From November 4, 1979, and ended on January 20, 1981, the Iran hostage crisis was a severe diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and Iranian administrations. Iranian terrorists held 52 American citizens prisoner in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for 444 days. The hostage crisis, which was sparked by anti-American sentiment following Iran’s … Read more
Representatives of Poland’s communist government gave in to the demands of striking shipyard workers in Gdansk on August 31, 1980. Lech Walesa, a former electrician, led the striking workers, who later formed Solidarity, the first autonomous labor organization to emerge from a Soviet bloc country. In September 1980, Solidarity was founded and … Read more
In November 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, defeating President Jimmy Carter and independent candidate John B. Anderson in a landslide victory. But, unfortunately, Reagan was almost assassinated by a would-be assassin a few months later, on March 30, 1981, in an ambush that horrified the world. Reagan’s … Read more