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Ted Turner Launches CNN
Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States. -
The Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt
Only about a month into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was fired upon coming out of his hotel. The shooter, John Hinkley was clinically insane and was trying to get the attention of actress Jodie Foster. Reagan sruvived three shots. -
AIDS is Discovered
AIDS was first clinically observed in 1981 in the United States. The initial cases were a cluster of injecting drug users and homosexual men with no known cause of impaired immunity who showed very compromised immune systems. -
Reagan Announces Defense Plan Called Star Wars
In a nationally televised address on national security, President Ronald Reagan proposed the development of the technology to intercept enemy nuclear missiles. The plan, called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or S.D.I., was dubbed “Star Wars” by its critics. -
New Coke Hits the Market
New Coke was the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in by The Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula. New Coke was simply known as "the new taste of Coca-Cola". -
The Explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger
Seconds after take-off, space shuttle Challenger exploded from the inside out. All seven passengers were killed. -
Iran-Contra Scandal Unfolds
The Iran–Contra affair was a political scandal during the Reagan administration, in which officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, in hopes that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages. -
Black Monday
Black Monday was a day when the Stock Market experienced a huge crash in a very short time. The Dow Jones dropped 508 points at its most. -
Pan Am Flight 103 Is Bombed
A flight headed for New York from London unexpectedly exploded over Lockerbie, Ireland. Identified as a terrorist plot, two Lybian terrorists were blamed for planning of the attempted attack and were found gulity of murder of over 200 people. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In November of 1989, with some influence from new-found ally Ronald Reagan, Mikhal Gorbachev makes the decision to tear down the Berlin wall. This lead to the re-unification of Germany, and eventually to the downfall of the Soviet Union.
