From top to bottom, left to right: The
Cuban Revolution culminates with
Fidel Castro’s forces overthrowing
Fulgencio Batista, reshaping Latin American politics; construction of the
Ho Chi Minh Trail begins, providing North Vietnam a vital supply line during the
Vietnam War and fueling the
Laotian Civil War;
The Day the Music Died occurs when a plane crash kills
Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens, and
J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, shocking the music world;
Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, becomes one of the first animals to survive spaceflight, marking a milestone in space exploration; the
Kitchen Debate between
Richard Nixon and
Nikita Khrushchev highlights Cold War tensions; the
1959 Tibetan uprising erupts in
Lhasa, leading to the
Dalai Lama’s flight into exile; the
Léopoldville riots mark violent unrest in the capital of the newly independent Congo; the
Malpasset Dam collapse in France kills over 400 and causes massive destruction; and
Typhoon Vera devastates Japan, causing widespread flooding and thousands of deaths.