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Period: to
80's era
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Pac-Man is Released
Pac-Man is an arcade game devoloped by Namco, that became very popular worldwide quickly. It was the first video game of it's kind. A wide variety of Pac-Man merchandise was created to capitalize on its popularity. -
Ronald Reagan is elected
Ronald Wilson Reagan is elected fortieth president of the U.S., defeating Jimmy Carter. Reagan won the election with a landslide, recieving the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a nonincumbent presidential candidate. He served as president for 2 terms. -
John Lennon Assassination
John Lennon was an English musician well known for being one of the founders of The Beatles. He was shot by Mark David Chapman when he was entering the building where he lived in New York City with his wife Yoko Ono. -
Reagan assassination attempt
Only 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan, he and 3 others were shot by John Hinckley,Jr. President Reagan suffered internal bleeding and a punctured lung, but medical attention helped him recover quickly. -
First woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. She officially took her seat on the court on September 25, 1981. She served on the U.S. Supreme Court for over two decades. She retired in January 2006. -
The Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana
Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles of Wales were married at St. Paul's Cathedral of England. The wedding was televised worldwide and viewed by more than 750 million people. It was billed as the fairytale wedding of the century. -
ET the Extra Terrestrial released
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial is an American science fiction blockbuster film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Melissa Mathison. It opened and stayed at number one at the box office for six weeks. It proved to be the highest grossing film of all time, until that record was broken 10 years later. -
The Vietnam War Memorial Opened in Washington, D.C.
The Vietnam War Memorial honors U.S. service members who fought in the Vietnam War. The wall was designed by American Architect Maya Lin. Visitor's began leaving sentimental items at the memorial at its opening. -
1983 United States Embassy Bombing
The United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon was attacked by a suicide bomber, driving a van with explosives in it. Sixty-three people died. This was the first, and deadliest, anti-U.S. attack of its kind by Islamists extremists. -
First American Woman in Space
Sally Kristin Rider was an astronaut and a physicist. She was the first woman to enter lower earth orbit. She was also the youngest American astronaut to be launched into space. She was 32 years old at the time. She died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61. -
Indira Ghandi Assassinated
Indira Ghandi, Prime Minister of India, was shot and killed by her two bodyguards. She was the first female prime minister of India. She remains the second longest serving female prime minister of India as of 2012. She was assassinated in retaliation for ordering Operation Blue Star. -
80's fashion
Popular fashion trends in the eighties were, shoulder pads, mini skirts, leg warmers, big earrings, fingerless gloves, parachute pants, members only jackets, units, stretch stirrup pants, oversized tops, jelly shoes, and hairtyles the side pony tails, big,messy,curls, and the mullet. -
The Challenger Disaster
The space shuttle challenger exploded 73 seconds into its launch. The shuttle fell into the Atlantic Ocean and al 7 crew members died. The shuttle's O-ring seal failed on the right rocket booster. Many school children witnessed the explosion live as NASA placed a school teacher on board. In result, the shuttle program was suspended for 32 months. -
The Chernobyl Disaster
The Soviet nuclear powerplant at Chernobyl melted down. It was the worst nuclear disaster in history. The disastor resulted in a radioactive cloud. The cloud contaminated parts of Europe and the Soviet Union. Radioactive rain fell in Ireland. 800,000 experienced radiation exposure. Over 4,000 have died from the disaster. -
The Simpsons
The comedy cartoon show The Simpsons created by Matt Groening first appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show as a short sketch. After a 3 season run, it was devoloped into a prime-time half hour show which debuted on December 17, 1989. -
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Occurs
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill occured in Prince Wiiliam Sound, Alaska. The oil tanker spilled up to 750,000 barrels of crude oil into the ocean. It was the most devasting human cauesed enviromental disaster. It caused the death of hundreds of thousands of wildlife and sealife creatures. It was very damaging to U.S. waters and required massive clean-up. -
George H. W. Bush is elected
George H. W. bush became the forty-first president of the U.S. in the 1988 presidential election. Ronald Reagan went out of office after serving two terms of being president. No candidate since the election managed to equal or surpass Bush's popular vote percentage. -
Berlin Wall Falls
The Berlin Wall that separated East and West Germany, finally came down. People were allowed to travel back and forth to each region without fear of harm. People celebrated as the world watched this historical event unfold on television -
Gulf War Begins
Iraq attacked Kuwait. President Saddam Hussein of Iraq had many claims against Kuwait, but the most important claim was that Kuwait was actually part of Iraq. The U.N security council passed a resolution demanding Iraqi withdrawal. The U.S. sent troops to Saudi Arabia to defend it against the expected attack from Iraq. President Bush put together an international coalition that massed in Saudi Arabia to force Iraq out of Kuwait. -
U.S. Massive Nuclear Cutback
President George H W Bush anounced that all U.S tactical nuclear weapons would be eliminated from Europe. He also announced that the U.S. Strategic Command would stand down from the 24 hour alert status they had maintained since the beginning of The Cold War -
U.S.S.R. Comes To Formal End
Represantatives of 11 former Soviet Republics met in Alma Ata and signed the founding "Declaration of independent states"- a loose confederation of the former Republics. Four days later, Gorbachev anounced his resignation and the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
