~ North American History 1950-2000 AD ~
Demoralized by ill-managed political 'conflicts' in Southeast Asia, the 'We' generation becomes the 'Me' generation and devolves into the 'PC' generation. The Constitution exists now only in the hearts of those patriotic individuals who refuse to give up their Rights.
Intuition ~ Creativity ~ Adaptability
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1950s Germanium is used to make semiconductors in transistors. Late in the 1950s, silicon begins to replace germanium as a semiconductor material.

1950s Rectangular cathode-ray tube perfected. (Radio and Television)

1950s Walter Sohne develops the theoretical basis for soil traction mechanics, important in the design of tractors and tillage implements (Agricultural Mechanization)

1950s Police began using traffic radar. (Imaging)

1950s Charles Huntnagel pioneers prosthetic heart valves. (Health Technologies)

1950-55 Koppers-Totzek gasifier introduced. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1951: UNIVAC 1The Eckert and Mauchly Computer Co. of Philadelphia sells the first commercial computer, the UNIVAC 1, to the U.S. Census Bureau. The memory called up data by transmitting sonic pulses through tubes of mercury. An additional 45 UNIVAC 1 machines would eventually be sold.

1951 - Defense of Greenland: Agreement Between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark, April 27

1951 - Defense of Iceland: Agreement Between the United States and the Republic of Iceland, May 5

1951 - Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines; August 30

1951 - Security Treaty Between the United States, Australia, and New Zealand (ANZUS); September 1

1951 - Military Facilities in the Azores: Agreement Between Portugal and the United States, September 6

1951 - Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan; September

1951 - Military Assistance Agreement Between the United States and Yugoslavia, November 14

1951 Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (EBR-I) produces the world's first usable amount of electricity from nuclear energy. (Nuclear Technologies)

1952 - Richard M. Nixon, Television Address. 23 September 1952 [The "Checkers" speech]

1952 The first database is implemented on RCA's Bizmac computer. (Computers)

1952 Admiral Grace Hopper develops the first computer compiler, leading to the creation of user-friendly languages and opening the door to a larger universe of computer applications and users. (Computers)

1952 Federal-Aid Highway Act authorizes the first funding specifically for system construction (Highways)

1952 Basic oxygen process refines steel making. (High-performance Materials)

1953: Heart-lung Machine Dr. John H. Gibbon performs the first successful open heart surgery in which the blood is artificially circulated and oxygenated by a heart-lung machine. This new technology, which allows the surgeon to operate on a dry and motionless heart, greatly increases surgical treatment options for heart defects and disease.

1953 - Military Facilities in Spain: Agreement Between the United States and Spain, September 26 1953 - Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea; October 1

1953 Karl Zeigler invents new process for producing polyethylene. (High-performance Materials)

1953 Dacron, plasticized PVC, and silicones manufactured by Dow Corning. (High-performance Materials)

1953 Corvette becomes the first car whose body is made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic. (Automobile)

1953 Image intensification, Coltman. (Imaging)

1953-55 Three Boiling Reactor Experiment (BORAX) reactors are built at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. (Nuclear Technologies)

Brown v. Board of Education 1954

1954 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union"

1954 - Brown vs. Board of Education- [ended "Separate But Equal Doctrine"]

1954 - Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam, July 20

1954 - Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty (Manila Pact); September 8

1954 - Protocol to the Manila Pact, September 8

1954 - Pacific Charter, September 8

1954 - Joint United States-Chinese Statement; December 1

1954 - Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of China; December 2

1954 - Exchange of Notes Between the Secretary of State and the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, December 10

1954 United States launches the U.S.S. Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. (Nuclear Technologies)

1954 The second Atomic Energy Act is passed by the U.S. legislature. (Nuclear Technologies)

1954 Arco, Idaho, population 1200, becomes the world's first community to have all electrical power provided by nuclear energy. (Nuclear Technologies)

1954 First human kidney transplant, Edward Donnal Thomas. (Health Technologies)

1954 James S. Robbins built first tunnel-boring machine. (Water Supply and Distribution)

1954 The transistor radio is introduced and becomes the largest selling item of the time (Electronics)

1954 Regular broadcasts of color television. (Radio and Television)

1954 Gene Amdahl develops the first computer operating system for the IBM 704. (Computers)

1954 Submersible mobile drilling unit operates in Gulf of Mexico for shallow water installations. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1955: Nuclear Submarine The Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, revolutionizes naval warfare. Conventional submarines need two engines: a diesel engine to travel on the surface and an electric engine to travel submerged, where oxygen for a diesel engine is not available. The Nautilus, the first nuclear sub, can travel many thousands of miles below the surface with a single fuel charge.

1955 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union"

1955 First jack-up oil drilling rig designed. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1955 Reynold Johnson develops the first disk drive. (Computers)

1955 French Citroen introduces revolutionary gas suspension system. Its brakes, transmission, and steering are all power-assisted. (Automobile)

1955 Modem first described by Ken Krechmer, A. W. Morten, and H. E. Vaughn. (Telephone)

1955 Domestic deep freezer. (Household Appliances)

1955 Polypropylene (petroleum-based). (High-performance Materials)

1956 = Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union" 1956 Construction of the interstate highway system is launched (Highways)

1956 Highway Revenue Act creates the Highway Trust Fund as a dedicated source for the interstate system. (Highways)

1956 Plastic contact lenses developed by Norman Bier. (Health Technologies)

1957: Polio Vaccine Dr. Albert Sabin develops a polio vaccine using strains of polio too weak to cause infection but strong enough to activate the human immune system. His invention will put an end to the polio epidemics that have crippled thousands of children worldwide.

1957 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Second Inaugural

1957 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union" 1957 First externally worn, battery-powered pacemaker developed by Earl Bakken Robert Jarvik, and C. Walton Lillehie. (Health Technologies)

1957 Blood-heat exchanger developed by Duke University, GM, and SUNY Buffalo. (Health Technologies)

1957 FORTRAN becomes commercially available. (Computers)

1957 Sputnik I is launched by liquid-fueled rocket built by Sergei Korolev. (Spacecraft)

1957 Scintillation camera, Anger. (Imaging)

1957 Spin clothes dryer. (Household Appliances)

1957 Charles Townes, James Gordon, and Herbert Zeiger develop first maser. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1957 The International Atomic Energy Agency is formed with 18 member countries to promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Today it has 130 members. (Nuclear Technologies)

1957 First U.S. large-scale nuclear power plant begins operation in Shippingport, Penn. (Nuclear Technologies)

1958: Explorer I Three months after the Soviet Union began the Space Age by launching Sputnik, the U.S. responds by sending the Explorer I satellite into orbit. Explorer I's mission is to detect radiation; it discovers one of the Van Allen radiation belts.

International Relations. 1958-60, Volume X, Part 1, Eastern Europe Region; Soviet Union; Cyprus

1958 - President Eisenhower's Address on Little Rock

1958 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union" 1958 Arthur Schawlow develops working principles of laser. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1958 Schawlow and Townes publish paper on laser. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1958 Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments invents the integrated circuit (IC). (Electronics)

1958 Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor independently develop the integrated circuit (IC). (Computers)

1958 Robert Noyce develops an integrated circuit that can be miniaturized and reliably manufactured (Electronics)

1958 Seymour Cray at Control Data Corp. develops a transistorized computer (Electronics)

1958 ALGOL computer language, a high-level language designed specifically for programming scientific computations, comes into use. (Computers)

1958 AT&T introduces datasets (modems) for direct connection. (Telephone)

1958 Texas Instruments introduces the silicon-based transistor. (Telephone)

1958 The U.S. launches Explorer 1, signaling the beginning of the space program. (Spacecraft)

1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw need for the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to keep the U.S. at the forefront of technology. (Internet)

1958 Ultrasound. (Imaging)

1959 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union" Growth of the United States to 1959 - Map 1959 COBOL computer language is created. (Computers)

1959 AT&T introduces the TH-1 1860-channel microwave system (Telephone)

1959 Russian lands a Luna probe on the moon and takes the first pictures of its far side. (Spacecraft)

1950-60s Eugene McKibben conducts theoretical and applied research in the soil dynamics of plows and other tillage equipment, and directs the USDA research programs in mechanization (Agricultural Mechanization)

1960: Laser Working at Hughes Research Laboratories, physicist Theodore H. Maiman creates the first laser. The core of his laser consists of a man-made ruby -- a material that had been judged unsuitable by other scientists, who rejected crystal cores in favor of various gases.

1960 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, "State of the Union"

1960 OPEC founded. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1960 Private car ownership reaches 1 car for every 31 people in the world; 1 for every 22 in Europe, and 1 for every 3 in the United States, where 15% of families have more than one car. (Automobile)

1960 AT&T installs first electronic switching system (Telephone)

1960 Radionuclide generator, Richards. (Imaging)

1960 First totally implanted pacemaker. (Health Technologies)

1960s Solid state imaging devices first demonstrated. (Radio and Television)

1960s Use of radar in air traffic control. (Imaging)

1960s Doppler radar. (Imaging)

1960s Charles K. Kao is the first to publicly propose the possibility of a practical application for fiber-optic telecommunication. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1961 - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Speech (text)

1961 - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Speech, 20 January [Audio - RealPlayer] 1961 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address

1961 - Cuban Missile Crisis October
[The Avalon Collection of documents on the Cuban Missile Crisis numbers 275, dated from October 1 1961 to January 26 1963. The first few of these follow:]

More Documents on the Cuban Missile Crisis

John F. Kennedy

Letter from President Kennedy to President Diem, December 14, 1961

1961 Bell Telephone Labs releases design information for touch-tone dial to Western Electric (Telephone)

1961 Silicon chips first appear (Electronics) (Computers)

1961 Russian Yuri Gagarin orbits Earth one time. (Spacecraft)

1961 Alan Shepard is launched 115 miles into space, lands 15 minutes later in Atlantic Ocean. (Spacecraft)

1961 Smaller freezers with front doors introduced, more suitable for home kitchens. (Household Appliances)

1961 First semiconductor laser, Robert Hall. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1961 Superpolymers (heat resistant). (High-performance Materials)

Marilyn Monroe (1962) 1962 Mechanical raise-borer enabled engineers to significantly decrease the amount of time to bore through 200 feet of earth. (Water Supply and Distribution)

1962 AT&T introduces T-1 multiplex service in Skokie, Illinois (Telephone)

1962 First minicomputer comes into use. (Computers)

1962 Telephone cables start to use plastic insulation (Telephone)

1962 Paul Baron introduces idea of distributed packet-switching networks (Telephone)

1962 John Glenn orbits Earth three times in a Mercury capsule, Friendship 7. (Spacecraft)

1962 Mariner 2 flies past Venus, the first probe to fly beyond another planet. (Spacecraft)

1962 Leonard Kleinrock invents packet-switching technology. (Internet)

1962 First nuclear-powered surface ship, N.S. Savannah, put to sea. (Nuclear Technologies)

1962 First advanced gas-cooled reactor is built in England. (Nuclear Technologies)

1963 - Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream, August 28 1963 - Robert C. Weaver, "The Negro as American" 1963 - Gideon v. Wainwright [Supreme Court Decision establishing the defendant's right to counsel] Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech - August 28, 1963 1963 Steam-or-dry electric iron. (Household Appliances)

1963 Douglas Englebart, SRI, patents the idea of the computer mouse. (Computers)

1963 RL-10 rocket engine, the world's first high-energy liquid hydrogen engine. (Spacecraft)

1963 Valentina Tereshkova, Soviet cosmonaut, becomes the first woman in space. (Spacecraft)

1963 The first communications satellite to reach synchronous orbit, Syncom II, is launched. (Spacecraft)

1963 J.C.R. Licklider, head of computer research at ARPA, articulates vision of worldwide network. (Internet)

1964: Operating System IBM rolls out the OS/360, the first mass-produced computer operating system. Using the OS/360, all computers in the IBM 360 family could run any software program. Already IBM is a giant in the computer industry, controlling 70% of the market worldwide.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Foreign Relations Documents Of the Johnson Administration

1964 - The Tonkin Gulf Incident: President Johnson's Message to Congress, August 5

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Speech by George C. Wallace, The Civil Rights Movement: fraud, sham and hoax, 1964

1964 - George C. Wallace, "The Civil Rights Movement"

1964 - Civil Rights Act; July 2

Barry Goldwater's Acceptance of the 1964 Republican Presidential Nomination

Ronald Reagan, Address on Behalf of Senator Barry Goldwater. "Rendezvous with Destiny", October 27, 1964

1964 John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop the BASIC computer language. Intel Chairman Gordon Moore suggests that integrated circuits would double in complexity every 18 months. This later becomes known as Moore’s Law and is applied to microprocessor speed. (Computers) 1964 First space walk, U.S. Gemini program. (Spacecraft)

1964 Acrylic paint. (High-performance Materials)

1964 Carbon fiber (used to reinforce materials in high temperature environment). (High-performance Materials)

1964 Beryllium (hard metal) developed for heat shields in spacecraft, animal surgery, aircraft parts, etc. (High-performance Materials)

1965: Minicomputer Digital Equipment introduces the PDP-8, the world's first computer to use integrated circuit technology. Because of its relatively small size and its low $18,000 price tag, Digital sells several hundred units.

President Johnson on the Watts Riots

1965 - Lyndon B Johnson: We Shall Overcome, 15 March 1965 Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) introduces PDP-8 minicomputer. (Computers)

1965 Early Bird is launched for use by communications services. (Spacecraft)

1965 Gemini spacecraft makes first rendezvous in space between two spacecraft. (Spacecraft)

1965-69 U.S. gas shortage threatened due to lack of financial incentives for exploration. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1966 Electronic fuel injection system is developed in Britain. (Automobile)

1966 The Advanced Testing Reactor at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory begins operation for materials testing and isotope generation. (Nuclear Technologies)

1967 Pontiac develops safer car bumpers that absorb some of the energy of an impact or collision. (Automobile)

1967 First handheld calculator using an integrated circuit is made by Texas Instruments.

1967 Larry Roberts publishes a paper proposing the ARPAnet network. (Internet)

1967 Pilot plant built for extraction-hydrogenation process to produce synthetic oil. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1968 - Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, April 2

Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, April 22

1968 - Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

1968 Robert Noyce co-founds Intel. (Electronics)

1968 200 million televisions worldwide. (Radio and Television)

1968 DOD initiates the ARPAnet development. (Internet)

1969: Moon Landing Millions watch worldwide as the landing module of NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft touches down on the moon's surface and Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to set foot on the moon. President John F. Kennedy, who vowed to the world that the United States would put a human on the moon before 1970, has not lived to witness the moment.

Richard M. Nixon

1969 PASCAL computer language. (Computers)

1969 ARPAnet unveiled at UCLA. (Internet)

1969 The Zero Power Physics Reactor goes operational at Argonne National Laboratory-West in Idaho. (Nuclear Technologies)

1970: Optical Fiber Corning Glass announces it has created a glass fiber so clear that it can communicate pulses of light. GTE and AT&T will soon begin experiments to transmit sound and image data using fiber optics, which will transform the communications industry. Robert Maurer leads a team at Corning.

1970 The bar code system is created. (Electronics)

1970 AT&T introduces its ESS#2 electronic switch. (Telephone)

1970 Bell Labs releases design information to Western Electric for modular telephone cords and jacks (Telephone)

1970 Emission tomography, Kuhl. (Imaging)

1970 Sialon (ceramic material for high-speed cutting tools in metal machining). (High-performance Materials)

1970s Realtime, gray-scale ultrasound, Kossoff. (Imaging)

1970s Earth-observing satellites begin to use radar to measure Earth's topography. (Imaging)

1971 - New York Times vs. The United States [The "Pentagon Papers" trial]

1971 - Vietnam Veterans Against the War Statement by John Kerry to the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations April 23

1971Intel introduces its popular 4004 4-bit microprocessor, starting the evolution of Intel’s famous line of 386, 486, and Pentium processors (Electronics)

1971First video game and video disc introduced. (Electronics)

1971 Intel introduces its popular 4004 4-bit microprocessor, starting the evolution of Intel’s famous line of 386, 486, and Pentium processors. (Computers)

1971 Earth-orbiting space station, USSR. (Spacecraft)

1972: Video Game Pong, one of the first mass-produced video games, has become the rage. Noland Bushnell, the 28 year-old inventor of Pong, will go on to found Atari.

1972 Richard M. Nixon and H. R. Haldeman. Conversation at the White House, 23 June (text) [The "Smoking Gun" tape]

1972 Richard M. Nixon and H. R. Haldeman. Conversation at the White House, 23 June [Audio - RealPlayer: The "Smoking Gun" tape] 1972 E-mail introduced by Ray Tomlinson. (Internet)

1972 X-ray computed tomography, Hounsfield. (Imaging)

Roe v. Wade (1973) [Majority opinion in landmark decision on abortion]

1973 Richard M. Nixon, Second Inaugural Speech

1973 Richard M. Nixon, Peace With Honor, 23 January

1973 War Powers Act, November 7

1973 - Richard M. Nixon. First Watergate Speech

1973 - Watergate tapes: President Richard M. Nixon Watergate tapes President counsels Dean on possible testimony. March 17 [Audio - Real Player

1973 - Watergate tapes: President Richard M. Nixon Watergate tapes. Haldeman tries to convince the President he will survive this crisis, March 20 [Audio - Real Player

1973 - Watergate tapes: President Richard M. Nixon Watergate tapes. Dean advises the President about Hunt's involvement; attempt to shield the President from any wrong-doing, March 21 [Audio - Real Player

The United States v. Nixon [limitation of "executive privilege"]

1973 - ROE V. WADE, 410 U.S. 113 [decriminalized abortion]

Richard M. Nixon, Second Watergate Speech, August 15, 1973

1973 Oil embargo created by cut in OPEC oil supplies. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1973 Xerox develops first Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN) technology. (Computers)

1973 Skylab is placed in orbit. (Spacecraft)

1973 Computerized tomography (CAT scan). (Health Technologies)

1974: Barcode The first shipments of bar-coded products arrive in American stores. Scanners at checkout stations read the codes using laser technology. The hand-punched keyboard cash register takes one step closer to obsolescence.

Articles of Impeachment. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. July 27 1974

Richard M. Nixon, Resignation Speech, August 8 1974

Gerald R. Ford's Remarks on Taking the Oath of Office as President, August 9, 1974

Richard M. Nixon, Farewell Address to his Staff, August 10, 1974

1974 - President Gerald R. Ford's Remarks on Signing a Proclamation Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon, September 8

President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4311, Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon, September 8, 1974

1974 John MacChesney and colleagues at Bell Labs develop the modified chemical vapor deposition process. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1974 Alberta tar sands synthetic fuel project starts. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1974 John MacChesney introduces an alternative synthesis process leading to low contamination and precise index of refraction profiles. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1974 Atomic Energy Commission splits into the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (Nuclear Technologies)

1974-1977 National Security Study Memoranda and Decision Memoranda

1975: Microsoft Old high school friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen form a partnership known as Microsoft to write computer software. They sell their first software to Ed Roberts at MIT, which has produced the Altair 8800, the first microprocessor-based computer. Gates soon drops out of Harvard.

Gerald Ford

1975 First non-experimental fiber-optic link installed in Dorset (UK) police communication system. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1975 First semiconductor laser operating continuously at room temperature. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1975-79 U.S. natural gas deregulated and gas prices rise. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1975 Last manual telco switchboard in Maine is retired (Telephone)

1975 Fiber optics trials begin in U.S. and Europe (Telephone)

1976: Super Computer Cray Research, Inc. introduces its first supercomputer, the Cray-1, which can perform operations at a rate of 240,000,000 calculations per second. Supercomputers designed by Seymour Cray will continue to dominate the market; the Cray 2, marketed in 1985, will be capable of 1,200,000,000 calculations per second.

1976 Mars space probes, NASA's Viking I and Viking II, launched. (Spacecraft)

1976 Rotary and tine separator combines. (Agricultural Mechanization)

1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak form the Apple Computer Company. (Computers)

1976 Alan Shugart, IBM, invents the 5.25-inch floppy. (Computers)

1976 Singer electronic sewing machine that dials up to 25 preset stitches, self-winding bobbin. (Household Appliances)

1976 Bell Labs field tests multimode fiber-optic system at its Norcross, Georgia plant. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

Jimmy Carter

1977 General Telephone and Electronics begins first trial of 6Mbit/s fiber-optic link carrying live telephone traffic in Long Beach, California (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1977 Bell system starts testing 45 Mbit/s fiber link in downtown Chicago phone system. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1977 Chicago has the first commercial fiber-optic communications system. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1977 U.S. Space Shuttle program begins. (Spacecraft)



1978


1979: Human-Powered Flight Cyclist Byron Allen crosses the English Channel in a pedal-powered aircraft called the Gossamer Albatross. The flight takes 2 hours, 49 minutes, and wins a [sterling]100,000 prize for its crew, headed by designer Dr. Paul MacCready. Constructed of Mylar, polystyrene, and carbon-fiber rods, the Albatross has a wingspan of 93 feet 10 inches and weighs about 70 pounds.

1979 Direct-Injected Stratified Charge (DISC) engine is developed. (Automobile)

1979 Mattel Toy Company receives 1 millionth chip for electronic games (Electronics)

1979 Dan Bricklin introduces the Visicalc spreadsheet. (Computers)

1979 Three Mile Island accident. (Nuclear Technologies)

1980 Voice prompts are first used in the Datsun 810. (Automobile)

1980 Philip Estridge, IBM, develops the first hard drive for PCs. It holds 10MB. (Computers)

1980 AT&T introduces the DataSpeed 40, forerunner of "smart terminals" with data processing capability (Telephone)

1980 Magnetic resonance imaging, Lauterbur. (Imaging)

1980s Miniaturized televisions. (Radio and Television)

1980s Integrated circuits applied to computers (Electronics)

1980s Microprocessors revolutionize household appliances. (Household Appliances)

1981: Space Shuttle For the first time, NASA successfully launches and lands its reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle. The shuttle can be used for a number of applications, including launch, retrieval, and repair of satellites and as a laboratory for physical experiments. While extremely successful, the shuttle program will suffer a disaster in 1986 when the shuttle Challenger explodes after takeoff, killing all on board.

Ronald Reagan

1981 32-bit silicon chips developed (Electronics)

1981 IBM introduces the PC. (Computers)

1981 Bell Labs designs network-embedded database of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) for calling card customers to be accessed by public telephones. (Telephone)

1981 Columbia Space Shuttle, the first reusable winged spaceship, is launched. (Spacecraft)

1982: Artificial Heart Dr. Robert Jarvik implants a permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik 7, into Dr. Barney Clark. The heart, powered by an external compressor, keeps Clark alive for 112 days.

1982 Tallest giant oil platform for North Sea exploration built in Inverness, Scotland. (Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies)

1982 Caller ID patent filed by Carolyn Doughty, Bell Labs (Telephone)

1982 First IBM-compatible PC clone is introduced by Columbia Data Systems. (Computers)

1982 William C. DeVries surgically implants a permanent artificial heart designed by Robert Jarvik. (Health Technologies)

1983: PC In January "Time" names its 1982 "man" of the year -- the personal computer. PC's have taken the world by storm, dramatically changing the way people communicate. IBM dominates the personal computer market, benefiting both from the production of its own machines as well as "clones" produced by other companies.

1983 Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh computer. Microsoft releases Microsoft Windows 1.0. (Computers)

1983 Soft bifocal contact lens. (High-performance Materials)

1984 Compact disc (CD) player introduced. (Electronics)

1984 CD-ROM (compact-disc read-only memory) is available (Electronics)

1985: Genetic Engineering The USDA gives the go-ahead for the sale of the first genetically altered organism. The rapidly growing biotech industry will seek numerous patents, including one for a tomato that can be shipped when ripe.

1985 Soft bifocal contact developed by Sofsite Contact Lens Laboratory. (Health Technologies)

1985 Michele Mirowski develops ventricular defibrillator. (Health Technologies)

1986 In France, Professor Benabid uses electrical stimulation to treat Parkinson's patients. (Health Technologies)

1986 Chernobyl accident. (Nuclear Technologies)

1986 Synthetic skin. (High-performance Materials)

1987 Bellcore introduces Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) concept which has potential of multimedia transmission over nation’s copper loops. (Telephone)

1987 Introduction of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1988: Graphic User Interface Apple files a suit charging that Microsoft has pirated Apple's user-friendly graphical interface. The suit will fail, and Microsoft's star will continue to rise. By the mid 1990's, Apple will be experiencing a painful and public financial shakeout.

1988 TAT-8 fiber-optic cable for telephone service laid. (Laser and Fiber Optics)

1988 Albert Gore, then a Tennessee senator, proposes the National Research and Education Network, which would provide top computing facilities to research communities and schools. (Internet)

George Bush

1990: Hubble Telescope The space shuttle Discovery deploys the Hubble Space telescope 350 miles above the Earth. Although initial flaws limit its capabilities, the Hubble will be responsible for numerous discoveries and advances in the understanding of space.

1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act; July 26

Nelson Mandela's speech upon release, 11 February 1990 1990s Liquid crystal display panels (LCD), high definition television (HDTV). (Radio and Television)

1990s A network of over 130 Doppler radar stations is in place in the U.S. (Imaging)

1990s The Magellan spacecraft maps most of the surface of the planet Venus. The Cassini spacecraft carries radar instruments to study the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. (Imaging)

1990s The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program pioneers new materials, including uranium-dioxide fuels systems, the use of zirconium and its alloys, boron, and hafnium, and develops material fabrication, radiological control, and quality control standards. (Nuclear Technologies)

1990s New composites and lightweight steel. (High-performance Materials)

Civil Rights Act of 1991

1991 Gopher document retrieval system introduced at University of Minnesota. (Internet)

1992 The World Wide Web is born, introduced by Tim Berners-Lee. The first audio and video multicasts are broadcast over the Internet. (Internet)

Constitution of the State of Maine [Codification of 1993]

Bill Clinton

1993 The Internet browser MOSAIC is introduced at the University of Illinois by Marc Andreeson. (Internet)

1993 Telecom Relay Service available for the disabled (Telephone)

1994 Real Audio introduced to Internet which allows one to hear audio in near real time. Radio HK, first 24-hour Internet-only radio station, starts broadcasting. (Internet)

1995 Nationwide Caller ID implemented (Telephone)

1996 Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulates data network transmission. (Internet)

1997 The robotic explorer, Sojourner, lands on Mars. (Spacecraft)

1997 Pioneer 10 spacecraft exits the solar system for interstellar space, and is still functioning. (Spacecraft)

1997 Discovery Shuttle mission with John Glenn aboard at age 77. (Spacecraft)

Independent Counsel's Report to the United States House of Representatives 1998 Monica Lewinsky Scandal

1998-1999 Impeachment and Trial of President William J. Clinton II

1999 150 million users on the Internet. Over 800 million web pages accessible. (High-performance Materials)

 

2000


George W. Bush Inaugural Speech 2001

2001 - George Bush - Address to the Nation, September 11

George W. Bush: Speech to Congress, September 20, 2001 [On the evnts of September 11]

Full Text of HR 3162 "The PATRIOT Act" 24 October 2001 [403 Kb]

George W. Bush. State of the Union 2002

George W. Bush. State of the Union 2003 [Declaration of U.S. intentions toward Iraq]

George W. Bush. Address Announcing the End of Major Combat Operations in Iraq. 1 May 2003

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