California
California Exploring for Spain in 1542, Juan Cabrillo was probably the first European to see California. He was followed in 1579 by England’s Sir Francis Drake. Although each explorer laid…
The O.J. Simpson Trial
On the morning of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found stabbed to death outside her apartment in a Los Angeles suburb. Within days, police identified…
Hurricane Andrew
Every year between May and November, people in the eastern U.S. watch for hurricanes. These vast tropical storms in the Carribean Sea travel northwest, striking at the Caribbean islands and…
M*A*S*H
On February 28, 1983, the biggest audience in television history watched the final episode of a beloved comedy series. That series was M*A*S*H, which ran for 11 years on CBS…
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line In the words of one of its songs A Chorus Line caused “one singular sensation” when it opened on Broadway in 1975. Critics hailed it as one…
The U.S. Withdraws From Vietnam
In March, 1973, the last U.S. troops left the war-ravaged nation of South Vietnam. American soldiers had been there since the early 1960s, helping the South Vietnamese government defend itself…
Mark Spitz Wins Seven Gold Medals
The starter’s gun fired, and a 22-year-old American dived into the swimming pool. He plunged in and out of the water as he took a commanding lead in the 200-meter…
The Landing at Inchon
8 In August, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. The United States and other nations under United Nations authority sent troops to help the South. But North Koreans quickly overran…
Bermuda Shorts
“Not many revolutions can be traced to America in the Fifties,” the men’s magazine GQ noted recently,”and even fewer to the suburbs during those uptight years, but this is exactly…
Dwight D. Eisenhower
When World War II began, few people outside the army had ever heard of a 50-year-old career officer named Dwight D. Eisenhower. But soon everyone knew “Ike,” who became one…
Adlai Stevenson
“I’m too old to cry, and it hurts too much to laugh,” Adlai Stevenson said when he lost the 1952 presidential election to Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was quoting Abraham…
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth was possibly the greatest baseball player of all time; certainly he was the most famous. He was the “Sultan of Swat,” the “Bambino,” or simply the “Babe.”…
The Triangle Fire
In the early 1900s, immigrants poured into New York City. They took whatever jobs they could find. Many worked long hours at sewing machines in sweatshops which were often crowded…
The Bustle
Casual, comfortable clothing is preferred by most people today. But in the nineteenth century, American women chose to be uncomfortable rather than unfashionable. They wore tight corsets and long, heavy…
1860
“A house divided against itself cannot stand”……Abraham Lincoln warned in 1858. Two years later, Lincoln was elected President of a nation divided by the bitter issue of slavery. And as…