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Assassination attempt on Pres. Reagan
President Ronald Reagan was shot outside of the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. after addressing the Building and Construction workers of the AFL-CIO. His attempted assassin was John Hinckley, Jr. The idea behind Hinckley's assassination attempt came from the movie Taxi Driver in 1976. After President Reagan was shot and nearly killed, presidential security increased along with a heightened national security. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1980s/qt/Reagan-Assassination-Attempt.htm -
Personal Computers (PC) Introduced by IBM
IBM introduced their personal computers with a price tag of $1,565. Not only were these new PCs less expensive (than the previous ones that went for $9 million) but they were faster, able to hook up to the TV, play games, and harbor more words. This was the start of new technological advancements made available to the public. https://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc25/pc25_birth.html -
1st Woman Appointed to Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated and later sworn in by President Ronald Reagan. She was the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court and served for over two decades. O'Connor had a huge impact on life today showing that women were just as able to do the same things as men. She proved that women are strong and smart and powerful too. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1980s/qt/firstwomansupreme.htm -
World Trade Center Bombed
On February 26, 1983 at 12:18 pm, a group of terrorists set off a van full of explosives under the World Trade Center in New York. The group of men did this act in an attempt to avenge the Palestinian people. This was one of many acts of terroism from the Middle East. The impact this event has on our life today is the stereotyping we do against Middle Easterners as well as the increased security around government buildings and in airports as well. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/february/ -
Sally Ride First American Woman in Space
Sally Ride was the first American woman to go into outer space in 1983. She paved way for Americans to follow, not only in the space program, but also by being a role model for young adults and especially young girls. Her impact on young girls was very important because she showed them that you can also have careers in math, science, and the engineering fields. http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/Sally-Ride.htm -
Huge Poison Gas Leak in Bhopal, India
In the early morning hours a huge tank of MIC or toxic methyl isocyanate began to heat up and the toxic gas began to escape and spread out over the city of Bhopal killing over 20,000 people and another 120,000 still live with the effects today. I think this tragic event caused gas and other companies working with toxic chemicals to be more cautious and careful in their safety procedures http://history1900s.about.com/od/1980s/qt/bhopal.htm -
World Wide Web Invented
In March of 1989 Sir Tim Berners-Lee had a vision for what the Web is today. But it wasn't until the end of 1990 that the first web page was put out into the open internet, and until 1991 that people were invited to join this new web community outside of CERN http://webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-the-web/ -
Wi-Fi invented
Wi-Fi was first invented for cashier systems but makes so many things possible today. It allows you to access the internet and world wide web on your computer, phones, tablets without having to be plugged into anything. Many restaurants, stores, and other businesses have free wi-fi, allowing people to work, play games, and do pretty much anything and everything you would need the internet for. http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventions/a/WiFi.htm -
Text Messaging Invented
The first text message was sent in 1992 by Neil Papworth from a PC. The message said "Merry Christmas". Mobile phones didn't have full keyboards until 1997. Text messaging changed the way of communication. It made it easier, faster, and more efficient. It allows people to communicate even when they are unable to talk on the phone. http://mashable.com/2012/09/21/text-messaging-history/ -
Columbine Shooting
In Littleton, Colorado, two highschool boys, Dylan and Eric went through their school killing and injuring several people. They killed 15 total people including themselves, and they injured 21. They used guns, knives, and bombs to commit this horrible act of violence. After this tragic event, schools began to pay more attention to who entered the schools and pay more attention to who was already inside the schools (students and teachers). http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a
