70's, 80's, 90's, 00's Timeline

  • Star Wars Movie Premier

    The first Star Wars hit theaters. Sci-fi movies were never the same.
  • Three Mile Island Meltdown

    A nuclear plant accident scared the country. No one died, but people panicked.
  • Mount. St. Helens Eruption

    A volcano in Washington blew its top. Massive destruction.
  • Iran Hostages Released

    After 444 days, U.S. hostages in Iran were finally freed. Huge sigh of relief.
  • Assassination Attempt on President Reagan

    A guy tried to impress an actress by shooting Reagan. Reagan lived.
  • Iran/ Contra Affair

    The U.S. was secretly doing shady stuff with weapons and rebels. Big scandal.
  • Challenger Shuttle Explosion

    A space shuttle exploded just after launch. It shocked the whole country.
  • Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

    A Soviet nuclear plant exploded. Fallout lasted decades.
  • George H.W. Bush Elected President

    Reagan’s right-hand man won. He led during some major world changes.
  • Fall of the Berlin Wall

    The wall dividing East and West Germany came down. Cold War basically ended.
  • Start of the Persian Gulf War

    U.S. launched airstrikes on Iraq to stop their invasion of Kuwait. Fast and fierce
  • Rodney King Decision & L.A. Riots

    Cops got off after beating a Black man on video. L.A. erupted in protests and violence.
  • Original U.S.A. Olympic Basketball Dream Team

    The first Olympic team with NBA stars. They dominated and made basketball global.
  • Bill Clinton Elected President

    A young, smooth-talking guy won the presidency. Focused on the economy.
  • Jimmy Carter Elected President

    A peanut farmer beat the odds and became president after a major political scandal.
  • Launch of Google

    Two students started a search engine. Now it runs the internet.
  • World Trade Center/Pentagon/Shanksville, PA Attacks

    Terrorists crashed planes into U.S. landmarks. It changed everything overnight.
  • Bill Clinton Impeached by the House of Representatives

    He lied about an affair. Got impeached, but kept his job.