For 10th Anniversaries in 2009
1999 was the year that:
The "Monica-gate" scandal hysteria finally subsided when, after being impeached by the House of Representatives, President Bill Clinton was tried and acquitted by the Senate.
A Cuban kid named Elian Gonzalez became an overnight celebrity when he survived the capsizing of the small refugee motorboat during which his mother drowned. The battle over whether he stayed with relatives in Florida or return to his father in Cuba raged for months before he was forcefully repatriated.
The first giant panda to be born in captivity saw the light of day at the San Diego Zoo.
The United States handed over operation of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian authorities in compliance with the agreement originally reached when Jimmy Carter was president.
American cancer survivor Lance Armstrong scored the first of several wins at the Tour de France world cycling competition.
American Beauty won the Oscar for Best Film of the year. Kevin Spacey, in the same film, won Best Actor; Hilary Swank won best actress for her role in Boys Don't Cry; and Sam Mendes won Best Director, also for American Beauty.
German novelist Gunter Grass received the Nobel Prize in literature. Unfortunately, a few years later it would be revealed that the left-wing, progressive author had volunteered to fight for Adolf Hilter as a teenager.
John F. Kennedy Jr., formerly known as "John-John" and the son of JFK and Jackie Kennedy (later Onassis) died in a crash, along with his wife, while piloting his small private aircraft.
Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura took the oath of office as the independently elected governor of Minnesota.
Teenagers Dylan Klebod and Eric Harris horrified the nation, murdering 12 of their fellow students in the notorious Columbine High School massacre.
"Doctor Death" Jack Kevorkian, an outspoken advocate of mercy killing, was convicted of second –degree murder in the death of one of his patients.
New York swamped Atlanta, four games to none to win the 1999 World Series for the American League.
The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl, beating the Atlanta Falcons 34 to 19.
For 20th Anniversaries in 2009
1989 was the year that :
In a delayed response to Ronal Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall," the Berlin Wall crumbled as a first indication that the "Evil Empire" was about to bite the dust.
President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama. Unlike his son's later intervention in Iraq, that episode ended quickly with the toppling of corrupt dictator Manuel Noreiga and a restoration of elected civilian government . . . and no costly, long –term American occupation.
A tanker named the Exxon Valdez made an all-too-big splash off the coast of Alaska, the result of a massive oil spill when the ship's skipper – who was later tried for negligence – ran the mighty tanker aground.
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu and his wife, Elena, were given early retirements when their regime was overturned by a mob uprising in the capital of Bucharest. The couple were summarily tried and executed by firing squad after failing to escape the country.
White South African President F.W. de Klerk met with African national Congress leader Nelson Mandela in the opening steps of a peacefully negotiated settlement that would result in the end of apartheid and the installation of the first freely elected black government in South Africa.
Leona Helmsley, the millionaire hotel proprietor and so-called Queen of Mean, was sentenced to prison for income tax evasion. It probably didn't help that her judge and jurors learned that she once told an employee that "only little people pay taxes."
Failed televangelist James Bakker also had to serve prison time after being convicted of fraud.
Cheers, the good-natured sitcom centered on the staff and regulars of a Boston bar, won the Emmy for best prime-time television series.
Driving Miss Daisy won the Oscar for Best Picture, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his role in My Left Foot, Jessica Tandy won Best Actress for her title role in Driving Miss Daisy and Oliver Stone won Best Director for his Born on the Fourth of July.
Bette Milder won a Grammy for her single Wind Beneath My Wings, and Bonnie Raitt won one for her album Nick of Time.
Oakland won the World Series for the American League, trouncing San Francisco four games to none.
The San Francisco 49ers clinched the Super Bowl, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals, 20 to 16.
For 25th Anniversaries in 2009
1984 was the year that:
President Ronald Reagan swept to re-election with an overwhelming victory, carrying 49 of the 50 states against Democratic banner bearer – and former Carter vice president – Walter Mondale. His winning slogan was "It's morning again in America."
Even in defeat, the Democratic ticket made history, having chosen the first women to serve as vice presidential nominee of a major party, New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro.
Bell Labs in New Jersey scored a major high-tech breakthrough, inventing a megabyte chip capable of storing 400% more data than all earlier versions.
Female astronaut Dr. Kathryn Sullivan became the first woman to walk in space.
New York buckled up to become the first state to pass a compulsory seat beat law.
Singer Bruce Springsteen achieved superstardom with his album Born in the U.S. A.
An American balloonist became the first to cross the Atlantic. Joe W. Kittinger successfully flew from Maine to Europe, crash-landing near Savona, Italy. He emerged from the wreckage of his 10-story-tall balloon with nothing worse than a broken ankle.
Author William Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel Ironweed.
America cleaned up in the 1983 Los Angeles Olympics, garnering a total of 83 gold medals, 81 silver and 30 bronze. The stellar showing was due in part to the Soviet boycott. Outstanding American athletes included California Greg Louganis, who won both the platform and springboard diving events.
The top 1984 films included Amadeus, Beverly Hills Cop and Ghost Busters.
The Detroit Tigers took the World Series, winning four games to one against the San Diego Padres.
The Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl, swamping the Washington Redskins 38 to 9.
For 50th Anniversaries in 2009
1959 was the year that:
The U.S. chose its first team of astronauts. In an opening round in the race for space, NASA picked its first seven potential space travelers.
A little-know, bearded young Marxist revolutionary seized power in Cuba, turning out the corrupt Batista regime on Jan. 1. His name: Fidel Castro.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower jointly presided over opening ceremonies for the St. Lawrence Seaway. The 2,350-mile waterway opened up vast new trade opportunities for both the American and Canadian economies.
In a small portent of things to come, on July 19 two soldiers belonging to a small U.S. Army mission were killed by Communist guerrillas at Bienhoa, South Vietnam.
"The Great Cranberry Scare of 1959" resulted when traces of a carcinogenic weed killer (ATZ) were founded in cranberry bogs in Oregon. Although there was no contamination in major cranberry-growing areas of New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts, the resulting panic lead to a major slump in cranberry consumption – and many jelly-free Thanksgivings in American homes that year.
Notable movies of 1959 included Ben Hur, La Dolce Vita, Some Like It Hot, Breathless, North by Northwest, Anatomy of a Murder and Gidget.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, beating the White Sox, for games to two.
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