What happened on a summer night in 54 to change history?

---

Clarification of Question by sandy57-ga on 25 Jul 2003 07:31 PDT

Question should say:

What happened at 9:30pm on a summer night in1954 to change history?

---

Clarification of Question by sandy57-ga on 28 Jul 2003 07:15 PDT

The actual question should read like this:

What happened at 9:30pm on a summer night in 1954 to change history?

The Viet Minh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu?
----------------------------------
"On May 7, 1954, at 8 p.m. we victoriously concluded the Dien Bien Phu
campaign, a heroic victory in the history of the national liberation
war."
http://www.vov.org.vn/2003_05_06/english/xahoi2.htm
"Dien Bien Phu fell to the Viet Minh on May 7. At least 2,200 members
of the French forces died during the siege -- with thousands more
taken prisoner. Of the 50,000 or so Vietnamese who besieged the
garrison, there were about 23,000 casualties -- including an estimated
8,000 killed.
The fall of Dien Bien Phu shocked France and brought an end to French
Indochina.
"The very first memory I have of talking foreign affairs with my
father was when Dien Bien Phu fell," Anil Malhotra, a World Bank
official from India, said in a recent interview. "It was a source of
great pride in the developing world. A small Asian nation had defeated
a colonial power, convincingly. It changed history."
Following the French withdrawal, Vietnam was officially divided into a
communist North and non-communist South -- setting the stage for U.S.
involvement."
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/11/spotlight/

I agree that Dien ben Phu may be the most serious historical event i
can recall
but actually it did not take place in the summer and why is it said
that it took place in the evening ?

It depends on how serious is the trivia question ?
it could be the broadcast on the 6 July of the WHBQ radio in memphis
of the first record of Elvis Presley singing "it's allright, mama"
but did it really change history ?

August 1954

"The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 was passed to promote the peaceful uses
of nuclear energy through private enterprise and to implement
President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace Program. The Act allowed the
Atomic Energy Commission to license private companies to use nuclear
materials and build and operate nuclear power plants. This act amended
the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, which had placed complete power of
atomic energy development in the hands of the Atomic Energy
Commission."
From http://www.em.doe.gov/timeline/aug1954.html

My guess would be the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that came
from the U.S. Supreme Court on May 17, 1954.  It overturned the
principal allowing "separate but equal" facilities for public
education, setting up decades of desegregation as policy in American
schools.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

I may be way off base, but who says it has to be 1954?  In the year 54
BC  Caesar invaded Britain:

http://heraklia.fws1.com/battles/britain/

"The Roman fleet of 800 ships arrived off the Kent coast in the summer of
  54 BC..."
 
".. great turning points in history"

http://www.britishheritage.com/bhocaesar.htm

My bet's on Elvis - why would a radio station care about politics!!!
http://www.time.com/time/80days/540705.html
July 5, 1954 
The King Finds His Voice 
 
By Josh Tyrangiel 

It was only an audition. That's why there were no drums, no backup
singers and no expectations. Sam Phillips had heard about a
good-looking local kid who favored ballads, knew a few guitar chords
and was blessed with the ostentatiously original name Elvis Presley.
In his search for a new sound, Phillips had run nearly every singer in
Memphis through his Sun Records studio; on that Monday summer evening,
Elvis, 19, was merely next in line.

Question:  
What happened at 9:30pm on a summer night in 1954 to change history?

The King finds his voice (Elvis Presley) is not the right answer.

Maybe the geneva peace accords on july 21?

Brown vs Board of Education decision is not the correct answer.  More
feedback?  He said this is to serious of an answer.

Another Elvis possibility that includes the 9:30 p.m. requirement:

"July 7, 1954-Disc jockey Dewey Phillips of Memphis radio station WHBQ
became the first person to play an Elvis Presley record on the air
when he played "That's All Right (Mama)." It was played on his
program, "Red Hot and Blue." shortly after 9:30 P.M."

It's Only Love For Elvis
http://www.onlylove4elvis.com/chronology.html

markj-ga