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Refugee Act
An Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the procedures for the admission of refugees, to amend the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 to establish a more uniform basis for the provision of assistance to refugees, and for other purposes. -
St. Helen's Eruption
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helen's became the largest and most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history. By the end of its cycle of fire and fury, 57 people had died. -
John Lennon Dies
John Lennon, a member of the Beatles, was assassinated on December 8, 1980 Mark David Chapman killed him in New York City. -
Iran releases hostages
US citizens were held hostage for 444 days from Nov. 4 1979 - Jan. 20 1981 after the US embassy was taken over by Islamic students and militants. -
MTV
MTV was the first 24 hour cable TV station dedicated to music videos. The people that changed the songs were called VJ's -
Sandra Day O' Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Beirut barracks bombing
Marked the end of peacekeeping operations in Lebanon. -
Chrysler Unveils Mini-Vans
The Dodge Caravan and the Plymoth voager are released to the public as 1984 models. -
Nintendo
Gaming system released. It was one of the original gaming consoles. -
Challenger Crash
The space shuttle Challenger exploded during lift off, killing all on board including school teacher Christa McAuliffe. -
FOX
First major network to host nightly programming. FOX is still around today. -
Tax Reform Act
Simplified the tax code and broadened the tax base. It was referred to as "Reagan tax cuts". -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Agreement between US and USSR. Limits ground intermediate range nuclear weapons. -
Wrigley Field
They were the last MLB stadium to add lights for night games. -
Election
George H.W. Bush wins 426-111 taking 40 states. -
Flight 103 Bombing
Also known as the Lockerbie bombing. All 270 people on board the aircraft were killed. -
Simpson Debuts
One of the most successful animated cartoons in US history. -
Hubble Space
Launched during a Space Shuttle Discovery mission. The telescope allows us to see farther into space. -
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Persian Gulf War
This date is the start of the first U.S. led battle during the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm. This war would continue until 2003, at which point a second war, The Iraq War would begin. It appears that there was no official ending to the Persian Gulf War, in part because the U.S. never declared war to begin with. -
27th Amendment Ratified
Prohibits changes in Congressional salaries to take effect until after the next election cycle. It was first proposed in 1789. -
Election
Clinton defeats George HW Bush 370-168 taking 32 states plus DC. -
Storm of the Century
300 people are dead after one of the worst blizzards in history hits the East Coast causing $6 billion in damages. -
The North American Free Trade Agreement
This was a trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, eliminating many tariffs and regulations. -
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City Bombing was an attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 168 people were killed including 19 children under the age of 6. It was the worst tragedy on US soil before 9/11. -
Centennial Olympic Park Bombing
The bombing occurred during the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta. 2 people were killed and 111 were injured. The bombing was committed on by Eric Robert Rudolph. -
Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
Scandal that alleged that Bill Clinton had sexual contact with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. -
Columbine Massacre
Fourth deadliest school shooting in US history. 15 people killed total including the shooters. -
Y2K
Y2K, or Year Two-Thousand, describes a panic which threatened many Americans. With the advent of computer systems, a bug affecting the date changeover to the new year risked causing banking and other crucial systems to fail. Because of this, many people feared a complete crash of banking and stock markets, which could have triggered another Great Depression. Luckily, the fears were drastically exaggerated, and no severe effects occurred. -
Terrorist Attacks
Four airplanes were hijacked and two destroyed the twin towers in NYC, one crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth was crashed in a field in PA after the passengers on board took over the aircraft.
