-
President Carter announces that U.S. athletes will not attend Summer Olympics in Moscow unless Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan
-
U.S. mission to rescue hostages in Iran is aborted after a helicopter and cargo plane collide at the staging site in a remote part of Iran
8 servicemen are killed -
U.S. hostages held in Iran are released after 444 days in captivity
-
Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th president
-
President Reagan is shot in the chest by John Hinckley, Jr
-
Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as the first woman Supreme Court justice
-
U.S. invades Caribbean island of Grenada after a coup by Marxist faction in the government
-
Reagan's second inauguration
-
Iran-Contra scandal breaks when White House is forced to reveal secret arms-for-hostages deals.
-
Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members
It is the worst accident in the history of the U.S. space program -
U.S. bombs military bases in Libya in effort to deter terrorist strikes on American targets
-
In a speech in Berlin, President Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”
-
Reagan and Gorbachev sign INF treaty, the first arms-control agreement to reduce the superpowers' nuclear weapons.
-
George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st president
-
Oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, spilling more than 10 million gallons of oil
The largest oil spill in U.S. history -
President Bush signs legislation to provide for federal bailout of nearly 800 insolvent savings and loan institutions
-
U.S. forces invade Panama in an attempt to capture Gen. Manuel Noriega, who previously had been indicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges
-
Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, leading to the Persian Gulf War
-
Period: to
U.S. leads international coalition in military operation (code named “Desert Storm”) to drive Iraqis out of Kuwait
-
Iraq accepts terms of UN ceasefire, marking an end of the war
-
U.S. and Soviet Union sign START I treaty, agreeing to further reduce strategic nuclear arms
-
President Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin meet at Camp David and formally declare an end to the cold war
-
The acquittal of four white police officers charged in the 1991 beating of black motorist Rodney King in Los Angeles sets off several days of rioting
Led to more than 50 deaths, thousands of injuries and arrests, and $1 billion in property damage -
President Bush authorizes sending U.S. troops to Somalia as part of UN relief effort
-
President Bush grants pardons to six officials convicted or indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal
Led some to suspect a cover-up -
Bill Clinton is inaugurated as the 42nd president
1 -
Bomb explodes in basement garage of World Trade Center
Killed 6, injured 1,000, and caused more than $500 million in damage -
After 51-day standoff with federal agents, Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tex., burns to the ground, killing 80 cult members
-
President Clinton orders missile attack against Iraq in retaliation for alleged plot to assassinate former President Bush
-
Period: to
Eighteen U.S. soldiers are killed in ambush by Somali militiamen in Mogadishu
-
President Clinton signs North American Free Trade Agreement into law
-
Paula Jones files a federal lawsuit against President Clinton for sexual harassment
-
President Clinton sends first 8,000 of 20,000 U.S. troops to Bosnia for 12-month peacekeeping mission
-
Bombing of federal office building in Oklahoma City kills 168 people.
-
U.S. establishes full diplomatic relations with Vietnam
-
Period: to
Budget standoff between President Clinton and Congress
Results in partial shutdown of U.S. government -
Clinton's second inauguration
-
President Clinton denies having had a sexual relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky
-
President Clinton releases 1999 federal budget plan
The first balanced budget since 1969 -
In televised address, President Clinton admits having had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky
-
U.S. launches missile attacks on targets in Sudan and Afghanistan
-
U.S. and Britain launch air strikes against weapons sites in Iraq
-
House of Representatives votes to impeach President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice
-
Senate acquits Clinton of impeachment charges
-
Period: to
NATO wages air campaign against Yugoslavia over killing and deportation of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo
-
School shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado
Leaves 14 students (including the 2 shooters) and 1 teacher dead and 23 others wounded -
U.S. and China sign historic trade agreement
-
According to the census, the nation's population numbers more than 280 million
-
More than a month after the presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court rules against a manual recount of ballots in certain Florida counties
The decision provokes enormous controversy, with critics maintaining that the court has in effect determined the outcome of the election -
Bush formally accepts the presidency, having won a slim majority in the electoral college but not a majority of the popular vote
-
George W. Bush is inaugurated as the 43rd president
-
9/11 Attacks
Two hijacked jetliners ram twin towers of World Trade Center in the worst terrorist attack against the U.S.; a third hijacked plane flies into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in rural Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people die in the attacks -
U.S. and Britain launch air attacks against targets in Afghanistan
After Taliban government fails to hand over Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks -
Following air campaign and ground assault by Afghani opposition troops, the Taliban regime topples
The hunt for bin Laden and other members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization continues.