From Ukraine to Gaza
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held along the 54-mile (87-km) highway from Selma to Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists supporting African-American citizens exercising their constitutional right to vote.
After using his youth and good looks to his advantage during the world's first televised presidential debate, JFK was elected president of the US in 1960.
Sources: (USA Today) (Grunge)
See also: Unexpected shortages throughout history
While on tour for his reelection bid, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Killed by a sharpshooter's bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald, the tragic event is considered the start of one of the most turbulent eras in American history.
The world fell in love with John, Paul, Ringo, and George, and Beatlemania swept everyone by storm. The English rock giants changed music and pop culture forever.
Arguably the biggest movie star of the time, Marylin Monroe was found dead from an overdose in 1962. The news shocked the world, and launched countless conspiracy theories based on her connections with JFK and Joe DiMaggio.
It was the first time US forces bombed the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The event killed any hopes of a quick resolution of the growing Vietnam War.
College campuses were the center of anti-war protest movements, which became a pain for the Richard Nixon administration. During one protest at Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard opened fire into a crowd of protestors, killing four students and wounding nine others.
The Pentagon Papers, a study by the US Department of Defense about the country's involvement in the Vietnam War, were published first in The New York Times. The documents exposed many missteps and how several administrations had misled the American public regarding the war. They also revealed clandestine bombing in Laos, which today is considered the heaviest bombardment in history.
As the civil rights icon stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, he was fatally shot by James Earl Ray. The tragedy sparked nationwide race riots.
During the Olympic Games in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes and a West German police officer were kidnapped and murdered by Palestinian terrorists. The conflict in the Middle East had now gone global.
Two years after the last American troops left Vietnam, communist troops from North Vietnam captured Saigon, ending nearly two decades of war.
After an unwed woman filed suit after seeking an abortion in Texas, which was a felony, the US Supreme Court ruled that states cannot completely bar a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy.
President Richard Nixon announced his resignation amid impeachment proceedings stemming from the Watergate scandal, and his administration's resistance to a congressional investigation.
Two Concorde jets flew simultaneously, one from London to Bahrain, operated by British Airways, and the other from Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar, operated by Air France. This marked the first commercial flight faster than the speed of sound. However, due to the cost of maintenance, expensive tickets, and a fatal accident in 2000, the Concorde was put to an end.
In 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center aboard the Saturn V rocket. After three days of travel, Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon.
The Democrat was elected largely in response to Watergate, which forced the resignation of Richard Nixon and installed Gerald Ford as president after Nixon’s vice present, Spiro Agnew, was forced from office.
In one of the largest incidents of mass murder in history, 900 followers of cult leader James Jones drank, and forced children to drink, poisoned Kool-Aid in the jungles of Guyana.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report about five gay men who had been diagnosed with a rare form of pneumonia. These were the first reported cases of what would later be known as HIV/AIDS.
Global economic stagnation and excessive borrowing among Latin America's biggest economies boiled over when Mexico told the US Federal Reserve it could no longer service its debt of US$80 billion. Virtually every country in Latin America, led by Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, couldn't pay back loans. This started a crisis that would be known as the "lost decade" of the region, filled with severe austerity measures and political instability.
On December 8, 1980, music icon John Lennon was shot to death in New York City. Many continue to flock to his Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park on the anniversary of his death.
At the beginning of 1983, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) transitioned to the standard TCP/IP protocol of the World Wide Web. The protocol would become the internet's technical foundation, as it allowed expanded available address space and decentralized the network, meaning expanding accessibility.
Despite US President Ronald Reagan's criticisms of the Soviet Union, he agreed to meet Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva. Though the meeting resulted in little, it started what would become a closer relationship between the two superpowers.
Considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, both in cost and casualties, the disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukrainian SSR.
Considered the worst chemical disaster in the world, about 30 tons of methyl isocyanate, an industrial gas used to make pesticide, were released at a Union Carbide Corp. plant in Bhopal, India. About 600,000 residents of nearby shanty towns were exposed to the highly toxic chemical, causing 15,000 deaths and a generation of birth defects.
As cracks of the Soviet block started to appear in the 1980s, the symbol of the communist repression came crashing down when the Berlin Wall fell apart, ending a 28-year division of the city.
Pan-Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled transatlantic flight that took off from London. When the aircraft passed over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, a Libyan bomb that had been smuggled on board exploded. The aircraft blew apart, killing all 259 on board and 11 more people on the ground.
On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, more than 22%. The drop was worse than the crash in 1929. Among the reasons for the drop were rising tensions in the Persian Gulf and the concern over higher interest rates.
Mandela was jailed for his anti-apartheid efforts and spent nearly 27 years in prison. An icon of democracy and social justice, international pressure mounted on the South African government for his release. He was finally released from prison on February 11, 1990, and became President of South Africa in 1994.
Just weeks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, President George H.W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Boris Yeltsin met to formally declare the end of the Cold War. The meeting came days after both countries announced they would stop aiming nuclear missiles at each other.
On June 17, 1994, people watched O.J. Simpson lead Los Angeles police on a speed chase in a now-famous Bronco. After his surrender, the media was filled with scandalous details of the double murder he was accused of committing. In October 1995, O.J. would be acquitted in one of the biggest trials of the century.
The Treaty of the European Union, also known as the Maastricht Treaty, went into effect in November 1993. The treaty opened the way to removing border controls among member states, and invited new members to join the Union.
In the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in US history, anti-government radicals Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In toal, 168 people, including 19 children, were killed.
By 1967, tension between Israel and its Arab neighbors were once again high, as they found themselves in a bloody and controversial war. Even outnumbered, the Jewish state proved to be ferocious, in what became known as the Six-Day War.
With worsened economic conditions, increased discontent with the government, and wide support for religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the monarchy in Iran was dissolved. Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic and began rebuilding society based on conservative religious principles.
After Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait, the US sent forces to defend neighboring Saudi Arabia from being overrun and to protect its oil assets. With Saudi Arabia secured, the US implemented Operation Desert Storm to push Iraqi forces back across the border with Kuwait in a military operation that lasted until a ceasefire took effect.
Over the past decades, we’ve witnessed some of the most profound changes in human history. From wars and technological developments, to breakthroughs in science and progress in civil rights, the world has seen major stories that left their mark on history. And you can bet the year of your birth is of historical significance, that's for sure!
Curious to discover which event had the biggest impact the year you were born? Then check out this gallery.
The biggest news story from the year you were born
From Marylin Monroe's death to the fall of the Berlin Wall, discover what happened the year you were born
LIFESTYLE Journalism
Over the past decades, we’ve witnessed some of the most profound changes in human history. From wars and technological developments, to breakthroughs in science and progress in civil rights, the world has seen major stories that left their mark on history. And you can bet the year of your birth is of historical significance, that's for sure!
Curious to discover which event had the biggest impact the year you were born? Then check out this gallery.