Apple unveils the first Macintosh computer in January 1984, introducing to the world the interface of a clickable mouse and on-screen graphics. It features a nine-inch screen, 128k memory, and a price tag of $2,495.

Three weeks after East German head of state Erich Honecker resigns in October 1989, mass demonstrations against the government culminate in the opening of the Berlin Wall for the first time since construction began in 1961. The wall had been built to stem the flow of people fleeing to the West, which had climbed to as many as 2,000 a day. For 28 years, anyone caught in the act of fleeing was liable to be shot. But late at night on November 9, guards peacefully open the gate, and crowds flood to the ramparts, scaling the wall and hacking chunks from the 28-mile barrier. The event is seen to symbolize the end of the Cold War, the division of Europe, and the struggle between capitalism and Communism.

President Reagan nominates Arizona judge Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court in 1981, fulfilling a campaign promise to appoint a woman to the country's highest court. The Senate quickly and unanimously confirms her appointment, making her the first female justice in the court's 191-year history. Among her first written opinions is a 1982 gender discrimination case: In Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, she articulates a ruling that declares it unconstitutional for a nursing school to refuse to admit men. Although a member of the Republican party and a moderate conservative, O'Connor proves her ideological independence numerous times, including a vote to uphold Roe v. Wade. Time magazine later declares O'Connor one of the 10 most powerful people in Washington.