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1950 - 1999
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| 1950 |
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Population 274,605. |
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Harry
S. Truman is President
The Korean War begins
A computer was first used to tally a census
The first modern credit card is introduced |
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| 1951 |
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Chrissie Hynde of the
Pretenders is born on September 7th. |
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| 1953 |
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Akron Children's Zoo was started. |
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July 17th,
WAKR-TV goes on the air. |
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| 1955 |
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The original,
world-renowned Tangier Restaurant
opens for business. |
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| 1956 |
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Vocalist James Ingram is
born on February 16th. |
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| 1960 |
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Population
290,351 |
| 1961 |
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Cascade Plaza
is built. |
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John
F. Kennedy is President
Yuri Gagarin, a Russian, is the first man in space
Freedom Riders challenge segregation on interstate buses
The Berlin Wall is built |
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| 1963 |
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Ruby and
The Romantics hit number one with "Our Day Will Come." |
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| 1964 |
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Three people
are killed when Tallmadge Parkway collapses after a downpour. The road is renamed Memorial
Parkway. |
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| 1965 |
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Summit Mall opens
October 28th. |
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| 1967 |
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Chapel Hill Mall opens October
12th. |
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Melina
Kanakaredes (star of NBC's hit show 'Providence') is born in Akron on April
23rd. |
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| 1968 |
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July 17th, a
disturbance at a custard stand near Wooster Avenue becomes six days of disorder. Property
damage exceeds $100,000, 40 are injured, 400 are arrested and more than 1,000 National
Guardsmen are called in to assist. |
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| 1969 |
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Angie Everhart, supermodel turned actress, is born in Akron on
September 7th. |
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| 1970 |
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Population
275,425 |
| 1973 |
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E.J. Thomas Hall opens October
9th. |
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Richard
M. Nixon is President
The Watergate investigations begin
We receive pictures from Pioneer 10 of Jupiter
The last of American forces leave Vietnam
Abortion is legalized in U.S. |
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| 1975 |
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Rolling Acres
Mall opens. |
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| 1977 |
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The musical
group DEVO emerges. |
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On June 23rd, a
sewer explosion in West Akron (near Glendale Cemetery) causes $10 million in damages. |
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| 1980 |
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Population
237,177 |
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Construction
begins on the All American
Y-Bridge, which will soon replace the dangerously deteriorated North Hill Viaduct. |
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Jimmy
Carter is President
Mount St. Helens erupts
John Lennon is shot and killed |
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| 1981 |
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Akron is Voted
all American City by the National Civic League. |
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| 1986 |
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January 28,
Firestone High School graduate Judith
Resnik is among seven crewmembers killed when the space shuttle Challenger explodes on
takeoff. |
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| 1987 |
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Buchtel High
School graduate Rita Dove
wins the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. |
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| 1988 |
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Hoban High
graduate Butch Reynolds wins the silver medal in the 400-meter dash during the 1988
Olympics. |
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| 1990 |
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Population
223,019 |
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The $17 million
Goodyear Polymer Science Center
opens. |
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George
Bush is President
Iraq invades Kuwait which leads to the Gulf War
The Hubble Telescope is launched into space |
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| 1994 |
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John S. Knight Center opens
downtown, June 21st. |
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| 1995 |
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Once again,
Akron is voted all American City by the National Civic League |
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July 20th - The National Inventors Hall of Fame is
dedicated. |
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| 1996 |
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September 10th,
Akron becomes the first community of the World Wide Web, to get high speed Internet Access
via Time Warner Road Runner. |
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| 1997 |
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Canal Park, home of
the Akron Aeros,
opens April 10th. |
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December 3rd, President
Bill Clinton comes to Akron for a televised meeting to launch a national discussion
on race. |
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