Sal Castro, a teacher at Lincoln High, talks to students in 1968. Castro was arrested for his leadership role in the East L.A. walkouts.

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latin and Hispanic communities. The event, which spans from September 15 to October 15, commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.

Hispanic History

Explore how U.S. Latin and Hispanic communities have influenced and contributed to American society . National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15.

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The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

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History.com Editors

As the Vietnam War expanded into Cambodia, anti-war rallies flared at home; at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen killed four unarmed student protesters, shocking the nation. Americans held their breath as NASA scrambled to bring Apollo 13 astronauts home safely after their aborted moon mission. Some 20 million people celebrated the first Earth Day, rock icons Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix both died of drug overdoses at age 27, and the Beatles called it quits.

1970

2003

Space exploration, one of the greatest technological achievements in human history, includes the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger, and people like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

Space Exploration

1993

Discover what happened on January 12 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

January 12

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January 22

1973

Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.

1917

The turbulence of 1968 began on New Year’s Day with the Tet Offensive, shocking Americans with the unwinnable realities of the Vietnam War. The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy darkened the national mood and deepened domestic unrest. Mass protests erupted around the globe, from Chicago to Prague to France, Mexico and beyond. In space, Apollo 8 orbited the moon, while back on earth, “Laugh-In” topped TV ratings, “Hair” premiered on Broadway and McDonald’s debuted the iconic Big Mac.

1968

Discover what happened on September 30 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

September 30

Discover what happened on April 8 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

April 8

1962

Discover what happened on March 1 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

March 1

1988

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May 3

Discover what happened on September 14 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

September 14

1986 was a year of tragedy, with the explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger, killing all seven crew members, and the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, killing two instantly and many thousands over time. But it also had brighter moments: Hands Across America united 5 million people from coast to coast, Oprah Winfrey debuted her iconic talk show, Halley’s Comet made a triumphant return after 76 years and the Voyager completed the first around-the-world flight without refueling.

1986

Discover what happened on January 28 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

January 28

In 1954, a year of breakthroughs, the first successful polio vaccine rolled out and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional. In England, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Two pop-culture titans, movie star Marilyn Monroe and baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio, tied the knot. And Bill Haley and His Comets released “Rock Around the Clock,” one of the earliest and most successful rock ‘n’ roll records.

1954

1822

Discover what happened on November 8 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

November 8

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April 9

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August 29

Discover what happened on July 14 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

Hispanic History ‑ This Day In History

Franklin Chang‑Diaz becomes the first Hispanic American to fly in space

Thousands of Chicano students stage school walkouts in East L.A.

Dolores Huerta beaten by police while peacefully protesting

Young Lords occupy Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx

The 1917 Bath Riots

Thousands of Mexican American antiwar activists march in Chicano Moratorium

Maurice Ferré becomes first Puerto Rican to lead a major U.S. mainland city

Supreme Court rules in Hernandez v. Texas, broadening civil rights laws

Rita Moreno becomes the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar

Joseph Marion Hernández becomes the first Hispanic elected to Congress

Hispanics are officially declared the largest minority group in the U.S.

Astronaut Ellen Ochoa becomes the first Hispanic woman in space