~On April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area.` It had an estimated magnitude of 8.3 on the Richter scale.` Hundreds of people were killed in the quake itself and in the numerous deadly fires which were sparked as a result of the earthquake.`
~On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.` The attack was completely unexpected and considerable damage was inflicted upon the ships in the harbor and the American planes on the airfield.` The U.S.S. Arizona was sunk as it sat in the harbor.` It is still there today as a monument to this historic incident.` Following the attack, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation calling December 7, 1941 a "date which will live in infamy."` The purpose of this address was to alert the nation that he was officially declaring war on the country of Japan.` This act marked the U.S.'s entrance into World War II, a war that ended in 1945 when America became the first country ever to use atomic weapons in warfare.` In August of 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan forcing the Japanese to surrender.`
~From 1960 to 1992 the U.S. had seven presidents.` John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected in 1960 and served until 1963 when he was assassinated.` Lyndon Baines Johnson was Kennedy's vice-president and assumed office when Kennedy was killed.` Johnson was followed by Richard Nixon who was president until he resigned in 1974.` Gerald Ford followed Nixon and was president until he was defeated by Jimmy Carter in 1976.` In 1980 Ronald Reagan succeeded Carter and served a full two terms.` In 1988 George Bush (Reagan's vice-president) was elected, defeating the democratic candidate Michael Dukakis.`
