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The First Playboy Magazine
In December 1953, Hugh Hefner (27 years old) published the very first Playboy magazine. The first edition of Playboy was 44-pages long and didn't have a date on its cover because Hefner wasn't sure there would be a second edition. It sold 54,175 copies of Playboy magazine, each 50 cents each. The first edition sold so well because Marilyn Monroe was the "Sweetheart of the Month". -
Emmett Till Death
The Emmett Till murder played a key role in the civil rights movement. Emmett's mother had an open-casket funeral so that everyone could "see what they have done to my boy." Thousands came to see Emmett's badly beaten body by the white men, and this caused a huge impact on the media.
http://www.biography.com/people/emmett-till-507515 -
Dr Seuss published cat in the hat
Upon publication in 1957, The Cat in the Hat was an instant success and made Dr. Seuss a world famous children's book author. He said The Cat in the Hat is a revolt against authority, but it’s fixed by the fact that the Cat cleans up everything at the end. As for the fish, Dr. Seuss said he used Cotton Mather, the famous Puritan minister during the Salem witch trials, as a source of inspiration.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/02/tech/dr-seuss-as-the-ultimate-model-for-innovation/index.html -
Castro becomes dictator of Cuba
By July 1959, Castro had effectively taken over as leader of Cuba, which he remained for the next four decades. During 1959 & 1960, Castro made radical changes in Cuba, like nationalizing industry, collectivizing agriculture, and seizing American-owned businesses and farms. Also, Castro alienated the United States and established strong ties with the Soviet Union, transforming Cuba into a communist country. -
First televised presidential debate
In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first ever televised presidential debates in American history. The Kennedy-Nixon debates not only had a major impact on the election’s outcome, but created a new era in which molding a public image and taking advantage of media exposure became important ingredients of a successful political campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAoU_TQehRU -
Berlin wall built
The GDR government was under a lot of pressure from Moscow to "do something" about the flood of their citizens fleeing to the west. That flood of refugees, most of them the brightest and best educated of the country, was also seriously affecting the economy at all levels. So putting a stop to it, in a command economy like the Soviet style system the GDR employed.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall/videos/deconstructing-history-berlin-wall -
Birth control pill approved by FDA
Birth control was one of the greatest 20th century inventions and shaped many women's lives to be what it is now. Being able to get the pill before age 21 was found to be the most influential factor in enabling women already in college to stay in college. It’s so influential that the number of women who complete four or more years of college is six times what it was before birth control became legal. -
MLK assasinated
He was shot un warned, violence and controversy followed after his death. In outrage of the murder, many blacks took to the streets across the United States in a massive wave of riots. The FBI investigated the crime, but many believed them partially or fully responsible for the assassination. -
Woodstock Festival of 1969
Youthful individuals gathered peacefully at Woodstock 1969 creating the largest gathering of human beings in one place in history. Woodstock 1969 defined an entire generation and its effects on music and American culture can still be felt today. The crowd at Woodstock in 1969, which reached near a half a million people sent a message to the world that individuals could come together peacefully to celebrate peace and music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyx053CNMag -
First version of windows operating system is released
Despite positive responses to its early presentations and support from a number of hardware and software makers, Windows 1.0 was received poorly by critics. Critics felt Windows 1.0 did not meet their expectations. Despite these criticisms, Windows 1.0 was an important milestone for Microsoft, as it introduced the Microsoft Windows line, and in computer history in general -
Chernobyl Nulcear disaster
on April 26th, 1986, a reactor at the nuclear power plant near Chernobyl, Ukraine exploded, releasing more than a 100 times the radiation of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 31 people died shortly after the explosion and thousands more are expected to die from the long-term effects of radiation. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster dramatically changed the world's opinion about using nuclear reaction for power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojSIrED1xEk -
Iraq invades kuwait
conducted by Iraq against the neighboring state of Kuwait, which resulted in the 7 month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. This invasion and Iraq's refusal to withdraw from Kuwait by a deadline mandated by the UN, led to military intervention by a UN-authorized joining of forces led by the United States. This came to be known as the first Gulf War and resulted in the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
