20th Century
The 20th century, spanning 1901-2000, was marked by rapid technological advancements, two world wars, social revolutions, the Cold War, decolonization and groundbreaking achievements in science, space and civil rights.
Start Here
During the 1950s, the United States was the world’s strongest military power. Its economy was booming, and the fruits of this prosperity–new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods–were available to more people than ever before. However, the 1950s also saw great conflict. The nascent civil rights movement and the crusade against communism at home and abroad exposed underlying divisions in American society.
The 1960s saw John F. Kennedy elected to the White House and gains in civil rights before America splintered amid cultural divisions and Vietnam War protests.
The 1970s brought social change in the battles for women's and gay rights, along with the launch of an environmental movement and a new conservative populism.
The 1980s were a decade of political conservatism, such as President Ronald Reagan’s Reaganomics, and of blockbuster movies, pop culture and fashion on MTV.
1930s
The 1930s
Learn more about the 1930s, a particularly tumultuous decade in world history that got its start with a bang - or, more accurately, a crash.
Explore related articles
The protestors helped themselves to the editor's cigars and would not budge from his office.
Keep your hands inside the vehicle as we steer you through the rickety ups and terrifying downhill drops of this classic thrill ride.
This 1960s chatbot was a precursor to AI. Its maker grew to fear it.
Phones have transformed since Alexander Graham Bell’s first call. Sprawling box sets and rotary dials led to push buttons and smartphones.
Extreme heat plagued the United States for three months during the summer of 1936.
Many people associate aspirin with willow bark, but the pills in your cabinet don’t come from a tree.
Starting in the 1980s, an eclectic mix of urban outcasts built a radical social experiment free from consumerism.
The luxury liner’s collision with an iceberg set off a tragic chain of events.
The 1928 Banana Massacre in Colombia inspired one of the most haunting parts in Gabriel García Márquez’s novel.
Eight years after Emmett Till’s death in 1955, some 250,000 people gathered in the nation’s capital for the 1963 March on Washington.
Before the mid-19th century, bowling used nine pins, not 10.
Route 66 attractions, like the Kan-O-Tex Service Station and the first McDonald’s site, preserve the famous highway’s past.
The Washington, D.C., performing arts center has been one of the United States’ preeminent cultural institutions since the 1970s.
An investigation to a 1972 break-in to the Democratic National Committee offices revealed gross abuses of power by the Nixon administration.
Revisit the spirit of the '90s from grunge to glam.
