Israel achieves statehood. Plastic invented, revolutionizes products, packaging. Bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., begins after Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white person. Atomic bomb tested in New Mexico. Apartheid ends in South Africa.
American scientists patent the computer chip.
Guglielmo Marconi transmits radio signal across the Atlantic. White House sex scandal leads to impeachment of President Clinton. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in California. U.S. Senate rejects Versailles Treaty, dooms League of Nations. The Beatles take the U.S. by storm after British rock group debuts on Ed Sullivan's TV show.