Contemporary
ARPANET (1969): The First Message and Birth of the Internet
The first host-to-host message crossed the ARPANET, the packet-switched network that later developed into the internet.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
Cuyahoga River Fire (1969): Cleveland's Burning River
A short fire on oil-slicked debris became a national symbol of water pollution and helped build support for the Clean Water Act and the EPA.
Contemporary
Santa Barbara Oil Spill (1969): The Blowout That Sparked Change
An estimated 80,000-100,000 barrels of crude oil fouled the coast; public outrage helped produce the National Environmental Policy Act, Earth Day and stronger coastal protection.
Contemporary
Cambodian Campaign (1970): The US Incursion Into Cambodia
Allied forces captured large supply caches and disrupted communist bases, but the operation widened the war in Cambodia and triggered mass protests in the United States.
Contemporary
Christopher Street Liberation Day (1970): The First Pride March
The march established an annual tradition of June Pride events that spread to cities across the United States and the world.
Contemporary
Black September 1970: Jordan's War with the PLO Explained
The Jordanian army defeated the Palestinian guerrilla groups; by July 1971 they had been expelled from Jordan and the PLO relocated to Lebanon.
Contemporary
Women's Strike for Equality (1970): Marching on Fifth Avenue
The largest women's rights demonstration in the US since the suffrage era drew national attention to the new feminist movement.
Contemporary
Kent State Shootings (1970): National Guard Fire on Students
Four students were killed and nine wounded, sparking a nationwide student strike that closed hundreds of colleges.
Contemporary
Venera 7 (1970): The First Landing on Another Planet
The first spacecraft to land intact on another planet and transmit data from its surface, recording about 475 °C and roughly 90 times Earth's air pressure.
Contemporary
Apollo 13 (1970): The Successful Failure in Space
The Moon landing was abandoned after an oxygen tank explosion, but all three astronauts returned safely to Earth on 17 April 1970.
Contemporary
Creation of the EPA (1970): America's Environmental Agency
Federal pollution programs were combined into one independent agency, which went on to enforce the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and other major environmental laws.
Contemporary
1970 Bhola Cyclone: The Deadliest Tropical Cyclone on Record
An estimated 300,000-500,000 people died; anger at the government's response fed the political crisis that led to Bangladesh's independence in 1971.