Cuban Missile Crisis: In October 1962, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missile sites in Cuba, ninety miles off the coast of Florida. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles be removed and instituted a naval blockade of the island. After tense negotiations and close confrontations that many believed would lead to nuclear war, the USSR acceded, with concessions on both sides.
Dickens, Charles (1812–1870): Famous English novelist whose works include A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Bleak House, and A Christmas Carol.
Farrakhan, Louis (1933–): Black activist, social critic, and leader of the Nation of Islam, an organization that champions black nationalism and cultural awareness through the teachings of Islam.
German unification (1989–1991): Diplomatic process at the beginning of the 1990s that united West Germany and East Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, leaders negotiated a settlement unifying the two countries into a single German state.
Gorbachev, Mikhail (1931–): General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–1991), then elected president of Russia (1990–1991). Gorbachev presided during a time of momentous changes, most notably the formation of an elected parliament in the USSR, the reunification of Germany, and the end of the Cold War. His liberalizing policies made him popular in the West, where he often was referred to as Gorby.
Gregory, Dick (1932–): Came to fame as an edgy comedian who confronted racial prejudice. Over the years, he has developed into a writer, social critic, and health activist.
Hamer, Fannie Lou (1917–1977): The granddaughter of slaves, Hamer became an activist when she was forced to leave the plantation where she was a sharecropper after trying to register to vote. In 1964, she led an alternate delegation to the Democratic National Convention to challenge the all-white Mississippi delegation.
Hesburgh, Theodore (1917–): Roman Catholic priest and president of the University of Notre Dame (1952–1987). During his term of office, Notre Dame became a coeducational school.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU): Institutions founded specifically for the education of black people. The first all-black colleges include Grambling State University (founded in 1901), Howard University (1867), Meharry Medical College (1876), Miles College (1898), Morehouse College (1867), Spelman College (1881), Stillman College (1876), Tuskegee University (1880), and Wilberforce University (1856).
Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace: Organization on the Stanford campus that produces research on domestic and international affairs.
Johnson, Frank (1918–1999): Federal judge whose rulings helped end segregation in the South. Johnson received so many death threats that his family was under federal protection for more than twenty years.
Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1908–1973): When President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963, Vice President Johnson was sworn in and became the thirty-sixth president of the United States. The following year, he was elected to the office, and he served from 1963 to 1969. He signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He also escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War.
Joint Chiefs of Staff: Group of military officials who advise the president and nonmilitary leaders of the Defense Department. The Joint Chiefs is made up of the leaders of the four branches of the military—the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—and the chairman, who is generally considered the president’s top military advisor.
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917–1963): Thirty-fifth president of the United States (and first Catholic to be elected). Kennedy ran on a platform of commitment to civil rights legislation, and it became a priority of his presidency. He also established the Peace Corps, which trains Americans who volunteer to live and work in developing countries. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Kennedy, Robert Francis “Bobby” (1925–1968): Appointed U.S. attorney general by President Kennedy, his older brother, he remained in that position under President Johnson until he left in 1964 to run successfully for the U.S. Senate from New York. In 1968, while running in the Democratic primary for president, he was assassinated in Los Angeles.
Khrushchev, Nikita (1894–1971): First secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and premier from 1958 to 1964. After the death of dictator Josef Stalin, who ordered political purges and mass murders during his twenty-five-year reign, Khrushchev declared a desire for “peaceful coexistence” with Western governments. In practice, however, he often pursued a more confrontational stance with the United States and its allies. In 1964, he was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.
King, Jr., Martin Luther (1929–1968): Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and advocate of nonviolent civil disobedience. In 1955 and 1956, King led the Montgomery bus boycott, an early demonstration of the power of peaceful resistance, and in 1957, he helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His powerful speeches, including the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, influenced the nation and helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year. King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.
Korbel, Josef (1909–1977): Czech diplomat, founder of Denver University’s Graduate School of International Studies, specialist on the Soviet Union, and father of former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Professor Korbel was an influential mentor for Condoleezza Rice and inspired her to pursue a PhD in international politics.
Kosygin, Alexei (1904–1980): Premier of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980. Initially, Kosygin shared power with Leonid Brezhnev and Nikolai Podgorny (chairman of the Presidium), but gradually Brezhnev assumed control and Kosygin retired.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK): White supremacist organization founded in Tennessee in 1866 by Confederate soldiers returning from the Civil War; they opposed Reconstruction and civil rights for blacks. Men dressed in white sheets and hoods to frighten their victims, whom they pursued in nighttime raids; they often maimed or killed blacks and Northern sympathizers. The Klan died down during the 1880s, only to rise again at the turn of the century and spread across the country. At its peak during the 1920s, membership was estimated at four million. Today the KKK is officially listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
The Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959): Walt Disney TV program featuring mouse ear–wearing “Mouseketeers,” talented preteens and teenagers who sang, acted, and danced.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756–1791): Prolific Austrian composer of more than six hundred works, including symphonies, operas, and piano music. A musical prodigy, he began playing as a child before princes and monarchs throughout Europe.
National Security Counciclass="underline" Group of foreign policy experts and specialists who advise the president on national security and foreign affairs. Led by the national security advisor, the National Security Council helps coordinate the efforts of various departments and agencies involved in shaping the nation’s foreign policy.
Netanyahu, Benjamin “Bibi” (1949–): Born in Israel, attended high school in the United States, then returned to Israel from 1967 to 1972 for mandatory military service. Netanyahu was prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and assumed the office again in 2009.