1945 to present By Erik Freundlich Period: Jan 1, 1945 to Mar 11, 2013 1945 to present Mar 11, 1945 Jackie Robinson becomes the first black to play in the major leagues Jun 19, 1945 Mao Zedong takes control of China Jun 25, 1951 First color TV show Mar 5, 1953 Joseph Stalin dies Jun 19, 1953 Rosenburgs are executed for spying Jul 27, 1953 Treaty signed to end the Korean War Mar 11, 1955 Rosa Parks boycotts Montgomery buses Apr 18, 1955 Albert Einstein dies Oct 25, 1955 First Microwave oven Mar 21, 1956 Bill Haley records "Rock Around The Clock" Jul 22, 1957 My Dad's birthday Jan 15, 1958 My Mom's birthday Feb 3, 1959 Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper die in a plane crash Mar 11, 1959 John Glenn orbits Earth Apr 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin orbits Earth May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard goes into space Aug 13, 1961 Berlin Wall goes up Mar 11, 1962 James Meredith enrolls at University of Alabama Aug 5, 1962 Marilyn Monroe commits suicide Aug 28, 1963 MLK says "I have a dream" Nov 22, 1963 JFK is assassinated Nov 24, 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald is murdered Feb 9, 1964 Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan show Apr 28, 1965 US invasion of the Dominican Republic Jun 30, 1966 Betty Friedan founds the National Organization for Women Mar 1, 1967 First Super Bowl Mar 12, 1967 Muhammad Ali goes to jail Oct 21, 1967 Sen Eugene McCarthy mobilizes the youth vote against the Vietnam war Apr 4, 1968 MLK is assassinated Jun 6, 1968 Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated Oct 28, 1968 Cuban Missile Crisis resolved peacefully Nov 4, 1968 Pres. Johnson refuses to run for a second term Nov 4, 1968 Richard Nixon is elected for his first term in office Aug 9, 1969 Neil Armstrong Sep 2, 1969 Ho Chi Minh dies Mar 5, 1971 US leaves Vietnam Dec 1, 1971 Gloria Steinem publishes the first issue of Ms. Magazine Mar 11, 1972 Nixon visits Red China Jun 17, 1972 The Watergate Hotel is broken into Sep 5, 1972 Israeli athletes killed at Munich Olympics Oct 10, 1973 Spiro Agnew resigns Apr 8, 1974 Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's HR record Aug 9, 1974 Nixon resigns May 12, 1977 First Apple computer sold Aug 16, 1977 Elvis dies Sep 17, 1978 Jimmy Carter presides over Camp David Accords Sep 20, 1978 Lee Iacocca takes control of Chrysler Nov 18, 1978 Jonestown mass suicide Dec 3, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeni takes power Dec 8, 1980 John Lennon murdered Jan 20, 1981 Ronald Reagan becomes president Jun 14, 1982 Britain wins Falklands war Oct 25, 1983 US invasion of Grenada Jan 28, 1986 Christa McAuliffe becomes first civilian to ride in a space shuttle Aug 19, 1989 Berlin Wall comes down Dec 20, 1989 US invasion of Panama Aug 2, 1990 First US invasion of Iraq Nov 12, 1996 Sir Dr. Erik Freundlich, PhD, Esq. graces the world with his birth