his Civil Rights Address.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., among other notable civil rights leaders, spoke on the Lincoln Memorial, giving his historic “I Have a Dream” speech at the march that drew over 200,000 demonstrators.
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, carried out by a KKK splinter group, killed four African-Americans girls in what was seen as a turning point for the Civil Rights Movement.
The Atomic Test Ban Treaty was signed.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper in Dallas, Texas while traveling in an open presidential motorcade with Texas Governor John Connally, who was injured in the incident.
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President, hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Lee Harvey Oswald, the sniper who assassinated President Kennedy, was killed after being fatally shot by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
The Warren Commission was established by President Johnson to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.
The Clean Air Act was signed into law.

Question 64

1964

Answer 64

The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax, was ratified.
British Invasion: The Beatles arrived in the United States.
President Johnson proposed the Great Society, a set of social reforms aimed at the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.
The Freedom Summer began, aimed to increase voter registration for African Americans.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing both segregation and major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, was signed into law.
Tonkin Gulf incident, a false flag operation with ‘deliberately skewed’ intelligence to expand U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, occurred.
Mississippi civil rights workers’ murders: The bodies of three missing civil rights activists, working to register voters as a part of the Freedom Summer, were found near Philadelphia, Mississippi.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, not a formal declaration of war in Vietnam, was signed by President Johnson
The Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.
Dr. King became the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for his ‘nonviolent campaign against racism’.

Question 65

1965

Answer 65

Vietnam War: Johnson escalates United States military involvement in the war, with the number of U.S. troops totaling more than 184,000.
African American Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York.
Operation Rolling Thunder began in the Vietnam War.
The Selma to Montgomery marches, known as “Bloody Sunday”, drew national outrage after Alabama State Troopers severely beat and used tear gas against the nonviolent demonstrators.
In a third attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery, 3,200 civil rights demonstrators reached the Alabama State Capitol, where they were joined with a crowd of 25,000, after four days of marching.
March Against the Vietnam War: The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the SNCC led the first major anti-war demonstration against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C., with over 25,000 protesters.
The Social Security Amendments of 1965 was signed into law, establishing Medicaid and Medicare in the United States.
The Voting Rights Act was signed into law.
The Watts Riot began in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, resulting in the deaths of 34 people.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established, after the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Johnson.
The Immigration Act of 1965 was signed into law, abolishing the National Origins Formula.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed.

Question 66

1966

Answer 66

Robert C. Weaver was sworn in as the first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, becoming the first African American to hold a cabinet-level position.

Question 67

1967

Answer 67

Jack Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism at Parkland Hospital, where Oswald had died and where President Kennedy had been pronounced dead after his assassination.
Operation Cedar Falls, the largest ground operation of the Vietnam War, began; with over 500,000 with the number of U.S. troops totaling more than 500,000 by the end of 1967.
Super Bowl I: In the first Super Bowl took place between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing succession to the Presidency and procedures for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, was ratified.
The United States Department of Transportation was established.
National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam: 400,000 demonstrators march in New York City from Central Park to the United Nations Headquarters against the Vietnam War; with 100,000 protesting the war in San Fransciso, being one of the largest demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
The Summer of Love took place, marking a defining period for the counterculture movement in the U.S.
Loving v. Virginia: The Supreme Court overruled the prohibition of interracial marriage.
American Samoa became self-governing under a new Constitution.
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court; becoming the first African-American Justice to serve on the court.

Question 68

1968

Answer 68

The Tet Offensive, a campaign of surprise attacks by the Viet Cong, began.
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by a sniper at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
King assassination riots: The assassination of Dr. King prompted mass riots in Chicago, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Kansas City and Louisville; leaving 36 people dead.
The Civil Rights Act of 1968, providing equal housing protection, was signed into law.
Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan, after winning the California primary while campaigning for President.
The United States signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Chicago City Police clashed with anti-war protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 was signed into law.
United States presidential election, 1968: Former Vice President Richard Nixon was elected President, defeating incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Alabama Governor George Wallace.
Shirley Chisholm of New York became the first African-American woman elected to Congress.
Apollo 8: The first manned spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit occurred.

Question 69

1969

Answer 69

Operation Menu: The United States began its covert bombings of North Vietnamese positions in Cambodia and Laos.
The Stonewall riots took place, beginning after police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City, which would mark the start of the modern gay liberation movement in the United States.
Chappaquiddick incident: Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove off a bridge on his way home from a party on Chappaquiddick Island, killing his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne.
Apollo 11: Americans astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins became the first men to land on the moon, with Armstrong becoming the first man to walk on the moon’s surface.
The Woodstock Festival took place in White Lake, New York, proclaimed as “three days of peace and music”, it became one of the defining events representing counterculture movement.
Vietnamization: President Nixon outlaid his administration’s Vietnam policy in response to the Tet Offensive.
Sesame Street premiered on National Educational Television.
Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam: Over 500,000 peaceful demonstrators protested the Vietnam War in Washington D.C., being the largest anti-war protest in U.S. history.
President Nixon announces the withdrawal of 50,000 U.S. troops from Vietnam; reaching the peak level of U.S. troops in Vietnam at 541,000.

Question 70

1970

Answer 70

The National Environmental Policy Act was signed into law.
Kent State shootings: Shootings occurred during anti-war, student protests that grew violent, resulting in the deaths of four demonstrators by the Ohio National Guard.
President Nixon announces the further withdrawal of 150,000 troops in Vietnam.
President Nixon announces the beginning of the Cambodian Campaign.
The first Earth Day was observed.
American Top 40, hosted by radio personality Casey Kasem, which featured a weekly countdown, premiered.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) began operations, succeeding National Educational Television (NET).
The United States Environmental Protection Agency was established.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law, establishing OSHA.

Question 71

1971

Answer 71

Charles Manson is sentenced to death (with his sentence later commuted to life in prison) for his involvement in the Tate-LaBianca murders.
The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act was signed into law, banning cigarette advertisements on radio and television and issuing a Surgeon General’s warning on tobacco products.
Pentagon Papers: The New York Times publishes its first story on the classified 7,000 page Department of Defense study, leaked by study participant Daniel Ellsberg, on the U.S.’s political-military involvement in Vietnam since 1945.
President Nixon declares a “War on Drugs”, stating that drug use in the U.S. is “public enemy number one.”
New York Times Co. v. United States: The Supreme Court ruled that the Pentagon Papers may be published, rejecting government injunctions as unconstitutional prior restraint.
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, was ratified.
Nixon Shock: Nixon ended the gold standard in the United States.
Attica Prison riot: After four days of holding 39 prison staff members hostage, a raid that led to a riot at the Attica Correctional Facility was launched by New York State Police; leaving 43 staff and prisoners dead and being the deadliest prison riot in U.S. history.

Question 72

1972

Answer 72

1972 Nixon visit to China: President Nixon became the first U.S. President to visit the People’s Republic of China, marking the end of 25 years of isolation between the U.S. and China.
SALT I Treaty: The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and United States at the Moscow Summit.
Black Hills flood: Flooding in the Black Hills region of Western South Dakota killed 238 people.
Watergate burglaries: Five men were arrested for the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.
The Education Amendments of 1972, enacting Title IX and prohibiting gender based discrimination of educational institutions, was signed into law.
Furman v. Georgia: The Supreme Court ruled that application of the death penalty outside of cases of homicide violated protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
The Clean Water Act is enacted, was overridden by the Senate.
U.S. presidential election, 1972: President Nixon was reelected to a second term, defeating South Dakota Senator George McGovern.
Apollo 17 became the final mission of the Apollo program and last human spaceflight to the moon.
Operation Linebacker II: The final major U.S. bombing campaign in North Vietnam began.

Question 73

1973

Answer 73

Roe v. Wade: The Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning abortion before 24 weeks as unconstitutional.
The Paris Peace Accords was signed, ending the United States’ direct involvement in the Vietnam War.
The Sears Towers opened in Chicago, becoming the World’s tallest building.
The space station Skylab was launched by NASA.
The United States Senate Watergate Committee held its first hearing.
Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in disgrace as part of a plea bargain after being charged with tax evasion, extortion and conspiracy.
Saturday Night Massacre: President Nixon fired three top legal advisers over the disposition of secret tapes and the actions of the Special Prosecutor in regard to the Watergate scandal.
1973 oil crisis: Gasoline prices in the U.S. quadrupled over a three-month period in response to reduced supply of gasoline and heating oil.
House Minority Leader Gerald Ford of Michigan was sworn in as Vice President after the resignation of Spiro Agnew; becoming the first Vice President to be appointed under the Twenty-fifth Amendment.

Question 74

1974

Answer 74

Super Outbreak: An outbreak of 148 tornadoes hit thirteen states, killing 330 people.
Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves broke Babe Ruth’s home run record by hitting his 715th career home run.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon over his actions in the Watergate Scandal.
President Richard Nixon becomes the first and only President to resign from office. After submitting his resignation in an address to the nation the evening before, Nixon stated that “the interest of the Nation must always come before any personal considerations.”
Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as President after the resignation of President Nixon.
President Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed as President during the Watergate Scandal.
Executive Order 6102, restricting the private holding of gold within the United States, was lifted.

Question 75

1975

Answer 75

The Church Committee, Chaired by Idaho Senator Frank Church, was established in the aftermath of the Watergate Scandal; investigating the illegal activities of the CIA, NSA and FBI.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft Corporation.
Fall of Saigon: Saigon, the capitol of South Vietnam, was captured by the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong, causing the South to surrender and officially ending the Vietnam War.
Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: The first joint U.S.–Soviet space mission began in Kazakhstan.
President Ford was uninjured after a failed assassination attempt by Manson Family cult member Lynette Fromme in Sacramento, California.

Question 76

1976

Answer 76

Steve Jobs founded Apple Inc.
Gregg v. Georgia: The Supreme Court affirmed that the death penalty did not violate the Eighth Amendment.
United States Bicentennial: Americans celebrated the United States bicentennial.
The Copyright Act of 1976 was signed into law.
U.S. presidential election, 1976: Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter was elected President, defeating incumbent Gerald Ford.

Question 77

1977

Answer 77

The television miniseries Roots aired on ABC.
New York City blackout of 1977: A twenty-five hour blackout, resulting in looting and other disorder, took place.
The United States Department of Energy is established.
Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll”, died at his home in Graceland.
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties between the U.S. and Panama, relinquishing U.S. control of the Panama Canal, were ratified.
The Commodore PET, the first personal computer for retail sale, was released.

Question 78

1978

Answer 78

The Camp David Accords were signed by Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt at Camp David.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was signed into law.
The Humphrey Hawkins Full Employment Act was signed into law.
Jonestown Massacre: The mass-suicide of 909 American citizens who were members of the religious cult the Peoples Temple, led by Jim Jones, occurred in Guyana. With the addition murders of nine others, including Congressman Leo Ryan, the 918 deaths were the largest loss of American life in a single incident and in a non-natural disaster at the time.
Moscone–Milk assassinations: Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to public office, and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, were assassinated by Dan White in San Francisco.

Question 79

1979

Answer 79

Three Mile Island accident: The partial nuclear meltdown and release of small amounts of radioactive gases and iodine of a nuclear power plant in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania began; considered to be the worst commercial nuclear power accident in U.S. history.
White Night Riots: After the lenient sentence of Moscone-Milk assassin Dan White, over 5,000 demonstrators in San Francisco’s gay community staged what turned into a violent protest.
American Airlines Flight 191 flight crashed shortly after takeoff from O’Hare International Airport, killing all 271 aboard and two on the ground; being the deadliest aviation accident on U.S. soil.
The United States Department of Education is established.
Iran hostage crisis: The U.S. embassy in Tehran was raided by student activists of the Iranian Revolution after overthrown CIA instated Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was allowed into the U.S.; beginning the 444-day capture of the embassy and the holding of fifty-two American embassy personnel.

Question 80

1980

Answer 80

The Refugee Act was signed into law.
1980 Summer Olympics boycott: Protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Cater announces the U.S. would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services was established.
Operation Eagle Claw: Eight U.S. military personnel were killed after the failed attempt to rescue the fifty-two American hostages held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
Eruption of Mount St. Helens: The eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington killed fifty-seven people.
CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel, was founded.
U.S. presidential election, 1980: California Governor Ronald Reagan was elected President, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter and Illinois Representative John B. Anderson.
Musician John Lennon was assassinated outside of The Dakota in New York City.

Question 81

1981

Answer 81

Iran releases the 52 U.S. hostages held in Tehran after 444 days (the day of the swearing in of President Ronald Reagan); signing the Algiers Accords.
Reagan assassination attempt: President Reagan and three others were injured after an assassination attempt of the President by John Hinckley, outside of the Hilton Washington in Washington D.C.
STS-1: The Space Shuttle Columbia was launched, being the first flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle program.
Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: A hotel walkway collapsed in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 114 and injuring over two hundred.
MTV, the first 24-hour cable network dedicated to airing music videos, was launched.
Reaganomics: The Kemp-Roth Tax Cut was signed into law.
Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, becoming the first woman to serve on the court.
President Reagan signed NDSS 17, authorizing the beginning of CIA support for contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Question 82

1982

Answer 82

Anti-nuclear protests were held at Central Park in New York City, with nearly one million peaceful demonstrators protesting the arms race.
Multinational forces, including 800 Marines, were deployed to Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of Palestine Liberation Organization after Lebanese Civil War.

Question 83

1983

Answer 83

President Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative.
1983 United States embassy bombing: The U.S. embassy in Beirut was bombed by members of the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), killing 63 people, including 17 U.S. government personnel.
Beirut barracks bombing: 241 United States Marine Corps personnel were killed in a suicide bombing by members of the IJO in Lebanon.
Operation Urgent Fury: Under executive action from President Reagan, the U.S. deployed 1,900 military personnel in the Invasion of Grenada.

Question 84

1984

Answer 84

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler announces Dr. Robert Gallo and fellow NCI researcher’s discovery of HTLV-III as the virus that causes AIDS.
1984 Summer Olympics boycott: The Soviet Union, later joined by most of the Eastern Bloc, announced the boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles.
San Ysidro McDonald’s massacre: A mass shooting in San Ysidro, California left 22 (including the perpetrator) dead and injured 19 others; being the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time.
U.S. presidential election, 1984: President Reagan was reelected to a second term, defeating former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Question 85

1985

Answer 85

Live Aid, a concert attended by 100,000 people and watched by 1.9 billion viewers in 150 countries at the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, was held, raising global awareness of famine in Ethiopia.
Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying U.S. Army personnel to Egypt, crashed in Newfoundland, Canada, killing all 256 passengers on board and being the deadliest single aviation accident in the history of the U.S. military.

Question 86

1986

Answer 86

The first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed.
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster: The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded due to a leak in the shuttle’s solid rocket booster 73 seconds after departing from the Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven crew members aboard, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe.
Operation El Dorado Canyon: The U.S. began air strikes against Libya after the Berlin discotheque bombing.
The Firearm Owners Protection Act was signed into law.
Hands Across America: Over five million Americans formed a human chain across the Continental United States, holding hands for 15 minutes to raise awareness of hunger and homelessness.
The Goldwater–Nichols Act was signed into law.
The Fox Broadcasting Company was founded.
The Compact of Free Association was signed by the U.S., giving Independence to the Marshall Islands.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was signed into law.
Iran–Contra affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa first revealed that the United States had secretly sold weapons to Iran in exchange for American hostages, amid a U.S. arms embargo.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act was signed into law.
After the resignation of National Security Advisor John Poindexter, Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that the profits from the U.S. arms trade with Iran were illegally diverted to support contra groups in Nicaragua.
The Tower Commission is established by President Reagan to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.

Question 87

1987

Answer 87

Joint special House and Senate hearings on the Iran-Contra affair began.
During a visit to Berlin, President Reagan challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”, referring to the Berlin Wall.
Black Monday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 508 points in a single session, losing 22.6% of its value.
The U.S. Senate rejects President Reagan’s Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork.
A joint congressional report investigating the Iran-Contra affair found that the “ultimate responsibility for the events in the Iran-contra affair must rest with the President.”
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. between the U.S. and Soviet Union.

Question 88

1988

Answer 88

Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver crashed into a church bus near Carrollton, Kentucky, killing twenty-seven people.
The Yellowstone fires of 1988 burned 793,880 acres of Yellowstone National Park.
Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois added lights for night games, being the last major league park that didn’t have lights.
The Civil Liberties Act, compensating Japanese Americans who “lost liberty or property because of discriminatory action by the Federal government during World War II”, was signed into law.
STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery was launched.
Morris worm, the first computer worm distributed via the Internet, was launched.
U.S. presidential election, 1988: Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected President, defeating Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

Question 89

1989

Answer 89

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs was established.
Exxon Valdez oil spill: An oil tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound, spilling over 11 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Alaska.
Speaker of the House Jim Wright becomes the first House Speaker to resign amid scandal; he was succeeded by Tom Foley.
Hurricane Hugo struck the East Coast, killing 49 people and causing $7 billion in damage.
The Loma Prieta earthquake, striking the San Francisco Bay Area and interrupting the 1989 World Series, killed sixty-three people.
Malta Summit: President Bush and Soviet Premier Gorbachev met in Malta weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, releasing statements indicating that the war may be coming to an end.
Operation Just Cause: 26,000 U.S. military personnel were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Panama, removing Military Governor Manuel Noriega from power and restoring Panama’s democratically elected government.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy was established.

Question 90

1990

Answer 90

Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia, becoming the first African American to become governor of a U.S. State.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched during a mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
The 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord was signed between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law.
Gulf War: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein leads the deployment of 140,000 Iraqi troops in the invasion of Kuwait.
The Clean Air Act of 1990 was signed into law.

Question 91

1991

Answer 91

Operation Desert Storm: The United States leads 34 coalition nations in the invasion of Ba’athist Iraq; deploying over 500,000 U.S. military personnel in response to Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait.
President George H.W. Bush announces that a cease fire was reached between in the Gulf War, stating that “Kuwait is liberated. Iraq’s army is defeated.”
START I was signed between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Luby’s massacre: A mass shooting in Killeen, Texas left 24 (including the perpetrator) dead and injured 20 others; being the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, recognizing the independence of twelve Soviets states after the resignation of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who declared his office extinct, formally ended the Cold War.
Confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas were held by the Senate Judiciary Committee, after allegations regarding sexual harassment charges were pressed by former aide Anita Hill.

Question 92

1992

Answer 92

1992 Los Angeles riots: Riots in Los Angeles, spurred by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the beating of Rodney King, took place, which resulted in over fifty deaths and $1 billion in damage.
The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting changes to Congressmen’s salaries from taking effect until after an election of Representatives, was ratified.
Hurricane Andrew: A Category 5 hurricane killed sixty-five people and caused $26 billion in damage to Florida and other areas of the Gulf Coast.
United States presidential election, 1992: Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected President, defeating incumbent George H. W. Bush and Texas businessman Ross Perot.

Question 93

1993

Answer 93

START II was signed between the United States and the Russian Federation.
Waco siege: After the ATF failed to raid the compound of members of the religious sect the Branch Davidians, the FBI prompted a 51-day standoff; resulting in the deaths of 72 Branch Davidians after a fire broke out in the compound.
1993 World Trade Center bombing: A truck bomb exploded in the parking garage under the World Trade Center in Manhattan, killing six people and injuring 1,042 others.
Battle of Mogadishu: 18 U.S. military personnel, as a part of Operation Gothic Serpent, were killed and 84 wounded after a seventeen hour assault was prompted by Somali militiamen.
The Don’t ask, don’t tell policy, prohibiting openly gay and bisexual people from serving in the military, was signed into law.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was signed into law.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by the United States.
Great Flood of 1993: Massive flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers killed 48 people and caused $30.2 billion in damage; being the costliest flood in U.S. history.

Question 94

1994

Answer 94

The 1994 Northridge earthquake, striking the Northridge, Los Angeles area, killed fifty-seven people and leaving 20,000 others homeless; causing $20 billion in damage and being the costliest earthquake in U.S. history.
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, authorizing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and the Violence Against Women Act, was signed into law.
Republican Revolution: The Republican Party picked up 54 seats in the House and 8 seats in the Senate, being one of the largest shifts in party balance in U.S. congressional history.

Question 95

1995

Answer 95

Oklahoma City bombing: A bombing killed 168 and wounded eight hundred.
The 1995 Chicago heat wave killed 739 people in Chicago, Illinois.
Retired professional football player O. J. Simpson was acquitted of two charges of first-degree murder in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman.
United States federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996: A budget crisis caused the federal government to partially shut down.

Question 96

1996

Answer 96

TWA Flight 800: A flight exploded off Long Island, killing all 230 aboard.
Khobar Towers bombing: A bombing left nineteen American servicemen dead in Saudi Arabia.
Centennial Olympic Park bombing: A bombing in Atlanta killed one and injured 111.
The Welfare Reform Act of 1996, replacing the AFDC with TANF, was signed into law.
U.S. presidential election, 1996: Clinton was reelected.
United States federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996: The shutdown ended.

Question 97

1997

Answer 97

Clinton allowed student funding for any research on human cloning.
Sparked by a global economic crisis scare, the Dow Jones Industrial Average followed world markets and plummeted 554.26, or 7.18%, to 7,161.15.

Question 98

1998

Answer 98

Former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones accused Clinton of sexual harassment.
Lewinsky scandal: Clinton was accused of having a sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
1998 U.S. embassy bombings: 224 were killed in bombings in Tanzania and Kenya.
Gay college student Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered near the University of Wyoming.

Question 99

1999

Answer 99

Dennis Hastert of Illinois becomes Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10,006.78.
Two teenage students murdered 13 other students and teachers at Columbine High School.
1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak: A violent tornado outbreak in Oklahoma killed fifty people and produced a tornado which caused $1 billion in damage.
EgyptAir Flight 990: The first officer deliberately crashed a plane south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing 217.
Along with the rest of the world, the United States prepared for the possible effects of the Y2K bug in computers, which was feared destined to cause computers to become inoperable and wreak havoc.

Question 100

2000

Answer 100

USS Cole bombing: The USSCole was bombed in Yemeni waters, killing seventeen United States Navy sailors.