Present day

1990 -present day

  • Hubble Space Telescope

    Hubble Space Telescope
    launch of the Hubble Space Telescope during Space Shuttle Discovery mission.
  • World Wide Web (Www)

    World Wide Web (Www)
    The World Wide Web is debuted as an internet service.
  • Los Angeles Riots

    Los Angeles Riots
    Los Angeles riots result in over 50 deaths and $1 billion in damage, spurred by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King.
  • Hurricane Andrew

    Hurricane Andrew
    Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, kills 65 people and causes $26 billion in damage to Florida and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast.
  • Tornado outbreak in Oklahome

    Tornado outbreak in Oklahome
    A violent tornado outbreak in Oklahoma kills 50 people and becomes the first to produce a tornado that causes $1 billion in damage.
    May 3-6, 1999
  • Terrorist Attack

    Terrorist Attack
    September 11th terrorist attacks; 19 terrorists hijack four planes and crash them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring over 6,000. All civilian air traffic is suspended for 3 days, the first time an unplanned suspension had occurred in U.S.
  • Invasion of Afghanistan

    Invasion of Afghanistan
    The United States launches the invasion of Afghanistan marking the start of Operation Enduring Freedom.
  • Global Financial Crisis

    Global Financial Crisis
    Global financial crisis in September 2008 begins as the stock market crashes. In response, U.S. President George W. Bush signs the revised Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law to create a 700 billion dollar Treasury fund to purchase failing bank assets.
  • The Deepwater Horizon

    The Deepwater Horizon
    The Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes, sending millions of gallons of oil into the sea. The spill becomes the worst oil spill in American history.
  • Sandy Hook

    Sandy Hook
    A gunman kills 26, including 20 children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.