TW Home
20th Century History
The American Century -- Excerpts from the book by Harold Evans. Reviews.
On This Day -- What happened on a particular day in history? Look it up.
Chronology of US History -- Brief chronology of events since 1820.
First Flight -- Orville Wright's 12-second flight in 1903. Flights 2-4. Modern replica of Wright-B flyer.
The Ascent of Mt. McKinley -- Frederick Cook climbed the tallest mountain in North America in 1906 and in 1909 became the first man to visit the North Pole. Or did he?
Federal Reserve Act -- History of the Fed, created by Congress in 1913.
Ford Pays Workers $5 per Day -- Henry Ford announces high wages & profit sharing for auto workers in1914.
World War I -- The first war to make the world safe for democracy. Origins of the war. Military history of the war. WWI art.
Prohibition -- The social experiment to outlaw alcohol, 1920-33.
Lindbergh Crosses the Atlantic -- Lindy flies solo across the Atlantic, May 21, 1927. Lindy's life story.
The Crash of '29 -- Huge losses on Wall Street, October 1929.
The Great Depression -- The most severe economic downturn in US history. More.
The New Deal -- Government response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. See this list of New Deal programs & agencies.
Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping -- The Crime of the Century!
World War II -- War in Europe began 9/1/39, in Poland. War in the Pacific began when Pearl Harbor was bombed, 12/7/41.
United Nations -- Representatives of 46 nations meet in San Francisco to establish the UN.
Korean War -- How the US got into the Korean War. Timeline.
McCarthyism -- Senator hunts for Commies in the early 1950s. Nixon caught Alger Hiss. Whittaker Chambers was the star witness against Hiss.
Cold War -- The long-running, non-shooting "war" between the US and the Soviet Union, 1946-91.
Sam Sheppard -- Did this Ohio doctor kill his wife in 1954? Not according to DNA evidence. More Sam.
U-2 Incident -- US spy plane. The Soviets claimed they shot it down in 1960, but another story has recently emerged. Picture.
Bay of Pigs Invasion -- Failed 1961 effort by CIA-backed Cuban exiles to invade Cuba & expel Castro. More BOP. US plots to kill Fidel. Our man in Havana.
Cuban Missile Crisis -- The US goes to the brink to expel Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba (October 1962). More.
JFK Visits Berlin -- Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, 6/26/63.
JFK Assassination -- Information about the 1963 Kennedy assassination in Dallas. Second shooter theory gains scientific support. View these assassination pictures. JFK biography.
LBJ's White House Tapes -- Taped conversations of President Lyndon Johnson, 1963-64.
The Beatles -- British rock-and-roll group The Beatles is US's top band, 1964-70.
Super Bowl #1 -- First football Super Bowl, played in 1967, pitted KC Chiefs against Green Bay Packers.
Muhammed Ali -- Champion boxer & outspoken opponent of the Vietnam war.
Vietnam War -- Information about the US war in Vietnam. US involvement grew rapidly after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Vietnam documents, resolutions, & speeches. How policy makers saw the war. The fall of Saigon.
Arab Oil Embargo -- Chronology of the 1973 oil shortage & subsequent price increase.
Roe v. Wade -- Supreme Court rules that abortions are legal (1973).
Superpower Summits -- Information from US-Soviet/Russia summits.
Watergate -- The scandal surrounding President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation.
China After Mao -- Reforms instituted by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s shaped today's China.
Iranian Hostage Crisis -- On November 4, 1979, the Iranian hostage crisis began as militants stormed the US Embassy in Tehran.
Collapse of the Soviet Union -- Soviet leader Gorbachev resigns on Dec. 25, 1991.
O.J. Simpson Trial -- Ex-quarterback is accused of murdering his former wife in 1994. Trial transcripts.
Chile's Pinochet Arrested for Murder -- Former dictator of Chile arrested in England (October 1998).
Clinton Impeachment -- 1999 impeachment of US President Bill Clinton.
Updated: November 30, 2001