| 1947 |
|
US Marshall Plan aid spurs European economic recovery |
| 1949 |
|
William Faulkner wins Nobel Prize for Literature |
| 1950 |
|
US becomes involved in Korean War |
| 1952 |
|
Dwight Eisenhower becomes US President |
| 1953 |
|
Crick and Watson demonstrate double-helix structure of DNA |
| 1954 |
|
Rock'n'Roll music becomes popular - Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, etc |
| 1954 |
|
Anti-Communist McCarthyism censured in US |
| 1956 |
|
"My Fair Lady" popular musical |
| 1958 |
|
Oral contraceptive pill becomes available |
| 1961 |
|
Death of Ernest Hemingway (writer) |
| 1961 |
|
Cuban Missile Crisis after US-backed anti-Castro invasion |
| 1962 |
|
Death of Marilyn Munroe (actress) |
| 1962 |
|
Rachael Carson's book "Silent Spring" launches environmental movement |
| 1963 |
|
US President John F Kennedy shot |
| 1964 |
|
Civil Rights Act passed in US |
| 1964 |
|
US becomes involved in Vietnam War |
| 1967 |
|
"Flower Power" at its height in California |
| 1968 |
|
Pierre Trudeau becomes Prime Minister of Canada |
| 1968 |
|
Black rights campaigner Martin Luther King assassinated |
| 1969 |
|
Neil Armstrong becomes first man to walk on Moon |
| 1969 |
|
US involvement in Vietnam War peaks |
| 1971 |
|
Rapprochement between US and China - Richard Nixon's visit |
| 1972 |
|
"Detente" - Strategic Arms Pact with USSR |
| 1973 |
|
US launches Pioneer II to explore outer planets |
| 1973 |
|
Henry Kissinger becomes US Secretary of State |
| 1974 |
|
Watergate Scandal - Richard Nixon quits as President |
| 1975 |
|
US pulls out of Vietnam War |
| 1979 |
|
Three Mile Island nuclear reactor incident in US |
| 1980 |
|
Iranian Hostage Crisis - hostages held in US Embassy in Tehran |
| 1980 |
|
Eruption of Mount St Helens (60 killed) |
| 1980 |
|
Ronald Reagan becomes US President |
| 1987 |
|
Iran-Contra Affair - arms for aid scandal |
| 1987 |
|
US and USSR sign first of several treaties to reduce nuclear arms |
| 1988 |
|
US and Canada sign free trade agreement |
| 1989 |
|
Exxon Valdez oil-spill in Alaska |
| 1990 |
|
Hubble Space Telescope launched |
| 1991 |
|
US involvement in Persian Gulf War starts after Iraq invades Kuwait |
| 1993 |
|
Bill Clinton elected US President |
| 1993 |
|
New York World Trade Center bombing |
| 1994 |
|
Jean Chrétien becomes Canadian Prime Minister |
| 1994 |
|
North American Free Trade Agreement between US, Canada and Mexico |
| 1994 |
|
Sovereignty of Quebec narrowly defeated in referendum |
| 1997 |
|
US spacecraft begins exploration of Mars |
| 1998 |
|
Male impotence drug Viagra licensed for use in USA |
| 1999 |
|
Bill Clinton acquitted in impeachment trial |
| 1999 |
|
Columbine High School murders |
