JANUARY 4, 2010 I 5th Anniversary: Burj Khalifa in Dubai built
The tallest man-made structure took six years to complete and was designed to be the centerpiece in Dubai amongst residential homes, hotels, parks, a mall and a lake. Leading the build was chief architect Adrian Smith and chief structural engineer William F. Baker.
JANUARY 26, 2005
10th Anniversary: Condoleezza Rice became first African American woman to be US Secretary of State
Prior to becoming the second African American secretary of state (who was the first?), as well as the second female (who was the first?) to hold the title, Rice was a political scientist. She served under President George W. Bush during his second four-year term.
AUGUST 2005
10th Anniversary: Hurricane Katrina
The costliest and one of the five deadliest natural disasters in US history caused $108 billion in property damage, took the lives of thousands (what was the death toll?) and displaced more than 400,000. Most of the deaths occurred in New Orleans, where 80 percent of the city became flooded due to the failure of its levee system. Because of the overwhelming devastation caused by the storm, the US government requested the name Katrina be retired by the World Meteorological Organization and never used for another North Atlantic hurricane.
MARCH 7, 1985
30th Anniversary: USA for Africa releases charity single 'We Are the World'
Written by late music legend Michael Jackson and former member of The Commodores Lionel Richie, the charity single (watch it performed) connected musicians across genres to aid starving people in Africa. The single achieved worldwide commercial success, obtaining quadruple platinum certification and becoming the fastest-selling American pop single in history.
MAY 21, 1980
35th Anniversary: Pac-Man released
This icon of ‘80s pop culture (soon to appear on the big screen) created a new genre of arcade games by stepping outside of the space, shooting and sports arenas and appealing to both genders. Initially released in Japan, the game received minimal reception. However, following six months on the market, it received more success after it was released in North America.
OCTOBER 11, 1975
40th Anniversary: Premiere of 'Saturday Night Live'
The iconic variety and sketch-comedy show (watch clips) was created by executive producer Lorne Michaels and developed by then-VP of late night programming for NBC, Dick Ebersol, to fill the vacant weekend timeslot after Johnny Carson pulled his ‘Best of Carson’ reruns. Many of today’s top comedians used the show as a launching pad for successful film and TV careers.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1970
45th Anniversary: 'Monday Night Football' premieres
When NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle was looking for a way to boost the league’s TV audience, he came up with the idea of broadcasting a weekly Monday primetime game on one of the major networks. To announce the games, controversial sportscaster Howard Cosell led the pack, followed by legendary college football commentator Keith Jackson and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith (watch clips). The telecast kicked off in 1970 with the Cleveland Browns beating the New York Jets. The series, now broadcast on ESPN, is one of the longest-running and highest-rated primetime shows ever.
APRIL 11, 1970
45th Anniversary: Apollo 13 launched
The seventh manned mission in the Apollo space program was to be the third to land on the moon, but after Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert uttered those famous words (see them), the lunar landing was aborted.
AUGUST 6, 1965
50th Anniversary: Voting Rights Act signed
A product of the American Civil Rights Movement, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law federal legislation that forbade racial discrimination and disenfranchisement tactics in voting. Believed by many to be the most valuable civil rights legislation in the country, the act has been amended five times by Congress to expand its protections.
FEBRUARY 1, 1965
50th Anniversary: Peter Jennings becomes the youngest network news anchorman
An inexperienced Peter Jennings became the youngest US network news anchor at the age of 26, hosting his own ABC nightly news show for two years. Following his history-making stint, the journalist was reassigned as an international correspondent before returning to the anchor chair in 1978 (watch clips). Jennings retired from broadcasting a few months before succumbing to lung cancer.
DECEMBER 1, 1955
60th Anniversary: Rosa Parks refused to move to back of the bus
The late civil rights activist etched her place in history following her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws for refusing to give up her seat in the colored section of the bus to a white person (see photos). Although revered for her bravery, Parks was fired from her job as a seamstress and was the recipient of death threats for years to come. Before her death in 2005 at the age of 92, Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
OCTOBER, 1955
60th Anniversary: 'The Lord of the Rings' published
Intended as a sequel to the 1937 novel “The Hobbit," J.R.R. Tolkien's three-volume high fantasy novel became one of the best-selling novels ever written, with successful film, radio and stage adaptations (watch clips from the movies).
JULY 17, 1955
60th Anniversary: Disneyland opened
The concept for the first Disneyland theme park was spawned after Walt Disney spent a day with his daughters at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. He visualized a place that catered to kids and adults and also satisfied the needs of fans who requested to visit the film studio. Opening day was televised nationwide (watch it) and attended by 28,000 people.
OCTOBER 24, 1945
70th Anniversary: United Nations founded
In an effort to promote international peace and security, the organization was founded by 51 countries following World War II (what organization did it replace?). Aside from peacebuilding, the UN also works for causes related to humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, disaster relief and the advancement of women.
AUGUST 6, 1945
70th Anniversary: First atomic bomb dropped, Japan
The only use of nuclear weapons for warfare occurred during World War II, when the United States dropped atomic bombs (watch historical footage) on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands. Believing this new weapon had the power to wipe out human civilization, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced an unconditional surrender, effectively ending the war.
JANUARY 27, 1945
70th Anniversary: Liberation of Auschwitz
The largest concentration camp complex (see photos) established by the Nazi regime during World War II served as a prison, forced labor camp and killing center. While the camp’s remaining 7,000 detainees, most of whom were ill, were liberated by the Soviet army, it is estimated that at least 1.3 million people were transported to the camp by the SS during its five-year existence.
FEBRUARY 6, 1935
80th Anniversary: Board game Monopoly first went on sale
Although credited to heater salesman Charles Darrow, the game’s initial concept was actually patented by Elizabeth Magie in 1904 as an educational tool to explain the single tax theory of Henry George. In fact, Darrow was one of many people in the Midwest and East Coast to give input about the game’s design, which Parker Brothers began selling in 1935.
NOVEMBER, 1915
100th Anniversary: Albert Einstein presented Theory of General Relativity to Prussian Academy of Science
Through the use of geometric objects, the theoretical physicist and philosopher described the curvature of spacetime to define gravity. The set of ten equations, which he presented before the Prussian Academy in Berlin over the course of four days, became the basis for his Theory of General Relativity.
JULY 29, 1890
125th Anniversary: Death of Vincent van Gogh
The post-impressionist painter reportedly suffered from anxiety, lacked self-confidence and masked his emotional turmoil with alcohol and tobacco. Having only sold one painting during his lifetime, Van Gogh’s works (see them) are among the world’s most expensive paintings ever sold, the most recent being “Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies,” which sold for $61.8 million (to whom?).
APRIL 15, 1865
150th Anniversary: Abraham Lincoln assassinated
Incensed by President Lincoln’s support of voting rights for blacks, an actor and Confederate spy formulated a plan to rid the world of the president for good. As Lincoln and the First Lady attended the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theatre, the conspirator snuck up to the balcony and shot the unguarded President in the back of the head.
APRIL 9, 1865
150th Anniversary: End of American Civil War
Fought from 1861-1865, the war was a battle between the United States and 11 Southern states that formed the Confederacy (see photos). Following the war and a Union victory, three Reconstruction Amendments were adopted to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude, provide due process and equal protection to all persons and prohibit discrimination in voting rights on the basis of color, race or previous condition of servitude.
1765
250th Anniversary: Boulanger Restaurant (world's first restaurant) opened in France
The world’s first restaurant was opened in France by a Parisian soup maker. Reportedly, shop owners and vendors were required to belong to a guild, but since there was no soup maker’s guild, Boulanger marketed his goods as having restorative properties and placed a sign labeled “restaurant” in his window. This set him apart from other shops and outside of the realm of having to pay guild dues.
JUNE 15, 1215
800th Anniversary: Magna Carta signed
The charter signed by King John of England was a peace treaty between the king and his barons, guaranteeing the freedom of the church, respect for feudal rights and privileges and access to swift justice. In April, Lincoln Castle will close its gates for three months while construction to build a new vault for an original copy of the document is completed.
