Polio Vaccine Announced

1953: Dr. Jonas Salk announces the successful test of a vaccine against polio.

First Colour TV

1954: RCA released the first colour television model for sale in the US. The set had a 15-inch screen (12-inches viewable) and sold for $1,000.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

1989: The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred off the coast of Alaska, causing one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

Cold Fusion Claim Announced

1989: Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce that they have achieved cold fusion. This is later demonstrated to be a fraud when other scientists fail to replicate their experiments.

Beatles Release First Album

1963: The first Beatles album, Please Please Me, is released in the UK.

Alcatraz Closes

1963: The infamous prison on Alcatraz Island, also known as "The Rock", closes.

General Theory of Relativity Published

1916: Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity. This expanded on his earlier special theory of relativity and unified it with Newtonian gravity. The theory describes gravity as a geometric property of four-dimensional spacetime, and it remains the current model in modern physics today.

Zapruder Film Broadcast

1975: The Zapruder film, which shows the Kennedy assassination, is broadcast on television for the first time.

Winston Churchill Gives Iron Curtain Speech

1946: Winston Churchill uses the term "Iron Curtain" for the first time in a speech in the United States.

First Cray Supercomputer Shipped

1976: The first Cray supercomputer, the Cray-1, is shipped to Los Alamos National Laboratory

First Issue of Time Magazine

1923: The first issue of Time Magazine is published.

Pioneer 10 Launched

1972: Pioneer 10 is launched. It was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and directly observe Jupiter. It is also the first human object to leave the solar system.

Puerto Rican Nationalists Attack Capitol

1954: Members of the Puerto Rican independence movement open fire on the US Congress, injuring five representatives. The four attackers would be released in the late seventies in a spy trade with Cuba.