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Jimmy Carter Elected President
He defeated General Ford in the votes and secured his presidency with 297 Electoral College votes, becoming the 39th president of the U.S. -
Star Wars Movie Premiere
The first Star Wars film premiered in theatres, and it was immediately famous. It soon became a cultural phenomenon and started the franchise. -
Three Mile Island Meltdown
The Three Mile Island Generating Station, Unit 2, had a partial nuclear meltdown, releasing radioactive gases. Thankfully, no one got hurt by it, although there were safety precautions. -
Mount. St. Helens Eruption
There were explosions and pyroclastic flows at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington. It caused many deaths. -
Iran Hostages Released
The 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis ended when 52 Americans were released from their hostage situation minutes after Ronald Reagan became president. -
Assassination Attempt on President Reagan
John Hinckley shot him to impress an actress named Jodie Foster. Thankfully, none of the shots were in lethal places, and he survived. -
Iran/ Contra Affair
During the Reagan administration, a country secretly sold arms to Iran and used the money to support Contra rebels in Nicaragua. -
Challenger Shuttle Explosion
7 astronauts went into the Challenger Shuttle, but it exploded 73 seconds after liftoff because the O-ring seals on one of the solid rocket boosters failed. Everyone on the shuttle died. -
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, sleep-deprived workers tested a reactor but didn't follow safety protocols, and it exploded, leading to radiation. -
George H.W. Bush Elected President
He was Vice President for two terms, but eventually won against Michael Dukakis and became President later. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
During the Cold War, President Reagan said, "Tear down this wall." East German border guards tore it down, allowing East Berlin and West Berlin to meet. That day signaled the end of the Cold War. -
Start of the Persian Gulf War
Iraq invaded Kuwait because it couldn't pay the money back that it borrowed for the Iraq War, and America invaded Iraq because it thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. -
Rodney King Decision & L.A. Riots
People were upset that the police officers who beat up Rodney King were pardoned, even though there was evidence against them. -
Original U.S.A. Olympic Basketball Dream Team
It was the first time an Olympic team had professional players from the National Basketball Association. -
Bill Clinton Elected President
He defeated George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot. He was the first Baby Boomer president and the youngest president to serve 2 terms. -
Launch of Google
Larry Page and Sergey Brin started making it at Stanford University in 1995 and called it BackRub, but later changed it to Google. -
Bill Clinton Impeached by the House of Representatives
He was impeached for lying to a jury and trying to prevent justice. But he was found innocent in court. -
World Trade Center/Pentagon/Shanksville, PA Attacks
The World Trade Center, or the Twin Towers, was attacked by a plane and fell. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon due to being hijacked. The same thing happened to United Airlines Flight 93: they got hijacked and crashed into Shanksville.