re: At what age did you grasp the significance of history or historical events?

When the '85 Bears won the Super Bowl, and seeing the Fridge plowing through for a TD.

I, too, was a child of gathering in the halls of elementary school and covering up for the "bomb drill". Lived within range of missiles from Cuba.

Yet, it has been very recent that I pieced together the historical impact of the Spice/Silk road trade on history. If it wasn't for trade, Columbus wouldn't have headed west from Spain. He was looking to open a trade route to China without going around Africa, since the Muslims prevented or restricted overland trade to Christians through their territory along normal routes.

Thus, Thanksgiving.

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I was pretty oblivious about something being a historical event in real time until 9/11 at age 7

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You were still pretty oblivious if you were 7 at the time IMO. You may have been impacted by seeing aircraft flying into buildings and seeing other peoples emotions but I doubt you truly understood it or the significance.

At 3 years old i became aware that using crayons on the walls is discouraged. At the time that was momentous.

Probably the Gulf War for me in '91. I was still 9 but seeing it play out in real-time on CNN was eye-opening.

Ronald Reagan getting shot on my 12th bday....I was on the way to the hospital with a broken arm when it hit the radio

The shuttle blowing would be the next one

Third Bush and his beef with Sadam Hussain.

I’m 54, and sadly it was about 12 years ago for me. I thought history in general was boring before then.

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Just wait until you figure out Gavrilo Princip is the most important figure since Napoleon

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It is discussed by some that The Great War was going to happen at some point.
The powder keg had been sitting in place for years. He was just the trigger that started it when it happened. And it was only by dumb luck that it was him that did it. He was only one of many trying to assassinate the Archduke.

His name is important, but it’s also not.

I was really young when I realized history was being made in real time. Born in 1964 with all the stuff the JFK era brought about from hippies to NASA, the ramp up and the cutoff of funds for Viet Nam, Watergate, a whole lot of stuff happened mid 60’s to mid 70’s.

I was a daddy’s boy and would watch the evening news with him every day while mom cooked and looked after my sisters while they played. We talked about the adult stuff, prime rates, the draft, how governments (local and federal) were designed to work, etc.. I observed the transition from the gold standard to fiat currency and in child’s terms experienced the real world effects (candy and bubble gum pricing went crazy!).

The really scary part of noticing history early???
I remember when Joe Biden started in federal politics!!! Sheesh, I’ve gotten old.