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1980
The U.S. athletes will not attend the summer Olympics in Moscow unless soviet union withdraws from Afghanistan. -
1980
U.S. mission to rescue hostages in Iran is aborted after a helicopter and cargo plane collide at the staging site in a remote part of Iran and 8 servicemen are killed. -
1981
Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th president. -
1981
President Reagan is shot in the chest by John Hinckley, Jr. -
1982
Deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution passes without the necessary votes. -
1983
The U.S. invades Caribbean island of Grenada after a coup by the Marxist faction in the government. -
1985
Reagan's second term begins. -
1986
Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members. -
1986
U.S. bombs military bases in Libya in an effort to deter terrorist strikes on American targets. -
1987
Congress holds public hearings in Iran-Contra investigation -
1987
In a speech in Berlin, President Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” and open Eastern Europe to political and economic reform. -
1987
Reagan and Gorbachev sign INF treaty, the first arms-control agreement to reduce the superpowers' nuclear weapons. -
1989
George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st president. -
1989
Oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, spilling more than 10 million gallons of oil. It is the largest oil spill in U.S. history. -
1989
President Bush signs legislation to provide for a federal bailout of nearly 800 insolvent savings and loan institutions. -
1989
U.S. forces invade Panama in an attempt to capture Gen. Manuel Noriega, who previously had been indicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. -
1990
Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, leading to the Persian Gulf War. -
1991
Persian Gulf War: the U.S. leads an international coalition in military operation (code-named “Desert Storm”) to drive Iraqis out of Kuwait. -
1991
Iraq accepts terms of UN ceasefire, marking an end of the war. -
1991
U.S. and Soviet Union sign START I treaty, agreeing to further reduce strategic nuclear arms. -
1991
Senate Judiciary Committee conducts televised hearings to investigate allegations of past sexual harassment brought against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas by Anita Hill, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma. -
1992
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in Dec. 1991, President Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin meet at Camp David and formally declare an end to the cold war. -
1992
The acquittal of four white police officers charged in the 1991 beating of black motorist Rodney King in Los Angeles sets off several days of rioting, leading to more than 50 deaths, thousands of injuries and arrests, and $1 billion in property damage. -
1992
President Bush authorizes sending U.S. troops to Somalia as part of UN relief effort. -
1992
President Bush grants pardons to six officials convicted or indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal, leading some to suspect a cover-up. -
1993
Bill Clinton is inaugurated as the 42nd president. -
1993
Bomb explodes in the basement garage of World Trade Center, killing 6, injuring 1,000, and causing more than $500 million in damage. -
1993
After a 51-day standoff with federal agents, Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tx, burns to the ground, killing 80 cult members. -
1993
President Clinton orders missile attack against Iraq in retaliation for alleged plot to assassinate former President Bush. -
1993
Eighteen U.S. soldiers are killed in an ambush by Somali militiamen in Mogadishu. -
1993
President Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement into law. -
1994
Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, files a federal lawsuit against President Clinton for sexual harassment. -
1995
President Clinton sends first 8,000 of 20,000 U.S. troops to Bosnia for 12-month peacekeeping mission. -
1995
The bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City kills 168 people. -
1995
The U.S. establishes full diplomatic relations with Vietnam. -
1995
A budget standoff between President Clinton and Congress results in a partial shutdown of the U.S. government. -
1997
Clinton's second inauguration. -
1998
President Clinton denies having had a sexual relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. -
1998
President Clinton releases the 1999 federal budget plan; it is the first balanced budget since 1969. -
1998
In a televised address, President Clinton admits having had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. -
1998
U.S. launches missile attacks on targets in Sudan and Afghanistan following terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania -
1998
U.S. and Britain launch air strikes against weapons sites in Iraq. -
1998
House of Representatives votes to impeach President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. -
1999
Senate acquits Clinton of impeachment charges. -
1999
NATO wages air campaign against Yugoslavia over killing and deportation of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. -
1999
School shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., leaves 14 students (including the 2 shooters) and 1 teacher dead and 23 others wounded. -
1999
U.S. and China sign a historic trade agreement. -
2000
According to the census, the nation's population numbers more than 280 million. -
2000
No clear winner is declared in the close presidential election contest between Vice President Al Gore and Texas governor George W. Bush. -
2000
More than a month after the presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court rules against a manual recount of ballots in certain Florida counties, which it contends would violate the Constitution's equal protection and due process guarantees. The decision provokes enormous controversy, with critics maintaining that the court has in effect determined the outcome of the election. -
2000
Bush formally accepts the presidency, having won a slim majority in the electoral college but not a majority of the popular vote. -
2001
George W. Bush is inaugurated as the 43rd president. -
2001
Two hijacked jetliners ram twin towers of World Trade Center in the worst terrorist attack against the U.S.; a third hijacked plane flies into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in rural Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people die in the attacks. -
2001
U.S. and Britain launch air attacks against targets in Afghanistan after the Taliban government fails to hand over Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks. -
2001
Following air campaign and ground assault by Afghani opposition troops, the Taliban regime topples, however, the hunt for bin Laden and other members of al-Qaeda terrorist organization continues.