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Operation Eagle Claw
The attempt to rescue the American hostages held captive in the U.S. Embassy in Iran fails with eight Americans killed and five wounded in Operation Eagle Claw when a mid-air collision occurs. -
Ronald Reagan is Inaugerated
The inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United States occurs in Washington, D.C.. -
The First American Female Astronaut
Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman to travel into space. -
The Challenger Explodes
The Challenger Space Shuttle explodes after liftoff, killing seven people, including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire school teacher. -
Hand Across America
Five million people make a human chain across the United States in the Hands Across America campaign to fight hunger and homelessness. -
The End of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall, after thirty-eight years of restricting traffic between the East and West German sides of the city, begins to crumble as German citizens travel freely between it for the first time. One day later, the influx of crowds around and onto the wall begin to dismantle it, ending its existence. -
The Hubble Telescope
The Hubble Telescope is placed into orbit by the United States Space Shuttle Discovery. -
The World Trade Center is Bombed by a Van
The World Trade Center is bombed by Islamic terrorists when a van parked below the North Tower of the structure explodes. -
NAFTA is Put into Effect
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect, creating a free trade zone between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. -
Bill Clinton prevent a Financial Crisis in Mexico
U.S. President Bill Clinton invokes emergency powers to extend a $20 billion loan to Mexico to avert a financial disaster that had begun on December 19, 1994. -
The Monica Lewinski Scandal
The Monica Lewinsky scandal begins when U.S. President Bill Clinton denies his relationship with the White House intern and this lie lead to his impeachment. -
9/11
Islamic fundamentalist terrorists hijack four U.S. airliners and crash them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City. The attack of two planes levels the World Trade Center and the crash of one plane inflicts serious damage to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing nearly 3,000 deaths. -
9/11 Continued
The fourth plane is heroically crashed by passengers into a Shanksville, Pennsylvania cornfield when they learn of the plot, preventing the destruction of another structure in Washington, D.C., supposed to be the White House or the Capitol building. The plot is attributed to the Al-Qaeda organization led by Osama Bin Laden.