Current History Mrs. Bland Gifted Project

Harry Truman

Apr 12, 1948

Harry Truman became president after Franklin D. Roosevelt dies of a blinding headache. He also authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was also elected in his final term in 1948.

Doris Day

Feb 24, 1949

Doris Day enters the spotlight with famous movies such as " My Dream Is Yours" and " It's a Great Feeling" and with songs such as " It's Magic"

Johnnie Ray

Mar 18, 1949

Johnnie Ray signs his first recording contract with Okeh Records, although it wouldn't be another two years before he becomes famous again.

South Pacific

Apr 7, 1949

South Pacific, a prize-winning musical, opens on Broadway on April 7

Red China

May 11, 1949

The Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People's Republic of China.

Walter Winchell

Aug 16, 1949

Walter Winchell, an aggressive radio and newspaper journalist, is credited for creating the gossip column

Joe DiMaggio

Oct 9, 1949

Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees go to five World Series in the 1940s, winning four of them.

Joe McCarthy

Feb 13, 1950

Joe McCarthy, the U.S. Senator, gains national attention and begins his anti-Communism crusade with his Lincoln Day speech.

Studebaker

Mar 13, 1950

Studebaker, a popular car company, begins its financial downfall.

Television

Mar 13, 1950

Television is becoming widespread throughout Europe and North America.

Marilyn Monroe

May 23, 1950

Marilyn Monroe soars in popularity with five new movies, including "The Asphalt Jungle" and "All About Eve".

North Korea, South Korea

Jun 25, 1950

North Korea and South Korea declare war after Northern forces stream south on June 25.

Richard Nixon

Dec 1, 1950

Richard Nixon is first elected to the United States Senate.

Sugar Ray

Mar 13, 1951

Sugar Ray Robinson, a champion boxer, defeats Jake LaMotta in the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre"

Panmunjom

Mar 13, 1951

Panmunjom, the border village in Korea, is the location of truce talks between the parties of the Korean War.

The Catcher in the Rye

Mar 13, 1951

The Catcher in the Rye, a controversial novel by J. D. Salinger, is published.

The King and I

Mar 29, 1951

The King and I, the musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, opens on Broadway on March 29.

Rosenbergs

Jun 19, 1951

The Rosenbergs, Ethel and Julius, were convicted on June 19 for espionage.

Brando

Sep 18, 1951

Marlon Brando is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire".

H-Bombs

Dec 31, 1951

The United States is in the middle of developing the hydrogen bomb as a nuclear weapon; it would be first tested in late 1952.

England's Got a New Queen

Feb 6, 1952

Queen Elizabeth II succeeds to the throne upon the death of her father, George VI, and is crowned the next year.

Eisenhower

Mar 13, 1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower is first elected as President of the United States, winning by a landslide margin of 442 to 89 electoral votes.

Vaccine

Mar 13, 1952

The vaccine for polio is privately tested by Jonas Salk.

Peyton Place

Mar 13, 1952

Peyton Place, the best-selling novel by Grace Metalious, is published. Though mild compared to today's standards, it shocked the reserved values of the 1950s.

Liberace

Jun 17, 1952

Liberace has a popular 1950s television show for his musical entertainment.

Marciano

Sep 23, 1952

Rocky Marciano defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world heavyweight boxing champion.

Santayana Goodbye

Sep 26, 1952

George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, dies on September 26.

Joseph Stalin

Mar 5, 1953

Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, dies on March 5

Prokofiev

Mar 5, 1953

Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, dies on March 5, the same day as Stalin.

Malenkov

Mar 6, 1953

Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Stalin for six months following his death. Malenkov had presided over Stalin's purges, but would be spared a similar fate by his successor Nikita Khrushchev.

Nasser

Mar 13, 1953

Gamal Abdel Nasser acts as the true power behind the new Egyptian nation as Muhammad Naguib's minister of the interior.

Communist Bloc

Mar 13, 1953

Communist bloc: The uprising of 1953 in East Germany is crushed by the Volkspolizei and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.

Campanella

Oct 18, 1953

Roy Campanella, an African-American baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, receives the National League's Most Valuable Player award for the second time.

Rockefeller

Mar 13, 1954

Winthrop Rockefeller and his wife Barbara are involved in a highly publicized divorce, culminating in 1954 with a record-breaking $5.5 million settlement.

Roy Cohn

Mar 13, 1954

Roy Cohn resigns as Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel and enters private practice with the fall of McCarthy.

Juan Peron

Mar 13, 1954

Juan Perón spends his last full year as President of Argentina before a September 1955 coup.

Peter Pan

Mar 13, 1954

Peter Pan: A year after Walt Disney Animation Studios released an animated adaption of the play by J. M. Barrie, the 1954 stage musical of the same name starring Mary Martin is broadcast on NBC live and in color.

Toscanini

Apr 4, 1954

Arturo Toscanini is at the height of his fame as a conductor, performing regularly with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on national radio.

Dien Bien Phu falls

May 7, 1954

Dien Bien Phu falls. A French/Vietnamese camp falls to Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap, signaling the end of French Indochina and leading to the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam as separate states.

Dacron

May 8, 1954

Dacron is an early artificial fiber made from the same plastic as polyester.

"Rock Around the Clock"

May 20, 1954

"Rock Around the Clock" is a hit single released by Bill Haley & His Comets in May, spurring worldwide interest in rock and roll music.

Einstein

Apr 18, 1955

Albert Einstein dies on April 18 at the age of 76.

Disneyland

Jul 17, 1955

Disneyland opens on July 17, 1955 as Walt Disney's first theme park.

James Dean

Sep 30, 1955

James Dean achieves success with East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, gets nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and dies in a car accident on September 30 at the age of 24.

Brooklyn's Got a Winning Team

Oct 4, 1955

The Brooklyn Dodgers win their first and only World Series before their move to Los Angeles.

Elvis Presley

Nov 21, 1955

Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career.

Davy Crockett

Dec 14, 1955

Davy Crockett is a Disney television miniseries about the legendary frontiersman of the same name. The show was a huge hit with young boys and inspired a short-lived "coonskin cap" craze.

Khrushchev

Feb 25, 1956

Nikita Khrushchev makes his famous Secret Speech denouncing Stalin's "Cult of personality" on February 25.

Budapest

Mar 13, 1956

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and site of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Alabama

Mar 13, 1956

Alabama is the site of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which ultimately led to the removal of the last race laws in the USA. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr figure prominently.

Princess Grace

Apr 18, 1956

Princess Grace Kelly releases her last film, High Society, and marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Bardot

Oct 21, 1956

Brigitte Bardot appears in her first mainstream film "And God Created Woman" and establishes an international reputation as a French "sex kitten".

Trouble in the Suez

Oct 29, 1956

The Suez Crisis boils as Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal on October 29.

Pasternak

Mar 13, 1957

Boris Pasternak, the Russian author, publishes his novel Doctor Zhivago.

Mickey Mantle

Mar 13, 1957

Mickey Mantle is in the middle of his career as a famous New York Yankees outfielder and American League All-Star for the sixth year in a row.

Kerouac

Mar 13, 1957

Jack Kerouac publishes his first novel in seven years, On the Road.

Chou En-Lai

Mar 13, 1957

Chou En-Lai, Premier of the People's Republic of China, survives an assassination attempt on the charter airliner Kashmir Princess.

Little Rock

Sep 1, 1957

Little Rock, Arkansas is the site of an anti-integration standoff, as Governor Orval Faubus stops the Little Rock Nine from attending Little Rock Central High School and President Eisenhower deploys the 101st Airborne Division to counteract him.

Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

Sputnik becomes the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, marking the start of the space race.

Bridge on the River Kwai

Dec 14, 1957

The Bridge on the River Kwai, an adaptation of a the 1954 novel, is released and receives seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Starkweather Homicide

Jan 29, 1958

Starkweather's murder spree, in which he kills eleven people between January 25 and 29 before being caught in a massive manhunt in Douglas, Wyoming, captures the attention of Americans.

Charles de Gaulle

Mar 13, 1958

Charles de Gaulle is elected first president of the French Fifth Republic following the Algerian Crisis.

California Baseball

Mar 13, 1958

California baseball begins as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California and become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, respectively. They are the first teams in Major League Baseball west of Kansas City.

Lebanon

Jul 15, 1958

Lebanon is engulfed in a political and religious crisis that eventually involves U.S. intervention.

Children of Thalidomide

Oct 1, 1958

Children of Thalidomide: Many pregnant women taking the drug Thalidomide had children born with congenital birth defects.

Buddy Holly

Feb 3, 1959

Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture. Joel prefaces the lyric with a Holly signature vocal hiccup: "Uh-huh, uh-huh."

Castro

Feb 16, 1959

Fidel Castro comes to power after a revolution in Cuba and visits the United States later that year on an unofficial twelve-day tour.

Mafia

Mar 13, 1959

The Mafia are the center of attention for the FBI and public attention builds to this organized crime society with a historically Italian-American origin.

Hula Hoops

Mar 13, 1959

Hula hoops reach 100 million in sales as the latest toy fad.

Space Monkey

May 28, 1959

Space Monkey: Aboard the flight Jupiter AM-18, Able and Miss Baker become the first two animals to be launched into space and returned to Earth alive.

Ben-Hur

Nov 18, 1959

Ben-Hur, a film adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ starring Charlton Heston, wins eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Edsel is a No-Go

Dec 31, 1959

Production of this car marque ends after only three years due to poor sales.

Payola

Mar 13, 1960

Payola, illegal payments for radio broadcasting of songs, was publicized due to Dick Clark's testimony before Congress and Alan Freed's public disgrace.

Syngman Rhee

Apr 26, 1960

Syngman Rhee was rescued by the CIA after being forced to resign as leader of South Korea for allegedly fixing an election and embezzling more than US $20 million.

U-2

May 1, 1960

An American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union, causing the U-2 Crisis of 1960.

Belgians in the Congo

Jun 30, 1960

Belgians in the Congo: The Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) was declared independent of Belgium on June 30, with Joseph Kasavubu as President and Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister.

Chubby Checker

Jul 13, 1960

Chubby Checker popularizes the dance "The Twist" with his cover of the song of the same name.

Psycho

Sep 8, 1960

An Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a pulp novel by Robert Bloch and adapted by Joseph Stefano, which becomes a landmark in graphic violence and cinema sensationalism. The screeching violins heard at this point in the song are a trademark of the film's soundtrack.

Kennedy

Nov 8, 1960

John F. Kennedy beats Richard Nixon in the November 8 general election.

Dylan

Mar 13, 1961

Bob Dylan is signed to Columbia Records after a New York Times review by critic Robert Shelton.

Eichmann

May 31, 1961

Adolf Eichmann, a "most wanted" Nazi war criminal, is traced to Argentina and captured by Mossad agents. He is covertly taken to Israel where he is put on trial for crimes against humanity during World War II, convicted in 1961, and hanged the following year, 1962.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Jun 1, 1961

Stranger in a Strange Land, written by Robert A. Heinlein, is a breakthrough best-seller with themes of sexual freedom and liberation.

Hemingway

Jul 2, 1961

Ernest Hemingway commits suicide on July 2 after a long battle with depression.

Berlin

Aug 13, 1961

Berlin is separated into West Berlin and East Berlin, and from the rest of East Germany, when the Berlin Wall is erected on August 13 to prevent citizens escaping to the West.

John Glenn

Feb 20, 1962

Flew the first American manned orbital mission termed "Friendship 7" on February 20.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Mar 13, 1962

The Bay of Pigs Invasion fails, an attempt by United States-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro.

Liston Beats Patterson

Sep 25, 1962

Liston beats Patterson: Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson fight for the world heavyweight championship on September 25, ending in a first-round knockout. This match marked the first time Patterson had ever been knocked out and one of only eight losses in his 20-year professional career.

Ole Miss

Sep 30, 1962

A riot was fought between Southern segregationist civilians and federal and state forces as a result of the forced enrollment of black student James Meredith at the University of Mississippi.

Beatlemania

Nov 2, 1962

The Beatles, a British rock group, gain Ringo Starr as drummer and Brian Epstein as manager, and join the EMI's Parlophone label. They soon become the world's most famous rock band, with the word "Beatlemania" adopted by the press for their fans' unprecedented enthusiasm. It also began the British Invasion in the United States.

Lawrence of Arabia

Dec 16, 1962

Lawrence of Arabia: The Academy Award-winning film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence starring Peter O'Toole premieres in America on December 16.

British Politician Sex

Mar 13, 1963

British politician sex: The British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, has a relationship with a showgirl, and then lies when questioned about it before the House of Commons. When the truth came out, it led to his own resignation and undermined the credibility of the Prime Minister.

Pope Paul

Jun 21, 1963

Cardinal Giovanni Montini is elected to the papacy and takes the papal name of Paul VI.

JFK Blown Away

Nov 22, 1963

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22 while riding in an open convertible through Dallas.

Malcolm X

Dec 4, 1963

Malcolm X makes his infamous statement "The chickens have come home to roost" about the Kennedy assassination, thus causing the Nation of Islam to censor him; about fifteen months later, he himself is assassinated while preparing to make a speech.

Ho Chi Minh

Mar 8, 1965

A Vietnamese Communist, who served as President of Vietnam from 1954–1969. March 2 Operation Rolling Thunder begins bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply line from North Vietnam to the Vietcong rebels in the south. On March 8, the first U.S. combat troops, 3,500 marines, land in South Vietnam.

Birth Control

Mar 13, 1965

In the early 1960s, oral contraceptives, popularly known as "the pill", first go on the market and are extremely popular. Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 challenged a Connecticut law prohibiting contraceptives. In 1968, Pope Paul VI released a papal encyclical titled Humanae vitae which reaffirmed Catholic teaching that artificial birth control was a sin.

Richard Nixon Back Again

Mar 13, 1968

Former Vice President Nixon is elected President in 1968.

Woodstock

Mar 13, 1969

Woodstock: Famous rock and roll festival of 1969 that came to be the epitome of the counterculture movement.

Moonshot

Jul 20, 1969

Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, successfully lands on the moon.

Punk Rock

Jan 1, 1975

Blondie and The Ramones form, with the Sex Pistols following in 1975, ushering in the punk era.

Watergate

Mar 13, 1975

Watergate: Political scandal that began when the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. was broken into. After the break-in, word began to spread that President Richard Nixon may have known about the break-in, and tried to cover it up. The scandal would ultimately result in the resignation of President Nixon; to date, this remains the only time that anyone has ever resigned the United States Presidency.

Reagan

Mar 13, 1976

Ronald Reagan, former Governor of California, begins his second Presidential campaign in 1976. He eventually wins in the next election in 1980.

Terror On the Airline

Mar 13, 1976

Terror on the air line: Numerous aircraft hijackings take place, specifically, the Palestinian hijack of Air France Flight 139 and the subsequent Operation Entebbe in Uganda.

Palastine

Mar 13, 1977

Palestine: The ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict escalates as Israelis establish settlements in the West Bank, previously held by Jordan for non-Jewish Palestinians after the 1948 war, beginning shortly after Begin's election.

Begin

Mar 13, 1977

Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel in 1977 and negotiates the Camp David Accords with Egypt's president in 1978.

Allatoyah's in Iran

Mar 13, 1979

Ayatollah's in Iran: During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the West-backed and secular Shah is overthrown as the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gains power after years in exile and creates an Islamic society

Russians in Afganistan

Dec 24, 1979

Russians in Afghanistan: Following their move into Afghanistan on December 24, Soviet forces fight a ten-year war up until 1989.

Wheel of Fortune

Mar 13, 1981

Wheel of Fortune: The hit television game show, on air since 1975, underwent several changes in the early 1980s, including the hiring of Pat Sajak as host in 1981, Vanna White as hostess in 1982, and a move to syndication in 1983, all three of which were still in effect by the time of the song (and remained through the 1990s, 2000s and much of the 2010s as well).

Heavy Metal Suicide

Mar 13, 1983

Heavy metal suicide: In the 1970s and 80s, heavy metal bands became popular. Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest in particular were sued for fans' suicides after listening to their songs "Suicide Solution" and "Better By You, Better Than Me", respectively.

Foreign Debts

Mar 13, 1983

Foreign debts: Persistent U.S. trade and budget deficits

Homeless Vets

Mar 13, 1983

Homeless vets: Veterans of the Vietnam War, including many disabled ex-military, are reported to be left homeless and impoverished.

AIDS

Mar 13, 1983

AIDS: A collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is first detected and recognized in the 1980s, and was on its way to becoming a pandemic.

Crack

Mar 13, 1983

Crack cocaine use surged in the mid-to-late 1980s.

Sally Ride

Jun 8, 1983

Sally Ride: On June 18, she became the first American woman in space by flying aboard Challenger on the STS-7 shuttle mission.

China's Under Martial Law

May 20, 1984

On May 20, China declares martial law, resulting in the use of military forces against protesting students to end the Tiananmen Square protests.

Bernie Goetz

Dec 22, 1984

Goetz shot four young men who he said were threatening him on a New York City subway. Goetz was charged with attempted murder but was acquitted of the charges, though convicted of carrying an unlicensed gun.

Hypodermics on the Shore

Mar 13, 1988

Hypodermics on the shore: Medical waste was found washed up on beaches in New Jersey after being illegally dumped at sea. Before this event, waste dumped in the oceans was an "out of sight, out of mind" affair. This has been cited as one of the crucial turning points in popular opinion on environmentalism.

Rock-and-Roller Cola Wars

Mar 13, 1989

Rock-and-roller cola wars: Soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi each run marketing campaigns using rock & roll and popular music stars to reach the teenage and young adult demographic.

Bill Clinton

Mar 16, 1992

U.S. presidential election, 1992 (Bill Clinton defeats President George H. W. Bush)

Los Angeles Riots

Mar 16, 1992

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.

NAFTA

Mar 16, 1994

North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect.

Lewinsky Scandal

Mar 16, 1999

President Clinton is accused of having a sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. This leads to the impeachment of Clinton later in the year by the U.S. House of Representatives. Clinton is acquitted of all impeachment charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in a 21-day Senate trial.

Columbine High School Shooting

Mar 16, 1999

Two teenage students murder 13 other students and teachers at Columbine High School. It sparked debates on gun control and bullying.

9/11 Attacks

Mar 16, 2001

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. history.

Atlantic Hurricanes

Mar 16, 2004

The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season produces four deadly and damaging hurricanes which impact Florida, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, which kill a combined 100 people in the U.S. and produce over $50 billion in damage

Facebook

Mar 16, 2004

The social networking website Facebook is launched.

Hurricane Katrina

Mar 16, 2005

Hurricane Katrina devastates the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastlines killing at least 1,836 people and causing $81 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Weeks later, Hurricane Rita causes $10 billion damage along the Louisiana and Texas coastlines. In October, Hurricane Wilma kills 35 and causes $20 billion in damage in Florida.

Virginia Tech Massacre

Mar 16, 2007

A South Korean student shoots and kills 32 other students and professors in the Virginia Tech massacre before killing himself. It stands as the worst mass-shooting in U.S. history until 2012 and spurs a series of debates on gun control and journalism ethics.

Barack Obama

Mar 16, 2009

Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. He is also the first African-American to hold the office.

Osama Bin Laden Killed

Mar 16, 2011

Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11 attacks, is killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan by soldiers from the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group

Sandy Hook School Shooting

Mar 16, 2012

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

Boston Marathon

Mar 16, 2013

Terrorists attack the Boston Marathon by detonating two bombs at the finishing line of the race, killing three and injuring 283 runners and spectators. Suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev then led Boston police on a high-speed chase, killing one officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police and Dzhokhar was detained the day after.

Pulse Nightclub Shooting

Jun 12, 2016

Omar Mateen kills 49 people and injures 53 at the Pulse gay nightclub, in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Donald Trump

Nov 8, 2016

Donald Trump elected 45th President of the United States.