Top 100 20th-Century News Stories

  • Fly Time

    Fly Time
    On this date, two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, invented the first powered airplane.
  • Earthquake

    Earthquake
    In San Francisco in 1906 a world shattering earthquake rattled the land. After breaking pipelines and gas lines, many fires spreak for days.
  • The Unsinkable Ship

    The Unsinkable Ship
    After the Titanic was built, it was dubbed the name "The Unsinkable Ship." It proved this title wrong when it struck an iceberg and officially sunk around 2:20 am.
  • Panama Canal

    Panama Canal
    Trade has always been a major part of history. By connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through the building of the Panama Canal, goods became more easily transported.
  • Flu

    Flu
    In 1918 a flu epidemic outbroke across the world. In the end it had killed more than 20 million worldwide.
  • Mohandas Gandhi

    Mohandas Gandhi
    After many years of British rule, Indians began to question the ruling. Mohandas Gandhi began leading nonviolent protests that revolutionized the world.
  • Women Win the Vote

    Women Win the Vote
    Starting in 1848, women wanted the right to have a say in the government through voting. After nearly a century, women gained that right.
  • Start of World War II

    Start of World War II
    On September 1, 1939, German Nazis invaded Poland. This sparked the beginning of World War II.
  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor
    Japan bombs Pearl Harbor entering America into World War II.
  • Veteran Help

    Veteran Help
    After years of service, military men would return home to very little. The GI Bill of Rights was established to help veterans readjust.
  • Atomic Bomb Dropped

    Atomic Bomb Dropped
    The United States dropped an automic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later.
  • Tech

    Tech
    During the tech age many new inventions came about. In 1946 the first computer, "ENIAC", was invented.
  • Baseball

    Baseball
    Through years of segregation, sports were just as seperated as everything else. Jackie Robinson, black baseball player, broke this barrier by joining a previously all white professional team, the Dodgers.
  • Marshall Plan

    Marshall Plan
    After years of fighting World War II, much of Europe was destroyed. The United States vowed to help Europe rebuild with money from the Marshall Plan.
  • DNA

    DNA
    In 1953 the official structure of DNA was discovered.
  • Great Leap Forward

    Great Leap Forward
    China has always been behind other countries in development. The Great Leap Forward was put in place to modernize China killing around 20 million in a famine.
  • Jet Life

    Jet Life
    After the development of the first airplane, the need for improvement and speed has been around. By developing the jet plane, we are able to travel faster. This was made possible in 1961.
  • Space

    Space
    The race to reach space was between Russia and the United States. Ten years after Russia broke through the atmosphere, American Alan Shepard followed Russia into space.
  • Berlin Wall

    Berlin Wall
    With the communists thinking they were above democrats, they built a wall dividing East and West Berlin, Many years later the wall came down.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    Cuban Missile Crisis
    After World War II, the world powers were still very tense. Communist powers wanted control and felt threatened with enemy missiles being place close to Russian borders. The Russians began placing missiles in Cuba and threatened World War III.
  • "I Have a Dream"

    "I Have a Dream"
    After years of protest, many blacks followed Reverand Martin Luther King Jr. through Washinton D.C. Upon his arrival, he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speach.
  • JFK Assassinated

    JFK Assassinated
    While riding through Dealey Plaza in Dallas as part of a motorcade, President Kennedy was murdered. His murderer was Lee Harvey Oswald who was killed a few days later.
  • The Beatles

    The Beatles
    Performing on the Ed Sullivan show, the British rock group The Beatles quickly became popular in America.
  • Smoking

    Smoking
    After years of smoking, someone actually decided it was bad for you. U.S. Surgeon General realized the dangers of smoking and warned the public.
  • Rights

    Rights
    After years of fighting for equal rights, minority groups gain their right to vote. Now their voice is heard among the rest.
  • Moon Walk

    Moon Walk
    American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldren followed soon after.
  • AIDS

    AIDS
    In 1981 the first article about AIDS was published by MIchael Gottlieb. Since it has been discovered, AIDS has affected many people around the world.
  • Challenger

    Challenger
    Space Shuttle Challenger exploded killing everyone on board. This included school teacher Christa McAuffile.
  • Period: to

    20th-Century

  • Dolly

    Dolly
    In Scotland, scientists were able to successfully lone a sheep an named it Dolly. Since then, scientists have been able to use that research to save human lives.
  • Presidental Sex Scandal

    Presidental Sex Scandal
    President William Jefferson Clinton was embarassed by the sex scandal. Word came out about his mistress and was immediately looked down upon.