Thermonuclear explosion at Bikini Atoll, March 1954. The unexpected spread of fallout from the test led to awareness of, and research into, radioactive pollution.

Karl F. Koecher, center, a former CIA contract employee, being escorted by FBI agents from the agency's headquarters in 1984. Koecher was arrested on charges of delivering classified national security information to the Czechoslovakian intelligence service.

US Military industrial complex, US army soldiers, salute

The area around Moscow's Kremlin is lit up at night in 1986. Banners featuring Lenin's face celebrate the 70th anniversary of his revolution are hung on the State Historical Museum in the foreground.

Cold War

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America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."

1960s

The 1990s is often remembered as a decade of relative peace and prosperity: The Soviet Union fell, ending the decades-long Cold War, and the rise of the Internet ushered in a radical new era of communication, business and entertainment. However, the decade was not without violence and tragedy, including the Bosnian genocide, the Rodney King beating and subsequent L.A. Riots, and the bombing of the World Trade Center. The Columbine High School shooting marked a solemn chapter in gun violence, and the devastatingly deadly Oklahoma City bombing by a domestic terrorist followed lethal standoffs between federal agents and armed civilians at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas.

1990s

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

1980

Space exploration, one of the greatest technological achievements in human history, includes the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger, and people like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

Space Exploration

1952

The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the civil rights movement in the United States. At this time the U.S. economy was booming and more (mostly white) Americans could afford new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods. But the 1950s also saw great conflict and division, from the nascent civil rights movement to the crusade against communism at home and abroad in the Korean War.

1950s

1975

1994

1987

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

The Cold War between Communist-bloc nations and Western allies defined postwar politics. Learn about the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, NATO, the Space Race and more.

Cold War: Definition and Timeline | HISTORY

1961

Paranormal activity refers to any event or situation outside the scope of modern scientific reasoning, such as UFO sightings, the Roswell crash, the predictions of Nostradamus and other curiosities.

Paranormal

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

Cold War

Topics

Military-Industrial Complex

Freedom of Information Act

Atomic Bomb History

Soviet Union

Stories

When the CIA Used ‘Dr. Zhivago’ as a Cold War Weapon

How ‘Project Blue Book’ Production Designers Evoked the Golden Age of UFOs

The Sex Party-Loving Soviet Spy Who Infiltrated the CIA

Why the Berlin Airlift Was the First Major Battle of the Cold War

This Day in History

Polish government signs accord with Gdansk shipyard workers

First NATO military action

Military seizes power in Egypt

President Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps

Superpowers meet in space

Superpowers agree to reduce nuclear arsenals