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Jimmy Carter Elected President
Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, took office following his narrow victory over Republican incumbent president Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. His presidency ended following his landslide defeat in the 1980 presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan, after one term in office. -
Three Mile Island Meltdown
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, near Harrisburg, the capital city of Pennsylvania, United States -
Star Wars Movie Premier
The Imperial Forces -- under orders from cruel Darth Vader (David Prowse) -- hold Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) hostage, in their efforts to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford), captain of the Millennium Falcon, -
Assassination Attempt on President Reagan
On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. -
Mount. St. Helens Eruption
On March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eruption took place on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am -
Iran Hostages Released
An agreement having been made, the hostages were released on January 20, 1981, minutes after the inauguration of the new U.S. president, Ronald Reagan -
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster began on 26 April 1986 with the explosion of the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR, close to the border with the Byelorussian SSR, in the Soviet Union -
Iran/ Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair, often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (German: Mauerfall, pronounced [ˈmaʊ̯ɐˌfal]) on November 9, 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions were overwhelmed and discarded. -
Start of the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. -
Original U.S.A. Olympic Basketball Dream Team
Their names were already legend before the players were tapped for the roster of the 1992 US men's Olympic basketball team: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen and of course, Michael Jordan, the brightest star in a constellation of supergiants -
Bill Clinton Elected President
Clinton won the 1992 presidential election (370 electoral votes) against Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush (168 electoral votes) and billionaire populist Ross Perot (zero electoral votes), who ran as an independent on a platform that focused on domestic issues -
Rodney King Decision & L.A. Riots
The Rodney King riots exploded a few hours after the verdicts as both African Americans and Latinos vented their rage at the police, white pedestrians and motorists, and Korean American businesspeople as well as their shops and stores. Four policemen acquitted of assaulting and beating Rodney King Killing of Latasha Harlins Racial tension in Los Angeles -
George H.W. Bush Elected President
Bush, a Republican from Texas and the incumbent vice president for two terms under President Ronald Reagan, took office following his victory over Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. -
Challenger Shuttle Explosion
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated 46,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39 a.m. EST -
Launch of Google
Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by American computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. Together, they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of its stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. -
Bill Clinton Impeached by the House of Representatives
Clinton was the second U.S. president to face a Senate impeachment trial, after Andrew Johnson. An impeachment inquiry was opened into Clinton on October 8, 1998. He was formally impeached by the House on two charges (perjury and obstruction of justice) on December 19, 1998 -
World Trade Center/Pentagon/Shanksville, PA Attacks 9/11
Terrorist crashed planes into the twin towers and a helicopter into the pentagon