1955-1975

Eisenhower's Advisors

Feb 12, 1955

President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the first U.S. advisors to South Vietnam.

Rosa Parks

Dec 1, 1955

Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to surrender her seat on a bus to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama.

MLK Strikes Back

Dec 5, 1955

The Montgomery Improvement Association is formed in Montgomery, Alabama by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black ministers to coordinate the Montgomery bus boycott by Black people.

The Methodists Take A Stand

May 2, 1956

The Methodist Church in the U.S. decides, at its General Conference, to grant women full ordained clergy status. It also calls for an end to racial segregation in the denomination.

"One Nation, Under God..."

Jun 14, 1956

President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the phrase "under God" to be added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Eisenhower Begins His Second Term

Jan 20, 1957

Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon are inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States and Vice President of the United States

Kennedy Announces He Will Run

Jan 2, 1960

U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Election Live

Sep 26, 1960

The two leading U.S. presidential candidates, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, participate in the first televised presidential election debate.

JFK Wins The 1960 Presidential Election

Nov 8, 1960

In a close race, Democratic U. S. Senator John F. Kennedy is elected over Republican U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon, becoming (at 43) the youngest man elected president.

JFK Becomes The 35th President

Jan 20, 1961

John F. Kennedy is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States, and Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

JFK Gives A Live Speech

Jan 25, 1961

In Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential news conference. In it, he announces that the Soviet Union has freed the 2 surviving crewmen of a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance plane shot down by Soviet flyers over the Barents Sea July 1, 1960

The Bay of Pigs

Apr 17, 1962

The Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba starts

"We choose to go to the Moon

Sep 12, 1962

President John F. Kennedy, at a speech at Rice University featuring the words "We choose to go to the Moon", reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.

The Beginning Of A Crisis

Oct 14, 1962

Cuban Missile Crisis begins: a U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then begins the next day between the United States and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war.

Crisis Averted

Oct 28, 1962

Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he has ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. In a secret deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev, Kennedy agrees to the withdrawal of U.S. missiles from Turkey. The fact that this deal is not made public makes it look like the Soviets have backed down.

JFK Assassinated

Nov 22, 1963

John F. Kennedy assassination: In Dallas, President John F. Kennedy is shot to death, Texas Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the 36th President.

JFk's Funeral

Nov 25, 1963

President Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Schools around the nation do not have class on that day, and millions around the world watch the funeral on live television.

The Mustang Is Introduced

Apr 17, 1964

In the United States, the Ford Mustang is officially unveiled to the public.

MLK Wins A Nobel Piece Prize

Oct 10, 1964

Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

Lyndon B. Johnson Starts His Full Term

Jan 20, 1965

President Lyndon B. Johnson begins his full term. Hubert Humphrey is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

Gandhi Visits Washington

Mar 28, 1966

The Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, visits Washington, D.C.

Richard Nixon Becomes The 37th President

Jan 20, 1969

Richard Nixon is sworn in as the 37th President of the United States, and Spiro Agnew is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

To The Moon And Back

Jul 16, 1969

Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins) lifts off from Cape Kennedy toward the first human landing on the Moon.

The Landing

Jul 20, 1969

At 3:17 pm ET (20:17 UTC) Apollo 11's Lunar Module Eagle lands on the Moon's surface. At 10:56 pm ET (02:56 UTC July 21), an estimated 650 million people worldwide watch in awe as Neil Armstrong takes the first historic steps by a human on the surface.

The Return

Jul 24, 1969

Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins return safely to Earth after the first landing on the Moon.

Nixon Declares His Doctrine

Jul 25, 1969

U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This starts the "Vietnamization" of the war.

Apollo 13 Takes Flight

Apr 11, 1970

Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert) is launched toward the Moon.

Out of Oxygen

Apr 13, 1970

An oxygen tank in the Apollo 13 spacecraft explodes, forcing the crew to abort the mission and return in 4 days.

The Miracle

Apr 17, 1970

Apollo program: Apollo 13 splashes down safely in the Pacific.

Nixon Begins His Second Term

Jan 20, 1973

President Nixon and Vice President Agnew are sworn in for their second term.

Agnew Resigns

Oct 10, 1973

Spiro T. Agnew resigns as Vice President of the United States.

Watergate vs Nixon

Jul 24, 1974

The Supreme Court rules 8-0 with one abstention that President Richard Nixon cannot withhold subpoenaed White House tapes, and orders him to surrender them to the Watergate special prosecutor.

Nixon Out

Sep 9, 1974

Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, an action taken to avoid being removed by impeachment and conviction in response to his role in the Watergate scandal. Vice President Gerald R. Ford becomes the 38th President upon Nixon's resignation, taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House.

Ford Sworn In

Oct 17, 1974

President Gerald Ford voluntarily appears before Congress to give sworn testimony—the only time a sitting president has done so—about the pardon of Richard Nixon.[4]

Rockefeller Is The New VP

Dec 19, 1974

United States House of Representatives confirms Rockefeller as Vice President of the United States. He is sworn that evening.

Near Miss

Sep 22, 1975

U.S. President Gerald Ford survives a second assassination attempt, this time by Sara Jane Moore in San Francisco.