The interactive timeline below depicts important events and milestones relevant to this exhibition, from the period of the early 1930’s through today. Events are tracked across three categories:
Franklin D. Roosevelt 
Norman Rockwell 
world events
Japan announces its withdrawal
1933 / 1930sWithdrawal from the League of Nations after a resolution is passed declaring the Japanese occupation of Manchuria illegal
President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of the German republic
March 21, 1933 12:00 am / 1930s
Prohibition Ends
December 5, 1933 / 1930sProhibition is lifted in the USA when the Twenty-First Amendment repeals the Eighteenth, which has been in force for 13 years.
First meeting of the Social Security Board
September 14, 1935 / 1930sThe Social Security operations was made up of three operating bureaus: Public Assistance, Unemployment Compensation, and Old-Age Benefits
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives.
Social Security (SS-5) applications
1936 / 1930sPostal carriers delivering Social Security (SS-5) application forms
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives
Hindenburg Explosion
May 6, 1937 / 1930sGerman airship bursts into flames trying to land at Lakehurst, NJ
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
U.S.A. – Minimum wage is 40 cents / hour
1938 / 1930s44 hour working week
The tragic face of ‘Hitlerism’
1938 / 1930sSudeten woman forced to salute Hitler
Photo: National Archives
Fair Labor Standards Act
1938 / 1930sFair law passed for “labor of persons under eighteen years of age”
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives, Records of Children’s Bureau
Social Security amendments
August 10, 1939 / 1930sSocial Security amendments advanced the start date for monthly benefits – poster informing the public about the amendments
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives
Prime Minister – Winston Churchill
1940 / 1940sWinston Churchill delivers his first speech to the House of Commons as prime minister – he offers the nation nothing but ‘blood, toil, tears and sweat’
The US army invests in a significant new vehicle – ordering 16,000 jeeps
1941 / 1940s
Attack on Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 / 1940sAftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Photo: Courtesy of the Franklin Roosevelt Library
Black Americans fighting a war for the “four freedoms”
1942 / 1940sFighting for America with strong convictions to achieve and demand the same rights as all citizens
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
Photo Credits: Drivers of the 666th Quartermaster Truck Company, 82nd Airborne Division
American prisoners of war celebrate the 4th of July
July 4, 1942 / 1940sAmericans in the Japanese prison camp – they celebrated despite all the rules against it
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
Rosie the Riveter – World War II Icon
1943 / 1940s“We Can Do it!” inspirational campaign image by J. Howard Miller
Photo: Public Domain
Women Welders
1943 / 1940sPhoto: Courtesy of National Archives
General Douglas MacArthur
1944 / 1940sGeneral Douglas MacArthur wades ashore during initial landings at Leyte, P.I.
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
Famous Comedian Mickey Rooney entertains the troops
April 13, 1945 12:00 am / 1940sRooney is apart of a jeep tour with three other professional entertainers on a mission to entertain the troops and build morale
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
USS Bunker Hill
May 11, 1945 12:00 am / 1940sTwo Kamikazes hit USS Bunker Hill, of Kyushu, killing 372 and wounding 264
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
WW II ENDS
1945 / 1940s
President Harry S. Truman and President Herbert Hoover
June 20, 1946 / 1940sThe fight against hunger – Hoover reports on the international food council meeting of 18 nations
Photo: Harris & Ewing (Courtesy of Stock Montage)
Source: Truman Library
George C. Marshall – sworn in as Secretary of State
January 21, 1947 / 1940sSworn in by Chief Justice Fred Vinson
Photo: Creative Commons
Princeton University honors three men
June 17, 1947 / 1940sHonoring – General Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Harry S. Truman, and former President Herbert Hoover
Photo: Courtesy of Truman Library
Harry Truman Elected President
November 3, 1948 / 1940s“That is one for the books!” – President Elect Harry Truman trails to victory (Chicago Tribune’s election day edition error)
Photo: Courtesy of The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
1949 / 1940sNATO is set up by the USA and Canada, together with Britain and other European countries, for purposes of collective security
Gwendolyn Brooks – First African-American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize
1949 / 1940sAnnie Allen, by US author Gwendolyn Brooks, describes in narrative verse the life of a black girl in contemporary USA
Photo: Courtesy of the History Network
IBM 705 mainframe computers
1950 / 1950sSocial Security Administration (SSA) is the first to install a “high-speed electronic calculator” – SSA employees at the control console of the IBM 705 mainframe computers
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives
48 Nations – Peace Treaty
September 8, 1951 / 1950sYoshida and members of the Japanese delegation sign the Treaty
Photo: Public Domain
DNA
1952 / 1950sX-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, working at King’s College in London, photographs DNA
NATO flag
April 7, 1952 / 1950sAfter signing North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949 the official flag was raised
Photo: Public Domain
President-Elect Dwight D. Eisenhower
November 4, 1952 12:00 am / 1950sA landslide victory for Eisenhower
Photo: Public Domain
“The Crucible”
1953 / 1950sArthur Miller’s play,The Crucible, uses the Salem witch trials as a metaphor for the contemporary paranoia of McCarthyism
Elvis Presley begins his music career
1954 / 1950s
Ellis Island shuts its doors
1954 / 1950sFrom 1892 – 1954,12 million immigrants made their way to America through the open doors of New York’s immigration port
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credits: Arriving at Ellis, circa 1908 (Photo by Lewis Hine)
Minimum wage – raised to $1.00 / hour
1955 / 1950s
The world’s first nuclear-powered submarine
1955 / 1950sUSS Nautilus was created for and by the United States Navy
(Launching Nautilus)
Photo: Public Domain
IBM releases the first computer with a hard drive
1956 / 1950sThis 16 square foot hard drive, created by IBM associate, Reynold Johnson and his team had a writeable platter and weighed about one ton
Photo: Creative Commons
Federal-Aid Highway Act
June 29, 1956 / 1950s41,000 miles of interstate highway construction
The first space satellite “Sputnik”
1957 / 1950sThe Soviet Union launched the world’s first man-made satellite
Photo: Courtesy of The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
NASA is established
August 8, 1958 / 1950sThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in response to the Soviet Union’s satellite, Sputnik
President Eisenhower’s nomination to appoint, T. Keith Glennan, of Ohio to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Photo: Creative Commons
Angelo Roncalli is elected pope and takes the name John XXIII
1958 / 1950sThe Microchip is invented
1958 / 1950s
50 STATES
March 4, 1959 12:00 am / 1950sAlaska becomes the 49th State and Hawaii becomes the 50th
Photo: Public Domain
NASA introduces America’s first astronauts to the world
1959 / 1950s
John F. Kennedy is elected president
November 8, 1960 / 1960sOne of the closest elections in U.S. history.
Photo: Courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
The first man in space – Yuri Gagarin
April 12, 1961 / 1960sPhoto: Courtesy of Archive image from of the Huntsville Times
John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps
1961 / 1960sConstruction of the Berlin Wall begins
1961 / 1960s
Women of the Riveters iconic era – building America
1962 / 1960sWomen working on a plane in the Army Air Corps
Photo: Creative Commons
Oral Polio Vaccine
1963 / 1960sThe nation is encouraged to take the Polio Vaccine, with national marketing campaign supporting it
Photo: Public Domain
Civil Rights March
August 8, 1963 / 1960sA defining moment in the Civil Rights movement – a quarter of a million Americans gather in Washington D.C.
Civil Rights March – Photograph of a young woman with a banner
– Washington, D.C.
Photo: Creative Commons
“I have a dream”
August 28, 1963 / 1960sMartin Luther King, Jr. gives famous “I have a dream” speech
Washington D.C. – on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated
November 22, 1963 / 1960sJust 3 years into his presidency, JFK was assassinated, as he rode in a motorcade – Dallas, Texas.
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credit: Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law
1964 / 1960sPresident Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with Martin Luther King, Jr. amongst the many guest present.
Photo: Public Domain
“Bloody Sunday”
March 7, 1965 12:00 am / 1960sAlabama police attack marchers – demonstration for their right to vote
Photo: Public Domain
Voting Rights Act
August 6, 1965 / 1960sAfrican Americans are guaranteed the right to vote
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credit: President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks
NYC Subway Strike paralyzes the City
1966 / 1960sConstruction work begins on the twin towers for the World Trade Center
The World Trade Center, was built on “Radio Row” in Manhattan, New York – designed by US architect Minoru Yamasaki
Photo: Public Domain
Israel and Egypt – the “Six-Day War”
1967 / 1960sA pre-emptive air strike by Israel destroys almost all Egypt’s aircraft and launches the Six-Day War
Photo: Creative Common
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
April 9, 1968 / 1960sGarment workers huddled together listening to Dr. King’s funeral service
Photo: Creative Commons
Richard Nixon becomes president
January 20, 1969 / 1960s37th President of the United States – Richard M. Nixon
Photo: Public Domain
Man on the moon
July 21, 1969 / 1960sNeil Armstrong – the first person to walk on the moon
Photo: Public Domain
Woodstock
August 15, 1969 / 1960s“Three days of peace and music” – thousands gather in the Catskill Mountains for the Woodstock Festival
The First Earth Day
April 22, 1970 / 1970sThe Iroquois Native Americans understand the symbiotic relationship between man and the earth and how to preserve its integrity.
Photo: Courtesy of Library of Congress
Photo Credit: “Iroquois Indians,” ca. 1914
Kent State University
May 4, 1970 / 1970sFour students are killed by National Guards during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration at Kent State University in Ohio
Voting Age Lowered to 18 in the United States and United Kingdom
1971 / 1970s
Walt Disney World Resort opens in Florida
October 1, 1971 / 1970sPhoto: Creative Common
Electronic Digital Watches
1972 / 1970sThe Hamilton Pulsar P1 – The first electronic digital watch to reach the market for retail at $2,100
Photo: Creative Commons
Photo Credit: A Pulsar LED watch (1976)
Watergate Scandal
June 17, 1972 / 1970sFive burglars are arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee HQ at the Watergate office building in Washington
71-day siege – AIM
February 27, 1973 / 1970sActivists of the American Indian Movement (AIM) survive a ten-week siege at Wounded Knee, winning international attention
- – Wounded Knee, South Dakota
- Photo: Public Domain
Nixon is pardoned
September 8, 1973 / 1970sPresident Ford pardons ex-president Nixon for his part in the Watergate affair, thus removing the possibility of criminal charges
Photo: Public Domain
The Terracotta Army
1974 / 1970sMore than 7000 life-size terracotta solders are unearthed at Xi’an, placed to guard the tomb of the third century BC Chinese emperor Shi Huangdi
Photo: Creative Commons
Microsoft
April 4, 1975 / 1970sBill Gates and Paul Allen create the company Microsoft
Photo: Public Domain
Vietnam War – ENDS
1975 / 1970sAmerican and Vietnamese civilians in U.S. helicopter evacuations, termed “Operation Frequent Wind”
Photo: Public Domain
“Soweto Uprising”
1976 / 1970sHundreds of deaths and casualties result from police firing on a demonstration by schoolchildren in the black township of Soweto
Photo: Fair Use
(photo by Sam Nzima became an icon of the Soweto uprising)
“Star Wars”
1977 / 1970sGeorge Lucas writes and directs a science fantasy, Star Wars, launching a narrative that will be expanded into further films
Photo: Public Domain
President Carter signs the ERA
October 20, 1978 / 1970sThe Extension of Equal Rights Amendment – equal rights for all citizens, regardless of sex
Photo: Creative Common
Photo Credit: Jimmy Carter Signing Extension of Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Ratification
First female Prime Minister
1979 / 1970sThe Conservative party wins the general election and Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first female prime minister
Photo: Creative Commons
China’s Population Plan
1979 / 1970sChina institutes the one child per family rule
Photo: Creative Common
Photo Credit: Mother and son in Jiayuguan, China
Microsoft & IBM
1980 / 1980sMicrosoft wins the contract to provide the operating system of the IBM personal computer
The first Compact Disc (CD)
1980 / 1980sJames T. Russell presented the first compact disk (CD) to Sony
Iraq-Iran, War
September 22, 1980 / 1980sWar breaks out between Iraq and Iran
Photo: Creative Commons
Sandra Day O’Connor is Sworn in as Supreme Court Justice
September 25, 1981 / 1980sPhoto: Creative Commons
Photo Credit: Sandra Day O’Connor, Justice Warren Burger, Her Husband John O’Connor Looks On,
The Saudi fundamentalis
1982 / 1980sOsama bin Laden joins the mujaheddin in their fight against the Soviet occupiers of Afghanistan
Israeli invasion of Lebanon
1982 / 1980sPhoto: Creative Common
Bob Hawke is Australia’s prime minister after a Labor victory in the election
1983 / 1980sPhoto: Creative Common
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
1983 / 1980sPresident Reagan proposes a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) against nuclear attack
Photo: Public Domain
The CIA covertly arranges for mines to be laid in Nicaragua’s harbours
1984 / 1980s
President Reagan
November 6, 1984 / 1980sPresident Ronald Reagan is elected for a second presidential term, defeating the Democrat Walter Mondale
Photo: Public Domain
Mikhail Gorbachev
1985 / 1980sNew Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev brings glasnost (‘openness’) and perestroika (‘reform’) to the USSR
Photo: Creative Commons
Live Aid Concert
July 13, 1985 / 1980sLive Aid, an all-day concert for famine relief in Africa, is held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia
Photo: Creative Commons
Challenger explosion
January 28, 1986 / 1980sThe US Space shuttle Challenger explodes with seven on board less than two minutes after lift-off
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credit: crew: (front row) Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair; (back row) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik
Yoweri Museveni
1986 / 1980sThe guerrilla leader Yoweri Museveni takes Kampala and becomes president of Uganda
Iran-Contra affair
1987 / 1980sThe US Congress begins an investigation of the Iran-Contra affair, eventually clearing President Reagan of direct involvement
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credits: President Ronald Reagan, Caspar Weinberger, George Shultz, Ed Meese, and Don Regan in the Oval Office
Angola and South African
1988 / 1980sA cease-fire withdraws Cuban troops from Angola and South African forces from Angola and Namibia
British physicist Stephen Hawking
1988 / 1980sExplains the cosmos for the general reader in A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes
Photo: Creative Common
George Herbert Walker Bush
January 20, 1989 / 1980sGeorge Herbert Walker Bush becomes President
(January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993)
Photo: Public Domain
The Berlin Wall is coming down
1989 / 1980sDeconstruction of the Berlin Wall from 1990 – 1992
It will will no longer divide
Photo: Creative Common
Photo Credit: image taken in 1986 by Thierry Noir at Bethaniendamm in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
President George H. W. Bush Signs the ADA
July 26, 1990 / 1990sThe American’s with Disabilities Act bars discrimination against Americans with disabilities – this enables people with disabilities access to jobs, transportation, and public places, without restrictions due to disability
Photo: Creative Common
Photo Credit: President George Bush, Evan Kemp, Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Justin Dart, Chairman, President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Rev. Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability
The Gulf War
1991 / 1990sThe Gulf War begins when Iraq fails to meet the UN deadline for withdrawal from Kuwait
Photo: Public Domain
Algeria is plunged into a brutal civil war between a military junta and Muslim terrorists
1992 / 1990s
President Bill Clinton
January 20, 1993 / 1990sBill Clinton – 43rd President
(January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001)
Photo: Public Domain
Big storage made smaller
1994 / 1990sCompact Flash made flash data storage possible
Photo: Creative Common
The DVD
1995 / 1990sThe DVD became the next generation of disk storage
Photo: Public Domain
Oklahoma City bombing
1996 / 1990sA massive bomb destroys federal buildings in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people
Photo: Public Domain
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
June 4, 1997 / 1990sMaya Angelou is a celebrated and inspirational author and poet
Performing in New Orleans at the Essence Music Festival
Photo: Courtesy of the History Channel
Good Friday Agreement
1998 / 1990sA proposed referendum on northern Irish issues is accepted by all the relevant political parties in what becomes known as the “Good Friday Agreement”
Photo: Creative Common
Photo Credit: Parliament Buildings in Belfast, seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly
The USB stick plugged into computers for portable storage
1999 / 1990s
George W. Bush – elected President
January 20, 2001 / 2000sPresident George W. Bush
(January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009)
Photo: Public Domain
9 / 11
September 9, 2001 / 2000sSeptember 11 or 9/11- a day the nation will never forget
Photo: Creative Common
The new Blu-Ray allowed for more data storage
2003 / 2000s
Barack Obama becomes presiden
January 20, 2009 / 2000s44th President of the United States – President Obama
(January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017)
Photo: Public Domain
Donald Trump assumes office
January 20, 2017 / 2000sDonald Trump is elected President
(January 20, 2017 – Current)
Photo: Public Domain
Women’s March
January 21, 2017 / 2000sA protest that reached around the world
A protest for: human rights, women’s rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, and workers’ rights
Photo: Creative Common
The Cloud
2017 / 2000sThe rise of Cloud Storage systems, which saves data on third-party hard drives.
March for Our Lives
March 24, 2018 / 2000sA student-led demonstration for stronger gun control laws
Photo: Public Domain
