-
Martin Luther King Arrested for Bus Boycott
Martin Luther King Was a Pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. him and other African American community felt like a protest was needed. In front of a "ton" of people a meeting was called, in which the man himself "The King" gave his speech about the boycott of the Alabama bus line. -
The First Presidential Debate That Was Televised
On Setember 26, 1969, 70 million american viewers turned in to watch Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Vice President Richard Nixon for the first-ever televised presidential debate. This Started one of the four debates between Nixion and Kennedy. The Great Debates marked television's grand entrance into presidential politics. They afforded the first real opportunity for voters to see their candidates in competition, and the visual contrast was dramatic. -
The Soviets Launch First Man into Space
At just after 0700BST, Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin was fired from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan, Soviet central Asia, in the space craft Vostok (East). Major Gagarin orbited the Earth for 108 minutes travelling at more than 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometres per hour) before landing at an undisclosed location.
The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev has congratulated Major Gagarin on his achievement.
He sent the cosmonaut a message from his holiday home on the Black Sea. -
Bay Of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by United States-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Increasing friction between the U.S. government and Castro's leftist regime led President Dwight D. Eisenhower to break off diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961. Even before that, however, the Central Intelligence Agency had been training anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles for a possible invasion of the island. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. Luckily, thanks to the bravery of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, war was averted. -
First Person Killed Trying To Cross The Berlin Wall