1. 1969:U.S. Astronaut Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon.

2. 1971:The 26 th Amendment lowers the voting age from 21 to18.

3. 1973: Landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion.

4. 1974:To avoid being impeached over the scandal surrounding the Watergate break-in and cover up. Richard Nixon resigns.

5. 1979: After revolution in Iran, 66 Americans are held hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students took over the American embassy in support of the Iranian revolution.

6. 1981: Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

7. 1986: In the Iran Contra scandal it is revealed that President Reagan authorized the exchange of weapons for hostages and used the proceeds to fund a secret war in Nicaragua.

8. 1987: President Reagan demands that soviet premier Gorbachev tear down the Berlin Wall. “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!”

9. 1990: Iraqi troops invade Kuwait sparking the Persian Gulf War. The Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) was a United Nations-authorized military conflict between Iraq and a coalition force from 34 nations.

10. 1992: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, George H. W. Bush formally declares the end of the cold war. Mr. Gorbachev Mr. Bush