Let’s play a game. It is titled, “Where Were You On …?” Below are a list of some of the key events in American and world history from over the past century. Read each one and see if you can remember where you were (if you were anywhere) when you heard about or witnessed these events. I imagine that all of you readers will probably remember at least one event, but I doubt anyone will remember them all (but you never know). It is funny how, when people learn some impactful news, that they have where they were and what they were doing forever embossed in their memories.
In this and the next installment, after the game, we will review each historical event starting in this Part 1 with the early 1900s through the 1950s. In the next, Part 2, we will look at the years 1960 to the present. You might ask, “What does this have to do with the Christian worldview.” In Part 3 we will see how this game, and the passing of time, is relevant to our understanding of the progress of our lives from a biblical perspective. So then, let’s play …
Where were you on …
- April 15, 1912 – The sinking of the RMS Titanic.
- November 11, 1918 – Armistice ends World War I.
- October 24, 1929 – Wall Street crash begins the Great Depression.
- September 1, 1939 – World War II begins with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.
- December 7, 1941 – Japan attacks US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
- August 6, 1945 – The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima which leads to Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.
- February 6, 1952 – Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of England.
- October 4, 1957 – The Soviet Union launches the first manmade satellite, Sputnik I.
- January 3, 1959 – The admission of Alaska, the 49th state, into the United States.
- August 21, 1959 – The admission of Hawaii, the 50th state, into the United States.
- April 12, 1961 – Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, flying the Vostok 1, becomes the first human in space.
- October 22, 1962 – President John F. Kennedy announces on TV that the USSR has placed nuclear armed missiles in Cuba.
- August 28, 1963 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington.
- November 22, 1963 – President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
- February 9, 1964 – The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.
- April 4, 1968 – The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- June 5, 1968 – The assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
- July 21, 1969 – Neal Armstrong is first man to set foot on the on the moon.
- August 8, 1974 – The resignation of Richard Nixon as President of the United States.
- August 16, 1977 – Singer Elvis Presley dies at his home in Memphis, Tennessee.
- January 28, 1986 – The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on takeoff from Cape Canaveral.
- November 9, 1989 – The fall of the Berlin Wall ends the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States and its western European allies.
- September 11, 2001 – Islamic terrorists hijack American airplanes and attack New York and Washington.
- February 1, 2003 – The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon reentry, killing all seven astronauts on board.
- June 25, 2009 – Singer Michael Jackson dies in Los Angeles, California.
So how did you do? Let’s now begin our review each of date and see if you can then remember where you were. We start with the years 1912-1959.
April, 15, 1912 – The sinking of the RMS Titanic.
If you remember this one then you must believe in reincarnation. This was 109 years ago, so you would need to be at least 115 or 116 to have any possible recollection or that year. There may be someone somewhere that old, but I doubt it. Oh well, we have all seen the movie.
November 11, 1918 – Armistice ends World War I.
Same problem here. This was 103 years ago. I recall my late dad telling me he vaguely remembered seeing the soldiers coming home after the war when he was 7. He was born in December of 1910, so if he were alive he would be 110 years old.
October 24, 1929 – Wall Street crash begins of the Great Depression.
Now we move into a period where some still alive could possibly remember this difficult period of American and world history. However, they would have to be at least 100 years old. That being said, the fastest growing age segment of Americans is the 100+ years old group.
September 1, 1939 – World War II begins with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.
The beginning of the biggest war of all time was 83 years ago. So there may be a sizable number of people aged 90 or so who can remember Hitler’s perfidious attack on Germany’s neighbor. The invasion was with the approval of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin who would later be double-crossed by Hitler. The two dictators then fought it out for five years killing untold millions of Germans, Poles, and Russians.
December 7, 1941 – Japan attacks US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Even more Americans still living may remember this event that catapulted our country into World War II. It was 79 years ago on “a date that will live in infamy,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it the next day. So many folks at or over the age of about 86 can probably recall the reaction of the country. A man I knew, some years ago, who was about 10 at the time, told me how shocked Americans were, but how determined they were to strike back.
August 6, 1945 – The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima which leads to Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.
Maybe some of you can remember this joyous day in the history of the United States. It was 76 years ago so anyone over 83 or so may recall the celebrations and the soldiers and sailors returning home. Thus began the baby boom of which many of us are products!
February 6, 1952 – Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of England.
I was born on January 10, 1952, so I was already alive when Elizabeth became queen. But, needless to say, I don’t remember anything about it. Maybe you do, though, if you are now in your mid to late 70s. Chances are, however, that most American kids were not paying attention to the British royal family in those days.
October 4, 1957 – The Soviet Union launches the first manmade satellite, Sputnik I.
It may not seem like much nowadays for a satellite to be put into orbit. It happens all the time. But in the mid-1950s, it was still only a dream of scientists and engineers. When the Russians launched Sputnik, it had profound effects on the prestige and confidence of Americans, especially in light of the Cold War. This achievement happened 64 years ago, so you may be old enough to remember the impact it had on American science education. Schools were encouraged to double down on teaching math, physics, and engineering so we would not get left further behind.
January 3, 1959 – The admission of Alaska, the 49th state, into the United States.
August 21, 1959 – The admission of Hawaii, the 50th state, into the United States.
In 1959, two territories of the United States were granted statehood in the same year, only a few months apart. If you are now around 70 or so, you may well remember when that occurred. The odd thing about it was that for about seven months, the U.S. had 49 states. I recall that my father bought an American flag in that period that had 49 stars. It went obsolete quickly, but I still have that flag and enjoy showing it to young people who probably never think the US ever had any less than 50 states.
So, were you alive and old enough to remember any of those events before 1960? I imagine some of you are. In the next installment, Part 2 of 3, we will cover significant events from 1960 until the present. Many of you will recall all of them. I am sure most of you over the age of 10 will recall at least one of them and what you were doing when you heard about it. In any case in Part 3 we will tie these events together as we look at the biblical perspective on time and how it affects the way we live our lives in relationship to God.
© 2021 Tal Davis