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Forrest Gump Timeline
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Forrest Meets Elvis
In the movie, Elvis stays at Gump's house and Forrest teaches Elvis a dance where he shakes his hips. Later Forrest see Elvis on TV doing his dance. In real life, Elvis recorded a record at local studio in Memphis. It took off and created some hit songs. He ended up landing a spot on NBC's Milton Berle Show; while on the show he started to dance seductively to the song "Hound Dog". -
Desegregation of the University of Alabama
In the movie, Forrest is attending the University of Alabama while African-American students enroll. One of the black girls drops her notebook and Forrest runs out to pick it up for her. In real life, Vivian Malone and James Hood enroll at UA, but Alabama Governor George Wallace tries to block the door to keep the students from entering the school. -
Forrest Meets JFK/JFK Assassination
In the movie Forrest gets to meet the president because he is an All-American football player. Forrest the mentions how a little while after he gets to meet him, JFK gets assassinated. In real life, JFK gets shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in a limousine during a parade in Dallas, Texas. -
Vietnam War
In the movie, after he graduates college, a recruiter talks to Forrest and convinces him to join the army. He gets sent to Vietnam where he meets Lt. Dan and Bubba. Forrest ends up carrying his whole company out of battle. He saves Lt. Dan's life but Bubba dies. In real life, U.S. forces are sent to Vietnam to stop the North Vietnamese from taking over the country and making it Communist. By the end of the war 50,000 of US troops were killed and over 300,000 were wounded. -
Vietnam Protest
In the movie, Forrest is in DC receiving his medal of honor and gets pulled into a crowd of war protesters. He ends up getting pulled on stage and giving a speech, but the microphone isn't working. Then Jenny comes out of the crowd to meet Forrest. In real life, many anti-war protest are held, mainly by the counter-culture (Hippies). Many Americans were unhappy about the US involvement in Vietnam and didn't understand why the US was even in the war. -
Forrest meets the Black Pathers
In the movie, Forrest follows Jenny to a Black Panther meeting. While there Forrest gets in a fight with Jenny's boyfriend and get kicked out. In real life, the Black Panther Party was an African-American civil rights group. In addition to racism, they were also in opposition to the Vietnam War. -
Watergate Scandle
In the movie, Forrest see people braking into the Watergate Hotel with flashlights and calls the police. In real life, Republicans were caught breaking into the Democratic Offices at the Watergate Hotel. -
Hurricane Carmen
In the movie, Forrest and Lt. Dan are out on their shrimp boat when the storm hits. Dan yells at the storm challenging God. By the end of the storm, they are the only shrimp boat that survived and their business takes off. In real life, Hurricane Carmen formed in the Caribbean Sea and started to move northwards. It came up through the Gulf of Mexico and hit the coast as a category 4 Hurricane. It caused a lot of damage on the Gulf Coast. -
Forrest Invest in Apple
In the movie, Lt. Dan invest their BubbaGump Shrimp money in Apple computers for himself and Forrest. This makes them both very rich. In real life, Apple Computers is founded by Steve Jobs. He invents the first personal computer the Apple II. The company becomes very successful and leads the computer industry throughout the 1970s and 80s. -
AIDS
In the movie, Jenny gets sick with what is thought to be AIDS. She then marries Forrest and lives with him and their son until she dies. In real life, HIV/AIDS is an infection that started in West-Africa. The US CDC first recognized AIDS in 1981. It is believed to be tied to IV drug use and unprotected sex.