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Computer Floppy Disks Introduced
Released by IBM sometime in 1970, computer floppy disk became commercially available in the U.S. to revolutionize the storage of information by making it portable so that all you have to do is download material and upload it elsewhere, a simplicity like the modern flash drive. -
The Beatles Break-Up
On this day, Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving the Beatles and would tour with them no more because of disputes over a new manager after the death of their original manager. This led to mass hysteria and uproar from the American public, who were lodged in Beatlemania before the break-up. -
Apollo 13 Suffers Major Setback
Apollo 13 mission was going to be the third space shuttle to take humans to moon, and was launched April 11, 1970. Half way to the moon, and three days after the launch, an explosion occurred in one of the oxygen tanks, destroying it and damaging another. The explosion also ruined the interior of the service module. The mission had to be aborted, and the crew of three barely escaped death, returning home on April 17th, about one week from the time they left Earth. -
18 Year Olds Given Right to Vote
This proposistion was first publicly known when President Eisenhower showed his support in his 1954 State of Union Speech. About 15 years later, on June 22nd, 1970, President Nixon signed a law which required the voting age to be 18 in all federal, state and local elections. Some states challenged the law by taking the case to Supreme Court. The justices declared the law unconstituational,and to only apply in federal elections, but this taken back a year later when the law became an amendment. -
US Soldiers Charged of My Lai Massarce
When American soldiers arrived at My Lai, they found civilians in the town, saying they were not enemies. American soldiers killed each civilian, and burned the village. No Vietcong soldier was present, and the commander of the mission, Lt. William Calley Jr., gave the directions of massacring the people. 25 soldiers, including Lt. Calley, were charged with murder. Only Lt. Calley was convicted, and at first got a life sentence, but was changed to 3 and a half years of house arrest. -
Citations for 1970
Apollo: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html
Beatles:http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html
Floppy Disks: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html
18 Vote: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html
My Lai: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/my_lai_massacre.htm -
Sotuh Vietnamese and US invade Laos
The objective of invading Laos was to damage to the Ho Chi Minh Trail that helped the North Vietnamese enter South Vietnam. In January of 1971, the attacks began. Bombs were dropped and planes fired at the Ho Chi Minh trail and anyone who was on it. The North Vietnamese were prepared to fight back , though. They destroyed over 1138 South Vietnamese ground vehicles, 556 aircrafts ,505 choppers, and it was claimed over 200 thousand South Vietnamese soldiers were either captured or killed. -
Cigarette Ads Banned from T.V
President Richard Nixon signed a legislation banning the advertisement of any form of tobacco on television, radio, or anything of that sort. These were banned because the risks of smoking were just coming out after U.S.A’s surgeon general made an announcement on the drug , showing how tobacco can give you diseases such as cancer or heart diseases. -
Pentagon Papers Released
After major information leaks concerning the state of the Vietnam War and relations, Daniel Ellsburg discussed the studies with the New York Times, who then began to publish parts of it on this day. Many were outraged to find that presidential administrations had been lying to them and covering-up operations. -
Disney World Opens
Friday, October 1st, 1971, Walt Disney, a man of immense imagination and creativity, opened up his second amusement park, naming it Disney World. The park was based off of the characters and their stories from the mind of Walt Disney, and the grand opening ceremony was considered small. Approximately 10,000 people came for the celebration, and all went well throughout the park. -
The Microprocessor is Introduced
Intel introduced the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 on this day. hough many devices required different chips, this was one of the absolute smallest that could be used in many things, like your car stereo system, cell phone, coffee maker, and many other things we use today. Without it, we would still have over-sized pieces of technology -
China Joins the U.N.
China, in addition to having a Soviet power in the Security Council, also established itself a greater international reputaion, as one of the only major countries near it were the U.S.S.R., Japan, and the French Indochina. This would cause problems in communication, and having a U.N. seat could help set a new direction -
1971 Citations
Laos: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1971/2/3/u-s-south-vietnam-invade-laos/
Cigarrettes:http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/nc2b_10.htm
Pentagon: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/pentagon-papers-released-how-they-did-it/2011/06/13/AGpOnMTH_blog.html
China:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations
Disney:http://www.thisdayindisneyhistory.com/DisneyWorldGrandOpening.html
Microprocessor:http://www.krsaborio.net/microprocessors/research/1985 -
George Wallace Shot During Campaigning
George Wallace, former governor of Alabama and extreme segregationist, was campaigning for the second time for the occupation as president in Laurel, Maryland, when an assassination by Arthur Bremer was attempted. Bremer shot Wallace five times in the chest, piercing his spinal column, but not killing him. It was later found out that the spine injury would leave him paralyzed from the waist down. After the terrifying incident occured, Wallace announced he was dropping out of the race. -
Supreme Court Rules Against Death Penalty`
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down state and federal capital punishment deeming it was “cruel and unusual”, which is therefore unconstitutional because it violated the Eighth Amendment and the due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Terrorists Attack 1972 Olympic Games
Part of the Olympic Israel team had just gotten to bed when 8 men with masks over their heads broke into their apartment and took nine hostages. The armed men were part of a Palestinian group called Black September and the ordered that 234 Palestinians jailed in Israel were to be released and taken to Egypt, and if this was not meant, all of the hostages would be killed. The ordeal lasted about the whole day, and all nine hostages were dead and 5 out of the 8 terrorists were killed. -
M*A*S*H TV Show Premiers
The series was developed by Larry Gelbart and premiered in the US on September 17, 1972, and ended February 28, 1983, with the finale becoming the most-watched television episode in U.S. television history with 105.97 million viewers. The series covered a three-year military conflict, spanned 251 episodes, and lasted eleven seasons. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on real-life tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. -
1972 Citations
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Abortion Legalized in U.S.
On January 22nd, 1973, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion. Even now, the ruling is still controversial with people debating over certain limits or banning it outright. The moral rights of freezing this fetus and debate over where life begins usually sets the stage for argumentation, and there many on both sides of the argument. -
U.S. Pulls Out of Vietnam
The day of the final U.S. troops withdrawing from the Vietnam Warzone, with Nixon saying, “The day we have all worked and prayed for has finally come.” Though it signaled peace, it would not be the end of hostilities in Vietnam until Saigon fell to the Communists. -
Paul Getty III Kidnapped
Paul Getty III, grandson of incredibly rich oil tycoon Paul Getty I, was kidnapped on July 10th and was held for ransom until November because his frugal grandfather refused to pay the ransom of $17 million until a letter with his grandson’s ear was received with another ransom of $3.2 million dollars. Even then, the grandfather did not pay it to the fullest and poor Paul Getty III was traumatized and had a stressful later life. -
War Power Act
The War Power Act, or more known as War Power Resolution, is an federal law that says the president must notify Congress within forty-eight hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days without an authorization of the use of military force or a declaration of war. The President can only order military forces to attack without consent of the Congress if there is an national emergency that inflicts any US property. -
1973 Citations
Abortion:http://famousdaily.com/history/robert-altmans-mash-premieres.html
Vietnam:http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/ritas-site/united-states-pulls-out-vietnam
WarPowerAct:http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/ritas-site/united-states-pulls-out-vietnam
Getty:http://www.newser.com/story/111495/j-paul-getty-iii-dead-at-54 -
Girls Allowed to Play Little League Baseball
Due to a ruling from the previous year by Sylvia Pressler, girls with athletic dreams were finally allowed into the Little League sports of baseball and softball. Pressler said, “The institution of Little League is as American as the hotdog and apple pie. There is no reason why that part of Americana should be withheld from girls." This does make logical sense. This also could have signaled more involvement for women, or girls, in many other things. -
Patty Hearst Kidnapped
19-year-old Patty Hearst was kidnapped while in her apartment by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The group thought she could be used as a swap for jailed members of the SLA,but this negotation failed. Instead they demanded about $400 million were to be donated to all needy Californians.After the SLA orders were not meant, they recruited Patty as one of their own. She devoloped feelings for her captors,and willingly joined the group,robbing a bank with them, but was arrested. -
Nixon Resigns as President
After the Watergate scandal became public, where President Richard Nixon sent five White House officials to bug the Democratic "headquarters" by planting recording devices into phones and putting cameras everywhere so he may see what the Democrats are doing as they neared the presidential campaign, where Nixon was going for his second term, many people advised Nixon to resign instead of waiting to be impeached. He took said advise. -
President Ford Pardons Nixon
President Ford pardoned former President Nixon on Sept. 18th, 1974 as issued by Proclamation 4311. This was met by a dip in his approval ratings, from 71% to 49%. Perhaps the American people, already unhappy with cover-ups and this scandal, did not like the idea of pardoning Nixon -
Freedom of Information Act Passed over Ford's Veto
On Nov. 20, 1974, as well as the day following, the House of Representatives and the Senate majority voted to override Ford’s veto to the Freedom of Information Act’s 1974 Amendments. This occurred after the Watergate Scandal, and opposition to the bill were mainly concerned about leaks. It secured the public’s right for access to information. -
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Microsoft Founded
Bill gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. Even today, not many companies stand up to the immense wealth and technology Gates and Microsoft have to use and spread -
Sony Introduces the Walkman
Sony’s Walkman was a music player first and foremost but it had no record function. This had been invented before, but the 1979 version was the most up to date version. Basically, what the Walkman was a portable caste player called the Walkman. It revolutionzied the way people could listen to music since you could carry it and listen through light headphones. -
Jimmy Hoffa Disappears
Hoffa went to the Red Fox Restaurant outside of Detroit to allegedly meet three men, a Detroit labor leader, an important local mobster, and a powerful figure in New Jersey Teamster politics. After waiting, Hoffa was seen getting into a car in the restaurant parking lot with several other men. Investigators are pretty sure that he never got out of the car alive and was pronounced legally dead 7 years after his disappearance. -
Second Assassination Attempt on President Ford
17 days after first attempt on President Gerald Ford's life,by Lynette Fromme,which was failed due to mis-placement of bullets in gun chamber,another attempt was committed. Ford was leaving a hotel in San Fransico, California, when Sarah Jane Moore came up to him with a gun pointing at him Luckily, by-stander Oliver Sipple instictviely grabbed Moore's arm, making the shot bullet go in the wrong direction. Moore was arrested and sent to jail, where both woman are still are today. -
Fransico Franco dies
Franco, dictator of Spain during and after Wold War II, Spanish general.leader of Nationilist military rebellion in the Spanish Civil War, and totalitarian head of state of Spain, died after fallign into a coma and having to be put on life support. He already said his heir, Juan Carlos de Borbón, was to replace him when he died. Franco had kept Spain neutral hroughout both World Wars, and was popular in the US just becasue he was anti-communist. -
Nadia Comaneci Given Seven Perfect 10s
Comaneci earned a total of seven perfect ten scores at those Olympic Games. She won three gold medals for the all-around competition, uneven bars, and balance beam. She also won a silver medal for the team competition and a bronze medal for the floor exercise. Comaneci became the first Romanian to win the all-around title and she was also the youngest all-around champion at 14 years old. -
Red Dye #2 Banned
Red Dye Amaranth, Red Dye #2 is a dark red to purple azo dye once used as a food dye and to color cosmetics, but since 1976 it has been banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it is a suspected carcinogen. It usually comes as a trisodium salt. Scientists said that it was known to cause cancer. -
Mao Tse-Tung Dies
Mao Tse-tung died of a heart attack on September 9, 1976 in Beijing, China. Some sources state that he died of Parkinson disease. Mao was 82 when he died. Tiananmen Square is the home of his mausoleum. This led to a power struggle that ultimately led to reforms in the policies of china that we see today. -
West Point admits women
A law that allowed female individuals to join that part of the military, and provides same academic and other relevant standards required for appointment, training, graduation, and commissioning that males get. -
Legionnaire’s disease strikes 182, kills 29
Form of pneumonia caused by the bacillus Legionella pneumophila. The name of the disease derives from the 1976 state convention of the American Legion, a U.S. military veterans’ organization, at a Philadelphia hotel where 182 Legionnaires contracted the disease, 29 of them fatally. The largest known outbreak of Legionnaire disease, confirmed in more than 300 people, occurred in Murcia, Spain, in 2001. -
Star War Released
American film franchise created by George Lucas, which was based on a "galaxy far,far away" that had many technology advances such as ligthsabers (basically swords made of a laser like material, that could cut through many things,esecially humans). The film immediatly caused a worldwide phenomenon and made two sequels, and years later three prequels. The series is the third top grossing film ever, behind the Harry Potter and James Bond series. -
First Black Miss Universe
Janelle Commissiong, representing Trinidad and Tobago, had become the first black Miss Universe sometime near July 16th, a truly historic moment for the world and black rights. She went on to be an advocate for black rights and peace, a truly inspirational way of giving after her crowning. -
Neutron Bomb Funding Begins
President Carter allowed funding, reluctantly though, for the neutron bomb which would show technological and military superiority over the U.S.S.S.R during the Cold War. The destructive power of such a bomb could destroy human life while keeping buildings and technology undamaged, a truly deadly weapon. -
Elvis Found Dead
Elvis Presley, King of Rock and Roll in 1970's, was found dead in his house in Memphis's upstaires bathroom by girlfriend Ginger Alden. She immediatly called his private doctor, Dr.Nick, in an attempt that he may revive Presley, bu the attempts were futile. After a three hour auotopsy, his death was casued by coronary arrhythmia (an irregular beating of the heart resulting from myocardial infarction). Many fans and followers grieved his death and many came to pay their respects in Memphis. -
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1978
Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith, "for the discovery of restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics", were awrded the prize. They made breakthroughs in modern genetics, as well as discovering an enzyme responsible for blocking invading viruses, a defensive mechanism that doctors could reference -
First Test Tube Baby Born
Louise Joy Brown gained attention when she was born on July 25th as the world’s very first test-tube baby. The event was an incredible breakthrough in medical science, but many were concerned about the possible side effects or negative effects that could occur just for being outside the womb. However, Louise was born healthy and had no apparent illnesses, causing this method to be commonplace for infertile couples. -
Love Canal Federal Disaster
President Carter declared that the 15 acre neighborhood of the Love Canal was a federal disaster and emergency, as it was built on top of a toxic chemical landfill with over 21 tons of chemical waste that led to birth defects, a high miscarriage rate, and deformities that would affect the rest of the afflicted one’s life. -
Jonestown Massacre
The Jonestown “People’s Temple” cult committed a mass suicide of over 900 people on November 18th, willingly followed by the those under James Warren Jones after his guards had killed Congressman Leo Ryan and 4 cult members wishing to leave. It was incredibly disturbing that they gave their lives willingly just because their cult would not continue to function since survivors of the shooting escaped. -
Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
What caused this was trouble within the cooling system in the plant. The lack of heating caused a core meltdown. Some radioactive gas was released a couple of days after the accident, but not enough to cause any dose above background levels to local residents. Three Mile Island is located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the USA. -
Jerry Falwell begins Moral Majority
The Moral Majority's stated mission was to "reverse the politicization of immorality in our society." It stressed Christian-based political lobbying. By the 1980s, Falwell's group claimed 6.5 million members, raising $69 million for conservative politicians and helping to elect Ronald Reagan president in 1980. -
Greensboro Massacre
When the Klan/Nazis arrived, they pulled up to the curb in a group, alighted from the cars, calmly went to the trunks, removed their weapons, and began firing into the crowd of demonstrators. No police intervention was forthcoming. Only five people died in this tragedy. Survivors converted to the Communists Workers Party, which had resulted in acquittals during the Klan members’ murder trial. -
Iran Takes American Hostages
52 American hostages held at the US embassy in Tehran for more than 14 months have arrived in West Germany on their way home to the United States. A group of radical Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran. They were all released after 444 days, twenty minutes after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated
