The 1960 presidential debate between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy ushered in a new era of made-for-TV political discourse.
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President John F. Kennedy poses for a picture in April 1954, while he was still a senator. When Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, viewers all over the country tuned in to the news coverage.
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The Beatles' famous performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Feb. 9, 1964, drew a large audience. Home viewers saw them in black and white; the program didn't begin broadcasting in color until the next year.
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Here's something else the folks at home didn't see during The Beatles' performance -- a stand-in for an ailing George Harrison during rehearsal.
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Apollo 11 commander Neil A. Armstrong climbs down the ladder to the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. The first manned mission to the moon was a triumph of both aerospace engineering and television broadcasting.
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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong on the mission, posing next to the U.S. flag on the moon. The broadcast of the first moon landing in 1969 is an example of NASA's impact on the field of television.
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Muhammad Ali (left) punishes Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila, a 1975 bout for the heavyweight championship of the world. A live-by-satellite broadcast of the fight was an early triumph for upstart cable company Home Box Office (HBO).
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In the spring of 1980, the hottest question in the U.S. was "Who shot J.R.?" At the start of the 1980-81 season, 90 million people tuned in to see the cliffhanger resolved on "Dallas."
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CNN founder Ted Turner (right), with associates Ed Kessler (left) and Tom Wheeler, goes over his notes on June 1, 1980, shortly before launching the first all-news network. The success of CNN led to a profusion of 24-hour news outlets on TV and online.
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The wedding of Diana Spencer to Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, was a major international television event. It was not the last time cameras would play a role in her life.
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Princess Diana died in a high-speed crash in September 1997. Her Westminster Abbey funeral was broadcast internationally, and it featured music by Sir Elton John and British composer Sir John Tavener.
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The stars of "M*A*S*H" -- (from left) Loretta Swit, Mike Farrell (with his arms around Swit), David Ogden Stiers, Harry Morgan and Alan Alda -- react to being told they had completed shooting the series finale. That episode would stand for 27 years as the most-watched program in American TV history.
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In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just after lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center. All seven astronauts aboard the shuttle were killed.
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Johnny Carson said goodbye in stages after serving as host of "The Tonight Show" for three decades. On his next-to-last night, Bette Midler gave him an up-close and personal performance, which won her an Emmy.
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From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson was the king of late-night television. Here, he watches clips from the run of the show on his final night, which had no guests.
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O.J. Simpson's post-football work in Hollywood will forever be overshadowed by his real-life role as a murder suspect. TV coverage of his case began June 17, 1994, when his white Bronco led L.A. police on a slow chase.
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O.J. Simpson reacts to the "not guilty" verdicts in his 1995 criminal trial. He is flanked by attorneys Robert Kardashian (left) and Johnnie Cochran.
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Comedian Jerry Seinfeld's self-titled sitcom ran for nine seasons, from 1989 to 1998. The series finale drew about 76 million viewers, making it the third most-watched series finale at the time.
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On Sept. 11, 2001, the world watched with horror as terrorist hijackers flew jumbo jets into the World Trade Center buildings. The live broadcasts also included coverage from the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., where jets also crashed.
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Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson's performance during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 became the most memorable halftime show yet when Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson's top, resulting in the popularization of the term "wardrobe malfunction."
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In 2005, a slow-motion tragedy in New Orleans unfolded on TV after the levees failed to stop flooding induced by Hurricane Katrina.
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No NFL city deserved a celebration more than New Orleans, whose Saints won Super Bowl XLIV in Miami in 2010. Here, cornerback Tracy Porter celebrates after the game, which became the most-watched broadcast in U.S. television history.
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After 25 years of hosting her famous daytime talk show, Oprah Winfrey said farewell to her viewers in her final show on May 25, 2011. On May 17, 2011, a host of celebrities surprised Winfrey at "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular" in Chicago. Here, Winfrey is serenaded by Stevie Wonder.
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Thirty years after his mother Diana's royal wedding, Prince William married Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011. Billions of people around the world tuned in to watch the two wed in a formal ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
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Millions watched on July 8, 2011, as the space shuttle Atlantis was launched, marking the end of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. Mission STS-135 was the 135th flight in the shuttle program and the 37th visit by a shuttle to the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
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