1962-2011 Timeline

 

Transylvania Timeline

1962

• The Rosman Satellite Tracking Station was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It formed part of the worldwide Spacecraft Tracking  and Data Acquisition Network which was integrated with the communications link for the manned space programs Project Gemini and Project Apollo. In 1981 this facility was transferred from NASA to the National Security Agency (NSA). The site was officially closed in 1995 and turned over to the U. S. Forest Service. Recognizing the potential for future use of the site, a number of businessmen and scientists were able to secure the site in 1999. They were joined by an expanding group of engineers, astronomers, and related scientists. These people formed an informal organization called the “Friends of PARI”. PARI, the acronym for Research Institute, in fact was born as an astronomical observatory which became home of the emerging Astronomical Photographic Data Archives (APDA). PARI has a very strong educational outreach through the Pisgah Astronomical Research and Science Educational Center (PARSEC).
• On January 6, following the death of her husband, Sheriff E.V. Dillingham, Gertrude Dillingham was appointed to serve out his term. She became the first and only female Sheriff of Transylvania County

1963

• All Transylvania County schools and Brevard High School football team integrated
• Oak Grove Methodist Church operated since 1847. In 1963 it moved and changed its name to St. Timothy United Methodist Church

1964

• Sylvan Plant of American Thread constructed (later renamed Coats North America)

1965

• Henry Janiec named Artistic Director of Brevard Music Center

1968

• 6,500 acre Cradle of Forestry in America Historic Site established by Congress
• Interior of the Courthouse renovated

1970

• Blue Ridge Community College scheduled an upholstery class at the old Brevard Elementary School in downtown Brevard

1971

• Construction began on present Transylvania Community Hospital
• Silvermont deeded to Transylvania County. 1 In a letter dated December 9, 1971 (two months before her death), Dorothy Jean (Silversteen) Bjerg - the sole survivor of the Silversteen family - signed a letter to County Commissioner Siniard deeding Silvermont and its grounds to Transylvania County.

1974

• County purchased the old Post Office building. Transylvania County Library occupied it in November

1978

• Brevard became a Tree City USA. Beth Gash chaired the Tree Committee and worked hard to establish the designation in Brevard. It has remained a Tree City USA for 32 years.

1981

• The jail was relocated to a building on East Morgan Street

1983

• Courthouse and jail renovated retaining the aesthetic and historic significance.
• Opal Hahn served as the first woman mayor of Brevard from 1983-1986

1985

• Group of Employees conduct the “buy-out” of Ecusta from Olin-Mathieson

1986

• The Transylvania Center of Blue Ridge Community College was established in the former Pisgah Forest Elementary building

1987

• April 13: Notice was served that P. H Glatfelter Company had purchased Ecusta
• The site of the Allison-Deaver House was saved and restoration planning began.

1988

• Jim Bob Tinsley published his book: “The Land of Waterfalls, Transylvania County, North Carolina”

1991

• Coats & Clark, Inc joined with American Thread forming Coats American at the Sylvan Plant near Rosman
• Heart of Brevard opened its doors in January

1992

• On April 3 the Brevard College Bell Tower, containing the Weaver College Bell, was dedicated

1993

• Heart of Brevard became a Main Street Program
• John Candler named first President and CEO of Brevard Music Center

1994

• The Transylvania Center of Blue Ridge Community College moved to its current location on the Asheville Highway (formerly Straus Elementary School)

1995

• The 10,300 acre DuPont State Forest was acquired in three major phases, spanning from 1995 to 2000. The 7600 acre forest was purchased by the State of North Carolina in 1996 and 1997 after DuPont sold its industrial operation and surrounding land holdings. The 2700 acres surrounding the industrial facility was sold to Sterling Diagnostic Imaging in 1996. The Conservation Fund, a national non-profit organization, negotiated an agreement between Du Pont and North Carolina officials which facilitated the public purchase. Du Pont transferred all excess property to the Conservation Fund under favorable terms (a combination of land donation and land sale). The State later purchased most of these lands from the Conservation Fund for approximately $2.2 million. Local environmental groups were instrumental in bringing these three parties together in 1995. Funding for the State Forest was granted by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund; about 1750 acres of the property is registered as having special ecological significance (with the N.C. Natural Heritage Program), and receive special management protection. 

1996

• Brevard College became a four-year college, conferring the First Baccalaureate degree in May
• Du Pont Diagnostic Imaging became Sterling Diagnostic Imaging.
• David Effron succeeded Janiec as Artistic Director of Brevard Music Center

1997

• Du Pont (Sterling) sold out to AGFA to produce fine film.
• The newly restored Allison-Deaver House opened
• The Alternative Education Program opened at Davidson River School. There had been a smaller version for about 18 years before that, but not the robust program it is now and became in 1997.
• Brevard College launched its “Voice of the Rivers” program with an inaugural expedition from Brevard, NC to the Gulf of Mexico

1998

• The Porter Center for Performing Arts was dedicated on Brevard College campus. It was named for Paul Porter a well known North Carolina businessman and a Brevard College Life Trustee
• The Job Corps program was authorized by Title I-C of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
• Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education dedicated on October 22
• Sacred Heart Catholic Church occupied current church buildings

1999

• 10,000 acres of the Jocassee Gorges were placed in public ownership to be preserved for future generations as Gorges State Park

2002

• Ecusta Paper Corporation locked its doors for the final time (laying off 600 workers)
• AGFA went out of business and locked its doors (laying off 270 workers)
• Brevard Downtown Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places

2003

• Coats American went out of business (laying off 228 workers)

2005

• Blue Ridge Community College renovated and remodeled the classroom at the Transylvania Center

2006

• May 13, The Transylvania County Library dedicated its new facility
• Brevard College fields its first football team

2007

• Keith Lockhart became the fourth Artistic Director of Brevard Music Center in October

2008

• Hospital name changed to Transylvania Regional Hospital
• Comporium Communications began operations on December 1
• The Applied Technology Building opened at the Transylvania Center of Blue Ridge Community College

2009

• Dedication of the new Law Enforcement Center
• Main access area to Gorges State Park reopened
• Sacred Heart offers the first Mass in Spanish
• Brevard College Cycling Team wins National Championship

2010

• Transylvania County is designated a Preserve America Community
• Brevard College Cycling Team takes 2nd National Championship

National Timeline

1963

• President John F. Kennedy assassinated
• Lyndon B. Johnson became U.S. President

1964

• The Civil Rights Act guaranteed equal treatment in voting, education, employment, and public accommodation

1965

• Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize
• Medicare signed into law

1967

• Thurgood Marshall became the first black person to serve on the U. S. Supreme Court

1968

• April 4: Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated
• June 5: Senator Robert F. Kennedy assassinated

1969

• U. S. Spacecraft Apollo 11 landed on the moon

1971

• Mariner 9, launched to map the surface of Mars, sent back 7,000 photos

1972

• First Earth Day

1974

• President Richard Nixon resigns
• Twin Towers of the N.Y. World Trade Center, were completed

1975

• U. S. Ended two decades of involvement in Vietnam
• Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas retires
• President Ford survives two attempts on his life

1976

• The United States celebrated the bicentennial of independence with activities cresting on July 4
• Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford to become President

1977

• The United States Space Shuttle made its first free-gliding flight
• President Carter established the Department of Energy

1978

• President Carter hosted the successful peace talks between Israeli Premier Begin and Egyptian President Sadat at Camp David, Maryland
• The United States and China agree to open diplomatic relations

1979

• Three separate space probes sent back photographs of the planets Jupiter and Saturn
• Sir Laurence Olivier receives a special Academy Award for his unrivaled services to theater and cinema

1980

• Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupted violently
• The US boycotted the 1980 Moscow summer Olympic Games to protest the invasion of of Afghanistan by Soviet forces

1981

• U. S. Space shuttle Columbia made three day visit into Earth’s orbit
• Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman to serve on the U. S. Supreme Court

1984

• The virus (HIV) causing AIDS was first identified

1986

• The Statue of Liberty celebrates its 100th birthday

1989

• Exxon Valdes ran aground off Alaska; responsible for worst ever oil spill

2000

• November 7: In the election of Florida’s “hanging chads” George W. Bush defeated Al Gore for President of the United States

2001

• June 11: Timothy McVeigh executed for the Oklahoma City bombing
• September 11: 3,000 people are killed in suicide aircraft attacks on the World Trade Center in New York; the Pentagon in Virginia; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania

2003

• November 18: President Bush makes a state visit to London, England, in the midst of massive protests

2004

• February 3: The CIA admits there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion
• February 4: Facebook is founded in Cambridge, Mass
• April 29: The last Oldsmobile rolls off the blocks

2005

• August 12: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched

2006

• March 10: NASA’s Mars Orbiter enters Mars orbit

2007

• October 8: Track and Field star Marion Jones surrenders 5 Olympic medals she won in the 2000 Sydney Games, after admitting the use of performance enhancing substances

2008

• September 14: Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - this marked the beginning of the financial collapse
• October 29: Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Air Lines forming the world’s largest commercial carrier
• November 4: Barak Obama elected the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to hold this office

2009

• June 25: Michael Jackson dies amid accusations of wrongful drug use and/or administration

2010

• April 20: The Deepwater Horizon oil platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causes one of the largest oil spill disasters in history

World Timeline

1962

• Adolph Eichmann, former Nazi official, was found guilty of crimes against the Jewish people and hanged in Jerusalem
• Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn published One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch, describing life in a Soviet labor camp

1963

• The Soviet Union, the United States of America and Britain signed a Test-Ban Treaty
• Pope John XXIII died and was succeeded by Cardinal Montini, Pope Paul VI

1964

• Nelson Mandela, who pleaded guilty of planning to overthrow the government was found guilty under South Africa’s Suppression of Communism Act, and given a life sentence
• A coup in the Soviet Union overthrows Nikita Khrushchev and brings Aleksei Kosygin to power

1965

• January 24: Death of Winston Churchill

1967

• Dr Christiaan Barnard, Cape Town, performed the first human heart transplant
• Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Arab neighbors in what became known as the Six Day War
• “Che” Guevara, a trusted aid of Fidel Castro was captured and executed in Bolivia

1968

• Vietnamese forces launched the Tet offensive. Bombing of North Vietnam suspended
• Warsaw Pact troops and tanks enter Czechoslovakia to protect socialism. Alexander Dubcek was replaced and his reforms were dismantled

1969

• My Lai massacre in Vietnam leads to growing opposition to America’s role
• Mrs Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel

1970

• President Nasser of Egypt died and was replaced by Mohammed Sadat
• Salvador Allende was elected President of Chile

1971

• The army of Uganda staged a coup while President Obote was out of the country and Idi Amin proclaimed himself head of state.
• “Papa Doc” Duvalier died and was succeeded by his equally despotic son “Baby Doc”
• Switzerland became the last developed country in the West to enfranchise women

1972

• During the Munich Olympic Games, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli team, killing two and taking nine others hostage.
• First Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) was signed

1973

• Vietnam cease fire signed in Paris and U.S. combat troops start withdrawing
• Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and world famous cellist Pablo Casals died

1974

• United Nations peace-keeping force installed on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria
• In April a bloodless coup was carried out by junior army officers in Portugal

1975

• April 30: North Vietnam offensive results in the fall of Saigon
• Soviet Soyuz 19 and American Apollo 18 perform historic docking in space
• Angola and Mozambique were granted independence by Portugal
• Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie died

1978

• Cult leader Jim Jones ordered his followers to kill themselves in Jamestown, Guyana
• Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby, born in July in Oldham, England

1979

• Iran: Ayatollah Khomeini, replaced the Shah, and formed a fundamentalist Islamic state
• Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan
• Vietnam invaded Kampuchea, capturing Phnom-Penh and revealing that the Pol Pot regime had killed 3,500,000 people

1980

• President Tito of Yugoslavia died
• Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe under Prime Minister Robert Mugabe
• The Bible was published in China for the first time in 23 years

1981

• Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Muslim fanatics
• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats opened to great acclaim in London

1982

• Britain and Argentina engage in undeclared war over the Falkland Islands
• Sir Richard Attenborough produced and directed Gandhi in London

1983

• Islamic Jihad terrorists crashed a truck containing 2,000 lbs of explosives through the gates of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 239.
• In Assam civil riots over local elections result in the massacre of 1,000 Benghali immigrants

1984

• In Bhopal, India, a toxic gass explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant killed 2,500
• Sikh extremists assassinated Mrs Gandhi, Prime Minister of India

1985

• Palestinian terrorists hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, killing an American, Leon Klinghoffer, by tossing his wheelchair overboard
• French agents sank the Rainbow Warrior (Green Peace) in Auckland to prevent it from interfering with French nuclear tests in the south Pacific
• Marc Chagall, last surviving member of the School of Paris artists, died at 93

1986

• The worst-ever nuclear accident, at Chernobyl, sent radiation fallout over much of Europe
• President Marcos of the Philippines was ousted by Mrs Corazon Aquino
• The European space probe Giotto showed the core of Halley’s comet to be jet black

1987

• President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev sign treaty limiting nuclear arms
• Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev instituted the policies of perestroika and glasnost, opening and liberalizing the Soviet society and economy
• Rudolf Hess, the only Nazi prisoner in Spandau jail, committed suicide

1989

• Dismantling of the Berlin Wall. Fall of Communism in Europe

1990

• President F .W. de Klerk lifted restrictions on over 30 organizations, including the African National Congress and Communist Party, granting amnesty to Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners
• Re-unification of German
• Gulf War begins and lasts one year

1991

• Dissolution of the Soviet Union
• Boris Yeltsin became the first democratically elected leader of Russia

1992

• Maastricht Treaty created the European Union
• End of dictatorships in Albania and South Korea

1993

• First Intifada between Israel and Palestine
• Independence for Eritrea

1994

• End of apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela elected President
• Establishment of NAFTA
• English and French engineers completed the Channel Tunnel, called “Chunnel”

1995

• Establishment of the World Trade Organization
• Assassination of Israel’s Yitzak Rabin
• North Korea famine begins

1996

• Dolly, a sheep, is the first mammal cloned
• First Chetchen War ended
• End of dictatorship in Taiwan

1997

• Tony Blair became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain to China

1998

• Osama Bin Laden published a fatwa against the West
• North Korea famine, to date, killed an estimated 2.5 million people

1999

• February 2: Hugo Chavez became President of Venezuela
• The Euro, as monetary unit, was established
• June 14: Thabo Mbeki elected President of South Africa

2000

• March 26: Vladimir Putin elected President of Russia
• April 2: The first resident crew enters the International Space Station

2001

• June 20: Pervez Musharraf becomes President of Pakistan
• October 7: United States war in Afghanistan started (2001 - present)

2002

• April 9: Funeral in Westminster Abbey of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
• September 10: Switzerland joins the United Nations

2003

• April 14: Human Genome Project completed with 99% of human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy
• June 1:The Peoples Republic of China begins filling the lake behind the Three Gorges Dam
• October 15: China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission

2004

• February 1: A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia kills 215 pilgrims
• October 24: Brazil successfully launches its first rocket into space

2005

• January 9: Mahmoud Abbas elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as presidents of the Palestinian Authority
• February 10: North Korea announces it has a nuclear weapon to protect against hostilities from the United States of America
• April 2: Pope Paul II dies
• April 19: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI

2006

• April 11: The European Space Agency’s Venus Express space probe enters Venus’ Orbit
• December 13: The Chinese River Dolphin becomes extinct

2007

• May 6: French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy wins the French presidential elections
• May 17: The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarcate reunite after 80 years
• December 27: Former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Butto, is assassinated

2008

• February 19: Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba
• February 24: Raul Castro is unanimously elected President of Cuba by the National Assembly
• May 7: Dmitry Medvedev takes office as President of Russia

2008

• February 7: The deadliest bushfires in Australian history leaves 173 people dead, 500 injured, and 7,500 homeless
• April 21: UNESCO launches the World Digital Library

2010

• June 11: Start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa accompanied by the deafening vuvuzelas
• October 13: 33 miners near Copiapo, Chili, were trapped underground for 69 days

Sources - Inter Alia:
(1.) Beazley, Mitchell (ed.): Time Lines: World History Year by Year since 1492. New York Crescent Books, 1991
(2.) Grun, Bernard: The Timetables of History. New York, Simon Schuster/Touchstone, 1991 

By Brian du Toit and Susan Threlkel of the Transylvania Sesquicentennial Steering Committe
Historical photos are courtesy of the Rowell Bosse North Carolina room, Transylvania County Library