Top ten greatest events of the 1900’s (US)¶

Synopsis¶

On October 29, 1969 Arpanet was created.

It is widely considered to be the first real network to use the new packet switching technology.

The first connection was established between Stanford and UCLA.

Later, Arpanet grew from the first bilateral connection, to the first network which was established between America’s universities.

What effects did it have?¶

Arpanet was the precursor to the inter-net, which we rely on so heavily today, and will likely continue to rely on for many future generations to come.

It was proof of concept for the ideas that some of the world’s earliest Computer Scientists had proposed earlier.

It led to:

• Heavy investment by the military for it’s own programs.
• The creation of international internet research foundations.
• The TCP/IP Standard which allowed the internet to grow into what we have today.
• Email by Ray Tomlinson
• The first trans-Atlantic connection (with the University College of London).

Today many people make use of the internet every day - it’s a fantastic tool.

• It lets us look up map directions
• Lets us pay for things remotely
• Provides online jobs
• It’s a portable/enormous thesaurus
• An easy means of communicating with people far away.
• An educational tool
• A business/promotional tool
• Provides entertainment
• Improves relationships between people through social networks

The list goes on and on. I just wanted to demonstrate a couple of these ways that different people might benefit from the internet.

Media¶

One of the earliest email messages were sent from this Arpanet computer.

Computer Science legends Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson work on an Arpanet using computer here (before they created Unix).

This is the team at Berkeley that established the first computer network in the history of man kind.

Synopsis¶

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther K. Jr. delivered one of the most powerful speeches in modern day history, his famous “I have a dream” speech, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom event.

He called for an end to racial inequality and for an end to racial discrimination.

It was a crucial moment for the civil rights moments (1955–1968), and is one of the nations’ most famous video documented speeches of all time.

What effects did it have?¶

MLK’s famous speech boosted the civil right movement’s momentum and got it attention both nationally, and internationally.

Eventually the movement went on to abolish segregation in American by the government (mostly).

His speech put torque on the current white house administration (Kennedy) to advance Civil Rights legislation as well.

Media¶

The view from the Lincoln Memorial toward the Washington Monument on August 28, 1963.

MLK delivering his speech.

Mr. King has the crowd’s complete undivided attention as he makes history.

A man of conviction

Synopsis¶

Throughout history, human beings have had a desire to fly.

In 1903, the United States tried to develop an airplane, and failed:

"In 1 million to 10 million years they might be able to make a plane that would fly."
  -The New York Times

Eigth days after the New York Times made this statement, In Kitty Hawk, NC; Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted the first successful ‘heavier than air’ flight ever.

Their airplane was propellor driven, and it was able to stay up in the air for 12 seconds on its’ first round.

They had 3 more successful flights that day, with very little media coverage.

After only a few years, they managed to stay in the air for over an hour!

What effects did it have?¶

The invention of the airplane had major implications in the upcoming years.

During WWI, the plane was used for espionage.

During WWII, the plane was a major tool of destruction, fitted with powerful weaponry.

For example, the plane made a big impact in the Battle of London where the war was almost lost to the Axis powers.

Today, it is still used as a war machine, but now its’ usage is extended to quickly and effectively transporting goods and people from one place to another.

Never before have humans been able to travel so quickly, lightly, effectively, and easily.

Media¶

The first flight, at Kitty Hawk.

Another Kitty Hawk photo.

wilbur and orville wright

Synopsis¶

On July 20, 1969 the greatest feat of exploration ever attempted was accomplished.

Earlier President John F. Kennedy had set a goal for the country:

To reach the moon before the Soviets did, and before the end of 60’s.

We had successfully put men on the moon, and got them back.

What effects did it have?¶

The intent of the lunar landing was mainly political.

By 1957 (more than 10 years before we landed on the moon!), the Soviets had already put out their Sputnik satellite system.

This did a few things to the world:

• It inspired fear in Americans, that the Soviets could now potentially launch a nuclear missile and have it arrive in less that 30 minutes.
• It was used as propaganda to other 3rd world countries, to sell Soviet power over the Americans.

Once the U.S. had landed men on the moon, the Soviets were behind in the space race.

Also, getting to the moon was a huge technological breakthrough. Thanks to that, we have many things today that come from our space ventures, like

• Cell phones
• Television
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

Media¶

Here Apollo 11 is taking off from Florida.

A picture taken by a crewmember of Apollo 11 mission, while on the moon.

A close up image of Earth, from space (taken by the crew of Apollo 11).

Synopsis¶

On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on an American naval base in Oahu, Hawaii.

The attack came while peace talks were apparently still underway, as an attempt to catch the U.S. off guard.

Japan was planning belligerent activity against the Netherlands, the UK, and China. It’s intent with the Pearl Harbor attack was to cripple the American naval fleet to prevent to get them out of the way.

The Japanese brought 6 aircraft carriers, with 353 Japanese figter planes. There were 8 U.S. Navy Battleships present, and they were all seriously damaged. Four of them were sunk.

The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer.

188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed and 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded.

The U.S. joined the war the next day by declaring war on Japan, an Axis power.

What effects did it have?¶

The attack on Pearl Harbor came as a wake up call to America.

Before the attack, isolationism was prevalent in America. But after the attack, the general American attitude changed radically. Americans everywhere united in solidarity with the war effort.

As Japanese General Yamomoto puts it:

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

Media¶

A razed airplane field at Pearl Harbor.

A row of destroyed planes after the attack.

The destroyed USS Arizona going up in flames.

The memorial of the USS Arizona that is in place today.

A civilian who was killed at the attack

Synopsis¶

In 1932, when Roosevelt was elected President, the U.S. was longing for change.

The country had been devasted by the crash of the stock market, the dustbowl, the bank failures, and economic isolationism.

America needed a leader, a strong leader, and that’s exactly what it got.

Many have ranked Roosevelt’s presidency as one of the best in U.S. History.

Part of the reason behind that is the way he dealt with the depression.

Instead of sitting idly by waiting for the money to “trickle down”, he went and took action.

This action, was his “New Deal” program.

The main idea was to put Americans back to work through public spending.

What effects did it have?¶

Even though the New Deal did not pull America out of the depression, it did help to improve the situation.

Here are some of the effects of the “New Deal”.

• Boosted morale
• Provided for the basic needs of many Americans
• Gave many unemployed Americans jobs
• Got American industries back on their feet.
• Major reform to prevent another depression.
• Part of the 14 trillion dollar debt that the U.S. Government still has.

Media¶

A pin that was a part of Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” campaign.

A couple of WPA workers at work in Tuskegee, Alabama

A pair of classy looking fellows trying to make ends meet during the great depression.

Synopsis¶

On September 11, 2001 the U.S. attacked by terrorists.

These events were totally unexpected, and completely shocked the nation.

Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the attacks.

Their justification is:

• The U.S. support of Israel, who they have issues with.
• The presence of American Troops in Saudi Arabia
• U.S. sanction against Iraq.

It was a four sided attack:

• Pentagon
• World Trade Center North Tower
• World Trade Center South Tower
• White House (failed)

What effects did it have?¶

After the attacks were carried out, violence and intolerance were carried out against Muslims - for being Muslim.

Some called for war against a Muslim country, for retribution.

Eventually they got it, with the wars against both Afghanistan and Iraq.

What happened to the country on 9/11 even lead to political assassinations (Bin Laden), and public executions (Sadaam Husseinn).

Now the U.S. is involved in the longest on going war that it has ever seen since.

Media¶

A couple of firemen hoist the American flag amid the rubble.

Rolling clouds of smoke and debris stalk the streets of New York.

Synopsis¶

In August 1939, German Scientist Albert Einsten sent a letter to Roosevelt warning him of the nuclear capability that the Germans were close to posessing.

In 1940, the Manhattan Project was already under way.

In 1945, President Truman was faced with a terrible decision.

He had to decide whether or not the United States should use the nuclear bomb on Japan.

Truman decided to issue Japan the Potsdam declaration:

"the Empire of Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference.
This ultimatum stated that, if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction."

The Japanese Emperor decided not to give into Trumans’s demands.

The Little Boy was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by the Fat Man over Nagasaki on August 9.

What effects did it have?¶

The nuclear age had truly begun with the first military use of atomic weapons.

• Soviet Russia had been intimidated, and that lead to nuclear proliferation

Bans on Nuclear Weaponry were created, but big countries like the U.S., China, and Soviet Russia could still acess these things unfortunately.

• Hiroshima and Nagasaki were utterly destroyed. Over thirty thousand people were killed at Hiroshima when the bomb was exploded. Over twenty thousand were killed at Nagasaki.
• Tens of thousands or more people were killed from radiation fall out.
• After Nagasaki, Japan issued its’ unconditional surrender to the U.S.
• America made a powerful statement that echoed across the international community.

Media¶

A selection of US and Canadian sites important to the Manhattan Project.

A test detonation for the American nuclear weapons

An arch is the only standing after the end of the way (why)?”

Synopsis¶

In 1973 Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson released the legendary C programming language while working at Bell Labs.

C, at the time of publication was the ‘highest level’ programming language in existence.

Today, it is one of the lowest level languages that are still widely used.

It is the first ‘portable’ compiled programming language, which means that C takes human code and turns it into machine code.

Before C, Computer Scientists had to write in assembly code, which usually meant that their programs

would only work on their own computers, and were not easily distributable.

What effects did it have?¶

C completely revolutionized countless industries.

We rely on things that come from C every day, and many of us don’t even realize it.

• Personal Computers

  • Dennis Ritchie used his C programming language to write the also legendary Unix operating system.

  • Almost every single operating system in existence today is based off of Unix (except Windows).

    • Mac OS
    • Linux derivatives

• Companies

  • Most commericial organizations rely on Unix-like computers for day to day operations.
  • Unix computers have a legacy of safety, so entities like banks rely on them for security.

• The internet

  • Many of servers today use software that is written in C.
  • Even more servers (close to 90 percent) operate on Unix.

• Software

  • The two most popular programing languages today are direct descendants of C (C++ and Python).

  • Even those that started from scratch conform to the syntax standards set by C - everything looks like C (except python).

  • Embedded systems

    • Modern car dashboards, plane flight controls, digital medical equipment, cell phones, etc...

In a nutshell, almost every single digital product that we use today is a product of C, or at least has been influenced by it in some way.

Media¶

The legendary “K&R” manual for C programming, which is still studied in many Computer Science colleges.

Dennis Ritchie, before his death in 2011.

Synopsis¶

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on Cuba.

On October 22, 1962 U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced to the world that the Soviets were building secret missile bases just 90 miles off the east coast, on Cuba.

The option of an armed invasion on Cuba with airstrikes was on the table, but ultimately Kennedy decided to be more cautious.

He demanded that Russian Premiere Nikita S. Khrushchev abort his mission in cuba. To enfore this, he put in place an American naval blockade.

We went on the brink of nuclear warfare when Nikita authorized his field commanders to fire their tactical nuclear weapons of attacked by the Ame ricans.

As many have put it “the two leaders of the world’s greatest nuclear superpowers stared each other down for seven days - until Khrushchev blinked.”

What effects did it have?¶

This teeter totter between peace and nuclear warfare shocked the world.

It stirred an already existing global debate about the U.S. and Soviet Unions’ use of nuclear weapons.

It also caused even more anti-communist sentiment stateside, as well as fear. Even more bomb bunkers were built as people prepared for the worst.

Public fear is evident even during Seattle’s world fair in 1962:

"We cannot see into the future to visualize the Seattle of 2012, but we
can hope and imagine. In the year 2012 Seattle will either be a mighty
metropolis of more than 1,000,000 residents -- or it will have become a
charred, deserted relic of a fearful age of nuclear warfare. This year of
1962 will have been a troubled one as you will have read in history."
   - Letter from the Seattle City Council (1962) to the Seattle City Council (2012) in commemoration of the Space Needle's 50th anniversary.

http://www.seattle.gov/council/attachments/20120417.pdf

Media¶

An aerial view of the Surface to Air (SAM) launch sites being built by the Soviet Union in Cuba.

US Air Force Chief-of-Staff General Curtis LeMay meeting with President John F. Kennedy along with the U-2 pilots who photographed Soviet missiles on Cuba, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

An artist parodies the cuban missile crisis and the struggle between Soviet Chairman Khrushchev and President Kennedy.

Arpanet¶

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-the-internet-in-a-nutshell/

“I have a dream”¶

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/i-have-a-dream-speech-text_n_809993.html

Cuban Missile Crisis¶

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx http://www.wyzant.com/Help/History/HPOL/JFK/Cuban/

The C Programming Language¶

http://www.livinginternet.com/i/iw_unix_c.htm http://groups.engin.umd.umich.edu/CIS/course.des/cis400/c/c.html

Pearl Harbor¶

http://www.allmilitary.com/board/viewtopic.php?id=3323 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

The New Deal¶

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/dustbowl-new-deal/ http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1851.html

Apollo 11¶

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/apollo11/index.html

The Wright Brothers take to the skies¶

http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdwrigh.htm http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/Wrights.html http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wrighthtml/wrighttime.html

The attacks on 9/11¶

http://www.911memorial.org/faq-about-911 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

The dropping of the atomic bomb¶

http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_95_Notes.htm http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm https://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/abomb.htm