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Berlin Blackouts
As Berlin was being bombed, blackouts occured. Nightly, all lights and fires in Berlin, Germany would be put out. The balckouts caused many accidents. -
Slinky Toy
In 1945, the Slinky, a springy toy that has, well, a a sort of spring in it's movements, was put on the store shelves on Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.. Richard James came up with the idea of a slinky in 1943 when he dropped a spring on the ground and noticed how it moved. -
The AK-47 (It only gave me the year).
The AK-47 was created by a Russian named Mikhail Kalashnikov. Another name for this assult rifle is Avtomat Kalashnikova. The design of the gun started in 1945. But wasn't serviced until 1949. It has been in sevice from 1949 until the present. -
F.D.R.
On April 12th, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died. He was said to have complained about a sudden ache in the back of his head when he suddenly fell unconcious to the floor. Later, he recieved an injection to his heart of adrenaline, but it did not succeed in reviving him. -
Soviet-Japanese War
On August 9th, 1945, the Soviet Union declared war upon the Japanese. It ended on September 2nd, 1945. The Soviet Union sent 1 million Soviet soldiers into Manchuria, which is located in northeastern China. -
Iron Curtain
There is no specific date the Iron Curtain was established, but sources say it was built around 1945 and stayed up until 1991. The Iron Curtain was a sort of dividing barrier set up by the Soviet Union in an effort to try and isolate itself and other European communist countries from the western non-communist ones. Located on the east side of the Curtain, were countries influenced by the U.S.S.R. On either sid eof the Curtain, states appearently set up their own economic and military alliances. -
Containment
Containment was a policy created by the United States to stall the spread of communism from country to country, The Soviet Union was riling up the U.S. by seeming to plan to make a big communist influence upon much of eastern Europe, Vietnam, Africa, China, and Korea.The United States then made the policy Containment which basically meant that the U,S. would refuse to recognize the Soviet Union. -
Marshall Plan
A.k.a European Recovery Program. America lent money to Europe (about $13 billion) in order to help with the recovery of Europe after ther devastation caused by World War II. It lasted from 1948 to 1950. A student at Harvard University announced this plan and it was later put into action. -
Truman Plan
Harry Truman, American President, signs a document that states a certain program being created would help Europe get "back on their feet". They helped them recover and rebuild from the damage caused by World War II. The main idea was to help them avoid the temptation of turning into communist countries. -
Apartheid
Apartheid in Africa, was a racial segregation system. It was enforced by the National Party through legislation. In Africa, apartheid means "the status of being apart". -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift involved the Soviets blocking railway roads of the Western Allies'. They also blocked a canal pasage to Berlin that was under the control of the Allies. Their plan was to make America allow them to send supplies to Germany. -
Soviet Union Detonates First Atomic Bomb
The U.S.S.R. detonated its very first atomic bomb in Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. It was exploded on August 29th, 1949. Its code name was "First Lightning". The Soviets constructed building and placed animals around the testing site. Upon explosion, all buildings were destroyed and all animals burned to ashes. -
Korean War
Nearly 75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed a line across Korea called the 38th Parallel. Americans joined the war to help South Koreans. Americans tried to find a stand-still/agreement with North Koreans. The war finally ended in July 1953. -
Playboy
In December of 1953, the very first Playboy magazine was published by Hugh Hefner. The very first edition was only 44 pages long, and it had 54,175 copies that were bought for only 50 cents each. There was also no specific date on the cover because Hugh was not sure whether there would be more issues of the magazine or not. Marilyn Monroe was on the first edition's cover as "Sweetheart of the Month". -
Domino Theory
The Domino Theory was a theory by the U.S. that stated once one country, such as China, was influenced heavily by communism, many other countries would then be influenced as well and fall under communist rule also, hence a "domino-like effect". President Eisenhower verbalized the theory at a conferance on April 7, 1954. -
Disneyland
In July of 1955, Disneyland, a theme park created involving Disney characters and located in Anaheim, California, was opened. They allowed a 2,000+ visitors that were specifically invited. The day after, Disneyland was open to everyone in the public. The theme park cost 17$ million to build. -
James Dean
On Semptember 30th, 1955, James Dean, a famous actor, was driving a new car in Salinas, California. Suddenly, he crashed into a Ford, head-on. He was only 24 years old at his time-of-death. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War occured in, of course, Vietnam from November 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975. The war involved North Vietnam attacking South Vietnam and their ally, The U.S. President Nixon then ordered the U.S. soldiers to come back to the U.S. in 1973. In 1975, the fall of non-communist Saigon ended the Vietnam War. -
Saint Petersburg Metro
The Staint Petersburg Metro is a Russian subway that has been open since November 15, 1955. A subway is an underground railway system and this one happens to currently be one of the deepest metros int he world. -
Rosa Parks
On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to give up her seat on a bus. She was 42 years old, and she absolutely refused to give up her seat to a white man. She was arrested for under the resistance of racial segregation. Her refusal was just the beginning of the Cival Rights Movement. -
Soviet Union Tests Inercontinental Ballistic Missile
In 1957, the Soviet Union tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile. The test was successful. It was claimed to be capable of traveling to any part of the world. The testing caused conflict between Russia and the United States about missile weaponry. -
The Sputnik
On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the Sputnik. It was launched into space and it was the size of a beach ball. It was the worlds first satellite and it weighed 83 kg. -
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward was an attempt at trying to modernise China's economy. Mao, the leader of this plan, hoped to have an economy that rvialed America's by 1988. The attempt was made in 1958. -
Bay of Pigs
Fidel Castro, Cuban nationalist, planned to overthrow General Fulgencio Batista, the nation's "president". For two years, Americans struggled to pull Fidel from power when the C.I.A suddenly sent American-trained Cubans to invade Cuba and take down the enemy. But the plan failed and the invaders were defeated in less than 24 hours. They were severely outnumbered. -
OPEC
OPEC stands for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The location of its creation is a Baghdad Conference. It was created by Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Nine more goverments ended up joining as well, and those are: Libya, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Angola, and Gabon.OPEC was an oil cartel that was meant to correspond policies of oil-producing countries. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington consisted of 200,00+ Americans. They all congregated in Washington D.C. to march for jobs and freedom. The event was created to make point of the unfair social and ethnic distinctions that the country was making at the time. -
J.F.K. Assassination
President J.F.K. was assassinated on Nove 22, 1962. He as killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. He was riding in a convertable through a motorcade when suddenly, a gunfire was heard, and the next thing people knew, J.F.K. was bleeding severely from his head. -
Tet Offensive
Tet Offensive was a military campaign. It began on Janurary 30th, 1968. It was initiated by two different sides. It was the Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam and the U.S., along with allies. It was a period of surprise attacks against South Vietnam when no attacks were supposed to be taking place. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. died from a gunshot wound. It went through his cheek, through his neck, and then stopped in his shoulder. He was standing on a balcony at the time of the shooting. He was taken to a hospital but he was announced dead soon after. -
Woodstock
Woodstock was a music festival that went from August 15, to August 18 of 1969 in White Lake, New York. 32 musicians/bands performed outside for 500,000 people. The festival was founded by mulitple people such as: Michael Lang, John P. Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld. The genre usually was rock or folk. -
Watergate
A robbery that involved the robbers trying to 'wiretap phones' and steal secret documents. The criminals were redirected to being apart of President Nixon's reelection campaign. Nixon tried to cover up the scandal, but in the end, he resigned from office and was never prosecuted. -
1972 Olympics
During the 1972 Olympics, a disaster occured. The Olympics took place in Munich at the time, and on September 5th throught 6th, mass murder took place. The murderers targeted 11 members on the Israeli Olympic team and eventually took them hostage. There were 17 deaths in total. -
Palestinian Terrorist
Palestinian Terrorists invaded the 1972 Olympics. They captured 9 members of the Israeli Olympic team, killed 2 of them, and held the rest hostage. Their demands were that 234 prisoners be released from Israeli prisons and two more from German prisons by 9a.m. What followed was a gunfight that left 5 of the terrorists dead and the nine members left dead as well. -
Mobile Phone
Created by John F. Mitchell and Dr Martin Cooper of Motorola, the first ever mobile phone came into existence in 1973. It weighted about 2.2 pounds. The first one to be allowed publicly available, was made so in 1983. -
Jonestown Massacre
The Jonestown massacre was a massacre that was the cause of a religious cult created by Jim Jones, a so-called "religious leader". He establed the People's Temple, and them moved it down to a piece of land in Guyanna, and called it Jonestown. Once the law enforcement got involved, Jones laced 918 cups of Kool-aid with cyanide, telling them to drink it or die by gunshot. He ended up killing himself as well before he could be arrested. 918 people died. -
Camp David Accord
A document signed between Israel and Egypt meant for a U.S. presidential retreat camp. It was named Camp David. Egyptian leader Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli leader, the Prime Minister, Menachem Begin signed the peace document. President Jimmy Carter also signed it as a witness. -
Iran Hostage Situation
A group of Iranian terrorists took people hostages. They burst into the U.S. Embassy located in Tehran. They abducted 60+ peoples as hostages. -
Ayatallah Khomeini
His name was Ruhollah Khomeini. He was the first surpeme leader of Iran. He was a religious leader and politician. He was also the leader of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. -
Mount St. Helen's Erupts
On May 18th, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. It is located in Southern Washington, about 50mi northwest of Portland, Oregon. After being dormant and active for hundreds of years per period of time, it finally erupted in the biggest way possible. It was labeled as one of the worst volcanic eruptions ever to exist. -
Perestroika & Glasnost
Mikhail S. Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party, He created a program called Perestroika & Glasnost. Perestroika means restructuring and Glasnost means openness. Changes in the economy were very subtle. Soon after, it brought down all the communist governments across Eastern Europe, and ended the Cold War. -
MIR
The Soviets launched a space space station. Into space, of course. It was called MIR, and it was launched on Feburary 20th, 1986. It functioned from 1986 to 2001 -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre was a cause of students protesting in Bejing, China for democracy. It occured in June 1989. The Chinese government took action by sending soldiers and tanks to the square to kill the protestors. -
NAFTA
NAFTA stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. all signed this agreement. Two additions to NAFTA are North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
On April 19th, 1995, disaster occured. A man by the name of Timothy McVeigh drove his truck into a buliding, to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It contained a home-made bomb. The bomb exploded and left 168 people dead and the building destroyed. -
Columbine Shooting
On April 20th, 1999, two students of Columbine Highschool in Littleton, Coloradeo went "insane". They burst into the school with guns and went on a killing spree. The criminals' names were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. They planned to kill many of their peers by exploding a bomb, but it did not detonate. They only managed to kill 15 people in all, 13 by murder and the other two were themselves. They both committed suicide.
