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On This Day in History provides awesome historical writing prompts, ice breakers, and discussion starters for each day of the year! Each entry gives students a notable event or achievement from history, along with a short description and two differentiated close reading questions. These daily entries are a quick way to have students analyze history and connect historical events to current events. Read entries aloud or project them for the class to do independently. With 365 entries, you can use the same book year after year regardless of how the calendar dates fall!
Aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Table of Contents
January 1, 1863--President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation
January 2, 1974--Nixon signs a new national speed limit into law
January 3, 1967--Aretha Franklin is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
January 4, 1858--The Lecompton Constitution is rejected
January 5, 1933--Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge
January 6, 1838--Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates the telegraph
January 7, 1789--The first U.S. presidential election is held
January 8, 1815--The Battle of New Orleans takes place
January 9, 1776--Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
January 10, 1901--The first oil well gusher "gushes" to life in Spindletop, Texas, and the U.S. oil industry booms
January 11, 1908--The Grand Canyon National Monument is created
January 12, 1888--The Schoolhouse Blizzard catches hundreds of children on the open prairie
January 13, 1929--Famed cowboy and sheriff Wyatt Earp dies in Los Angeles
January 14, 1784--Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution
January 15, 1929--Martin Luther King Jr. is born
January 16, 1919--Prohibition takes effect
January 17, 1893--American planters overthrow the last ruling queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani
January 18, 1919--The Versailles Peace Conference begins
January 19, 1809--Edgar Allan Poe is born
January 20, 1981--The Iranian hostage crisis finally ends
January 21, 1977--President Jimmy Carter pardons draft dodgers
January 22, 1901--Queen Victoria dies after more than 60 years on the throne
January 23, 1968--North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo
January 24, 1848--Gold is found at Sutter's Mill, California
January 25, 1905--The world's largest diamond is discovered
January 26, 1500--Pinzón discovers Brazil
January 27, 1888--The National Geographic Society is founded
January 28, 1986--Space shuttle Challenger explodes just after takeoff
January 29, 1850--The Compromise of 1850 is passed
January 30, 1835--President Jackson survives an assassination attempt
January 31, 1862--The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is approved by the U.S. Senate
February 1, 2003--Space shuttle Columbia breaks up while entering the atmosphere
February 2, 1848--The Mexican-American War officially ends
February 3, 1959--Three of the most promising rock and roll stars of the 1950s are killed in a single plane crash
February 4, 1945--The World War II Yalta Conference sets the stage for the Cold War
February 5, 1631--Roger Williams arrives in the American Colonies
February 6, 1778--The Continental Congress signs the Treaty of Alliance with France
February 7, 1964--The Beatles land in New York
February 8, 1887--President Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act
February 9, 1942--Daylight saving time is adopted during wartime
February 10, 1763--The French and Indian War ends and France is forced to cede its North American territories to Great Britain
February 11, 1990--Nelson Mandela is released from prison
February 12, 1793--Congress enacts the first Fugitive Slave Act
February 13, 1945--Dresden, Germany, is firebombed
February 14, 1929--The St. Valentine's Day Massacre happens in Chicago
February 15, 1896--The USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor
February 16, 1923--Howard Carter opens King Tut's tomb
February 17, 1972--The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the best-selling car in history
February 18, 1885--Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
February 19, 1847--The Donner Party is rescued
February 20, 1792--George Washington signs the Postal System into existence as a cabinet post and makes regular postal service a part of American life
February 21, 1965--Activist Malcolm X is assassinated
February 22, 1980--In what is considered to be one of the greatest sports miracles of all time, the United States beat the heavily favored Soviet ice hockey team in the 1980 Olympics
February 23, 1954--U.S. children receive the first polio vaccine
February 24, 1917--The United States learns about the Zimmerman Telegram and finally joins the Allied side in World War I
February 25, 1938--The first drive-in theater opens in Miami, Florida
February 26, 1993--The World Trade Center is bombed for the first time
February 27, 1973--The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee
February 28, 1953--Watson and Crick discover DNA's chemical structure
February 29, 2004--Movie favorite The Return of the King wins Best Picture and 10 other Oscars
March 1, 1961--JFK founds the Peace Corps
March 2, 1776--The city of Boston is besieged by Continental troops
March 3, 1865--The Freedmen's Bureau is founded by the Union during the Civil War
March 4, 1933--FDR is inaugurated as president of the United States
March 5, 1770--The Boston Massacre takes place
March 6, 1857--The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision is handed down by the Supreme Court
March 7, 1876--Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
March 8, 1917--Russia suffers through the February Revolution; the czar is forced to resign
March 9, 1862--The first modern sea battle is fought off Hampton Roads, Virginia
March 10, 1864--President Lincoln signs Ulysses Grant's commission to command the Union Army
March 11, 1888--The Great Blizzard of 1888 strikes the eastern coast of the United States
March 12, 1947--The Truman Doctrine is announced
March 13, 1942--The K9 Corps is established
March 14, 1879--Albert Einstein is born
March 15, 1965--President Lyndon Baines Johnson proposes the Voting Rights Act
March 16, 1802--The military academy at West Point is established
March 17, 1905--Franklin Delano Roosevelt marries his distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
March 18, 1925--The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 is part of one of the worst tornado outbreaks on record
March 19, 1916--The United States uses aircraft in a combat role for the first time
March 20, 1852--Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin
March 21, 1980--President Jimmy Carter announces a boycott of the Moscow Olympics
March 22, 1765--Britain's Parliament passes the Stamp Act and lays the foundation for rebellion in their American Colonies
March 23, 1983--President Ronald Reagan announces his plans for SDI, a missile-based defense system
March 24, 1989--The oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska
March 25, 1911--A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory kills more than 100 workers
March 26, 1976--President Jimmy Carter presides over the landmark peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
March 27, 1964--The Great Alaskan Earthquake devastates parts of Alaska and spawns a tsunami that hits coastlines all over the Pacific
March 28, 1979--The Three Mile Island nuclear plant nearly melts down
March 29, 1951--Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested for espionage
March 30, 1870--The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
March 31, 1776--Abigail Adams reminds her Founding Father husband to "remember the ladies"
April 1, 1700--The world experiences its first April Fool's Day
April 2, 1513--Juan Ponce de León finds Florida and claims it for Spain
April 3, 1860--The legendary Pony Express is founded as a swift mail delivery service across the vast expanse of the United States
April 4, 1968--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
April 5, 1614--Pocahontas marries Englishman John Rolfe
April 6, 1896--The first modern Olympics take place in Athens, Greece
April 7, 1954--President Dwight Eisenhower uses the term "domino theory" for the first time
April 8, 1935--The U.S. Congress approves the WPA
April 9, 1939--African American opera singer Marian Anderson sings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
April 10, 1866--The ASPCA is founded
April 11, 1970--Apollo 13 is launched
April 12, 1861--The Civil War begins
April 13, 1748--Future president Thomas Jefferson is born
April 14, 1865--President Abraham Lincoln is shot by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth
April 15, 1912--The unsinkable White Star ocean liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks in less than four hours
April 16, 1947--Texas City, Texas, a factory town that produced fertilizer products, is all but destroyed by an explosion that kills nearly 600 people
April 17, 1964--The Ford Mustang debuts
April 18, 1906--The Great San Francisco Earthquake leaves the harbor city in ruins
April 19, 1995--A car bomb explodes outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 20, 1964--Cleveland, Ohio, schools boycott class to protest segregation
April 21, 1836--Texas rebels defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto
April 22, 1970--The first Earth Day is held
April 23, 1564--William Shakespeare is born and, 52 years later, dies on the same date
April 24, 1945--New president Harry S. Truman is finally told about the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project
April 25, 1917--Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald is born in Virginia, but will spend her childhood in New York City
April 26, 1865--John Wilkes Booth is killed after a pursuit by the Union Army
April 27, 1865--More than 1,500 soldiers returning from prisoner-of-war camps in the South were killed in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana
April 28, 1758--President James Monroe is born
April 29, 2004--The National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C.
April 30, 1789--George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the new United States
May 1, 1931--President Herbert Hoover dedicates the Empire State Building
May 2, 1933--The legendary Loch Ness Monster is spotted
May 3, 1942--The U.S. Navy fights the Battle of the Coral Sea
May 4, 1970--Student protestors are fired upon by National Guardsmen
May 5, 1877--Sitting Bull and his people cross the border into Canada
May 6, 1937--The Hindenburg explodes just as it touches down in Lakehurst, New Jersey
May 7, 1915--The ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed by a German U-boat
May 8, 1945--The Allies celebrate V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day
May 9, 1887--Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show entertains European monarchs
May 10, 1869--The transcontinental railroad is finally completed
May 11, 1934--Dust storms from the Plains' Dust Bowl hit the East Coast of the United States
May 12, 1903--President Teddy Roosevelt is the first U.S. president filmed by movie cameras
May 13, 1607--The first settlers arrive in Jamestown
May 14, 1796--Edward Jenner tries his smallpox vaccine for the first time
May 15, 1756--The Seven Years' War begins
May 16, 1929--The first Academy Awards are held in Hollywood, California
May 17, 1954--The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education is decided
May 18, 1980--The Mount St. Helens volcano erupts
May 19, 1836--Cynthia Ann Parker is kidnapped by Comanche Indians
May 20, 1873--The first blue jeans are patented by Levi Strauss
May 21, 1881--The American Red Cross is founded
May 22, 1843--The Great Migration strikes out for Oregon Territory
May 23, 1701--Captain Kidd "walks the plank"
May 24, 1883--The Brooklyn Bridge opens
May 25, 1787--The Constitutional Convention opens in Philadelphia
May 26, 1865--One of the last Confederate generals surrenders
May 27, 1941--FDR declares an unlimited time of emergency
May 28, 1754--The French and Indian War begins in North America
May 29, 1914--The Empress of Ireland collides with a freighter and sinks
May 30, 1911--The Indianapolis 500 is held for the first time
May 31, 1889--A flood wipes out Johnstown, Pennsylvania
June 1, 1926--Marilyn Monroe is born
June 2, 1924--The Indian Citizenship Act grants American citizenship to Native American tribal members
June 3, 1800--President Adams moves into the new U.S. capital
June 4, 1754--George Washington is tasked to build Fort Necessity
June 5, 1947--The Marshall Plan is discussed for the first time
June 6, 1944--The D-Day invasion of Europe marks the beginning of the end of the war in Europe
June 7, 1692--Port Royal, Jamaica, is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami
June 8, 1949--The FBI names several Hollywood stars and writers as communists
June 9, 1863--Union and Confederate cavalry forces fight the Battle of Brandy Station
June 10, 1775--The Continental Army is proposed
June 11, 1880--Jeannette Rankin is born
June 12, 1987--President Reagan calls for tearing down the Berlin Wall
June 13, 1966--The Miranda rights become standard for all Americans
June 14, 1777--The U.S. Congress makes the Stars and Stripes the official flag of the rebelling American nation
June 15, 1775--George Washington is asked to command the Continental Army
June 16, 1884--The U.S. gets its first roller coaster
June 17, 1775--The Battle of Bunker Hill begins
June 18, 1812--The War of 1812 starts
June 19, 1905--America discovers the nickelodeon
June 20, 1975--The movie Jaws is released
June 21, 1788--The American Constitution is ratified by nine of 13 states
June 22, 1775--The Continental Congress issues its first currency
June 23, 1972--Title IX legislation levels the playing field for both male and female athletes
June 24, 1675--King Metacomet's War starts
June 25, 1876--The Battle of Little Bighorn begins
June 26, 1948--The United States and British air forces begin the Berlin Airlift
June 27, 1829--English scientist James Smithson funds the creation of the Smithsonian
June 28, 1953--The first Corvette is built in Flint, Michigan
June 29, 1995--The U.S. shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station
June 30, 1950--President Truman sends U.S. forces to Korea
July 1, 1863--The Battle of Gettysburg begins
July 2, 1776--The new Continental Congress resolves to declare the Colonies' freedom from Great Britain
July 3, 1863--General Pickett leads Pickett's Charge on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg
July 4, 1776--The American Colonies declare their freedom from Great Britain
July 5, 1865--The Salvation Army is founded
July 6, 1957--African American tennis player Althea Gibson wins Wimbledon
July 7, 1865--Supposed Lincoln-assassination conspirator Mary Surratt is executed along with the rest of the conspirators charged with the president's assassination
July 8, 1776--The Liberty Bell rings to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence
July 9, 1850--American president Zachary Taylor dies in office
July 10, 1925--The Scopes Monkey Trial begins
July 11, 1804--Former vice president Aaron Burr shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel
July 12, 1861--The Confederate States of America sign treaties with Native Americans to bring the tribes into the Civil War
July 13, 1787--The Northwest Ordinance becomes law
July 14, 1881--The outlaw Billy the Kid is killed by lawman Pat Garrett
July 15, 1971--President Richard Nixon prepares to visit China
July 16, 1863--Draft riots occur in New York City
July 17, 1955--The "happiest place on earth" opens for the first time
July 18, 1936--The Spanish Civil War breaks out
July 19, 1848--The Seneca Falls Convention opens
July 20, 1969--Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon
July 21, 1861--The first Battle of Bull Run is fought outside Washington, D.C.
July 22, 1933--Aviator Wiley Post flies around the world alone
July 23, 1885--President Grant dies
July 24, 1911--Machu Picchu is rediscovered
July 25, 1956--Two ships collide off the coast of Nantucket Island
July 26, 1775--The United States Postal System is established
July 27, 2003--Bob Hope dies
July 28, 1868--The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
July 29, 1958--The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is founded
July 30, 1864--The Union army suffers huge casualties at the Battle of the Crater
July 31, 1715--A hurricane sinks a Spanish treasure fleet
August 1, 1914--World War I breaks out in Europe
August 2, 1943--PT 109, under the command of JFK, is destroyed by the Japanese
August 3, 1492--Columbus sets sail on the voyage to discover a new route to the Orient
August 4, 1892--"Lizzie Borden took an ax..."
August 5, 1858--The first transatlantic telegraph cable is finished
August 6, 1945--The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
August 7, 1782--George Washington creates the Purple Heart as an award for wounded U.S. troops
August 8, 1974--Richard Nixon resigns from the U.S. presidency
August 9, 1974--Gerald Ford takes the oath of office and becomes president of the United States
August 10, 1937--The first electric guitar is patented
August 11, 1973--Hip-hop music is born
August 12, 1961--The East Germans, under Soviet rule, begin to build the Berlin Wall
August 13, 1521--Cortés conquers the Aztec capital
August 14, 1784--The Russians claim Alaska
August 15, 1969--Woodstock opens
August 16, 1896--"There's gold in them thar hills!" (Gold is found in the Yukon)
August 17, 1998--President Bill Clinton is called to testify before a grand jury
August 18, 1590--The Roanoke colony is found abandoned
August 19, 1812--The USS Constitution earns its nickname of "Old Ironsides"
August 20, 1975--Viking 1 heads for Mars
August 21, 1959--Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States of America
August 22, 1851--The United States wins its first America's Cup
August 23, 1861--Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow is arrested
August 24, 1814--British troops burn the White House and Washington, D.C.
August 25, 1939--The Wizard of Oz hits movie theaters
August 26, 1939--The first major league baseball game is shown on television
August 27, 1952--The "Red Scare" rears its ugly head for a second time in American politics
August 28, 1955--Emmett Till is killed
August 29, 2005--Hurricane Katrina strikes the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coasts
August 30, 1963--A nuclear phone "hotline" is established between Washington, D.C., and Moscow
August 31, 1935--Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act into law
September 1, 1985--The wreck of the Titanic is finally found
September 2, 1666--The Great London Fire nearly burns the entire city to the ground
September 3, 1783--The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution
September 4, 1886--Geronimo surrenders to the U.S. government
September 5, 1774--The Continental Congress meets for the first time
September 6, 2007--The German car manufacturer Volkswagen begins building cars in Virginia
September 7, 1776--The first submarine attack in history takes place during the American Revolution
September 8, 1900--Galveston, Texas, is nearly destroyed by a hurricane
September 9, 1965--Pitcher Sandy Koufax pitches a rare perfect game
September 10, 1919--NYC throws a parade for returning World War I veterans
September 11, 2001--Terrorists fly airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania
September 12, 1940--The Lascaux cave paintings are discovered
September 13, 1814--Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner"
September 14, 1975--The first American is canonized as a saint
September 15, 1858--Mail service crosses the American continent to San Francisco
September 16, 1893--Settlers race to stake their claim on a piece of the Cherokee Strip
September 17, 1862--Northern and Southern armies fight the Battle of Antietam
September 18, 1793--The cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol is laid
September 19, 1881--President Garfield dies of complications arising from a wound received during an assassination attempt
September 20, 1881--The year 1881 marks a year of three U.S. presidents
September 21, 1780--Benedict Arnold betrays the United States
September 22, 1776--Nathan Hale is executed for spying on the British
September 23, 1944--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his famous "Fala" speech
September 24, 1789--The first ever United States Supreme Court meets
September 25, 1957--Little Rock's Central High School is integrated by force
September 26, 1820--Daniel Boone dies
September 27, 1869--Wild Bill Hickok is too wild for Kansas
September 28, 1918--The Spanish Flu hits Philadelphia hard
September 29, 1780--Major John Andre is convicted of spying for the British
September 30, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson finally gives a speech supporting female suffrage
October 1, 1908--Ford introduces the Model T
October 2, 1967--Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African American Supreme Court Justice
October 3, 1863--Lincoln declares the first official Thanksgiving
October 4, 1927--Work starts on Mount Rushmore
October 5, 1892--The Dalton Gang comes to an end as a result of a double bank robbery
October 6, 1683--The first Mennonites arrive in Pennsylvania
October 7, 1871--Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is destroyed by a fire of unknown origin
October 8, 1871--Chicago burns in the Great Chicago Fire
October 9, 1992--A small meteorite damages a car in Peekskill, New York
October 10, 1951--President Truman signs the Mutual Security Act and puts communist nations on alert
October 11, 2002--Former President Carter receives the Nobel Peace Prize
October 12, 1492--Christopher Columbus rediscovers the New World
October 13, 1792--Construction begins on the U.S. White House
October 14, 1962--The Cuban Missile Crisis begins
October 15, 1863--The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sinks on its maiden voyage
October 16, 1859--John Brown raids the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia
October 17, 1931--Al Capone goes to prison on tax charges
October 18, 1973--Congress authorizes bicentennial coins to celebrate the upcoming U.S. Bicentennial
October 19, 1781--British Commander Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
October 20, 1947--The American government fears the presence of communists in Hollywood
October 21, 1967--Protestors march on Washington, D.C., to protest the growing U.S. presence in the Vietnam War
October 22, 1934--Outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd is shot by the FBI
October 23, 1983--The United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut is destroyed by a truck bomb
October 24, 1951--The war with Germany officially ends
October 25, 1944--Japanese kamikaze planes attack Allied ships at Leyte Gulf
October 26, 1881--The shootout at the O.K. Corral takes place
October 27, 1962--The United States and Soviet Russia end the Cuban Missile Crisis
October 28, 1886--The Statue of Liberty is officially dedicated in New York
October 29, 1998--John Glenn blasts back into space
October 30, 1938--Orson Welles scares much of the United States with a radio broadcast
October 31, 1926--Harry Houdini dies
November 1, 1765--The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act
November 2, 1948--President Harry S. Truman wins reelection
November 3, 1948--The Chicago Tribune prints a front-page headline mistaking Thomas Dewey for the new president
November 4, 1879--America's favorite son, Will Rogers, is born in Oklahoma Territory
November 5, 1940--Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected for a third term as president
November 6, 1861--Jefferson Davis is elected as president of the newly formed Confederate States of America
November 7, 1957--The call goes out for more American missiles and fallout shelters across the nation
November 8, 1960--JFK is elected president
November 9, 1965--The Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 leaves much of the northeastern U.S. in the dark
November 10, 1975--The cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior
November 11, 1921--The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated
November 12, 1980--Voyager I nears the planet Saturn
November 13, 1982--The Vietnam Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
November 14, 1969--Apollo 12 is launched for a journey to the moon
November 15, 1777--The Articles of Confederation are proposed to the 13 Colonies
November 16, 1532--Pizarro captures the Incan emperor, Atahualpa
November 17, 1558--Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen of England
November 18, 1916--General Haig calls an end to the Battle of the Somme
November 19, 1863--Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
November 20, 1820--The whaling boat Essex was sunk... by a whale
November 21, 1877--Thomas Edison invents the recording machine
November 22, 1718--The great pirate Blackbeard is hanged off the coast of North Carolina
November 23, 1876--New York's "Boss" Tweed returns to the United States
November 24, 1859--Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species
November 25, 1941--The United States is warned of a possible attack by Japan
November 26, 1941--The first official Thanksgiving Holiday is established by the federal government
November 27, 1868--George Armstrong Custer's troops massacre the Cheyenne on the Washita River
November 28, 1925--The first broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry is heard on WMS radio
November 29, 1963--LBJ forms the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy assassination
November 30, 1993--The Brady Bill becomes law
December 1, 1955--Seamstress Rosa Parks starts a bus boycott in Alabama
December 2, 1823--The Monroe Doctrine is announced to the world
December 3, 1989--Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev declare the Cold War is ended
December 4, 1872--The sailing ship Mary Celeste is found abandoned
December 5, 1933--Prohibition ends
December 6, 1917--Two ships explode in Halifax Harbor and destroy half of Halifax, Canada
December 7, 1941--Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is bombed
December 8, 1980--Former Beatle John Lennon is shot
December 9, 1775--The British are run out of Virginia
December 10, 1864--Sherman reaches the sea
December 11, 1941--Hitler declares war on the United States
December 12, 1806--Cherokee General Stand Watie is born
December 13, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson makes the first presidential visit to Europe
December 14, 1799--George Washington dies
December 15, 1791--The Bill of Rights is ratified
December 16, 1811--A huge quake rocks the New Madrid fault line
December 17, 1903--The Wright brothers fly the first airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
December 18, 1620--The Mayflower arrives at Plymouth Harbor
December 19, 1776--The American Crisis is published
December 20, 1803--The French hand New Orleans over to the United States
December 21, 1970--Elvis has left the building, headed for the White House
December 22, 1941--Churchill and Roosevelt meet to discuss World War II
December 23, 1968--The crew of the USS Pueblo is released
December 24, 1814--The War of 1812 ends
December 25, 1914--An informal Christmas truce is declared on the front lines of World War I
December 26, 2004--A massive tsunami strikes the Indian Ocean coast
December 27, 1900--Anti-alcohol crusader Carrie Nation smashes up another bar
December 28, 1895--Customers pay admission to see the first official movie
December 29, 1890--The U.S. Army massacres Native Americans at Wounded Knee
December 30, 1862--The ironclad USS Monitor sinks in a storm
December 31, 1999--The Panama Canal is returned to Panama
January 2, 1974--Nixon signs a new national speed limit into law
January 3, 1967--Aretha Franklin is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
January 4, 1858--The Lecompton Constitution is rejected
January 5, 1933--Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge
January 6, 1838--Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates the telegraph
January 7, 1789--The first U.S. presidential election is held
January 8, 1815--The Battle of New Orleans takes place
January 9, 1776--Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
January 10, 1901--The first oil well gusher "gushes" to life in Spindletop, Texas, and the U.S. oil industry booms
January 11, 1908--The Grand Canyon National Monument is created
January 12, 1888--The Schoolhouse Blizzard catches hundreds of children on the open prairie
January 13, 1929--Famed cowboy and sheriff Wyatt Earp dies in Los Angeles
January 14, 1784--Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution
January 15, 1929--Martin Luther King Jr. is born
January 16, 1919--Prohibition takes effect
January 17, 1893--American planters overthrow the last ruling queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani
January 18, 1919--The Versailles Peace Conference begins
January 19, 1809--Edgar Allan Poe is born
January 20, 1981--The Iranian hostage crisis finally ends
January 21, 1977--President Jimmy Carter pardons draft dodgers
January 22, 1901--Queen Victoria dies after more than 60 years on the throne
January 23, 1968--North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo
January 24, 1848--Gold is found at Sutter's Mill, California
January 25, 1905--The world's largest diamond is discovered
January 26, 1500--Pinzón discovers Brazil
January 27, 1888--The National Geographic Society is founded
January 28, 1986--Space shuttle Challenger explodes just after takeoff
January 29, 1850--The Compromise of 1850 is passed
January 30, 1835--President Jackson survives an assassination attempt
January 31, 1862--The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is approved by the U.S. Senate
February 1, 2003--Space shuttle Columbia breaks up while entering the atmosphere
February 2, 1848--The Mexican-American War officially ends
February 3, 1959--Three of the most promising rock and roll stars of the 1950s are killed in a single plane crash
February 4, 1945--The World War II Yalta Conference sets the stage for the Cold War
February 5, 1631--Roger Williams arrives in the American Colonies
February 6, 1778--The Continental Congress signs the Treaty of Alliance with France
February 7, 1964--The Beatles land in New York
February 8, 1887--President Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act
February 9, 1942--Daylight saving time is adopted during wartime
February 10, 1763--The French and Indian War ends and France is forced to cede its North American territories to Great Britain
February 11, 1990--Nelson Mandela is released from prison
February 12, 1793--Congress enacts the first Fugitive Slave Act
February 13, 1945--Dresden, Germany, is firebombed
February 14, 1929--The St. Valentine's Day Massacre happens in Chicago
February 15, 1896--The USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor
February 16, 1923--Howard Carter opens King Tut's tomb
February 17, 1972--The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the best-selling car in history
February 18, 1885--Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
February 19, 1847--The Donner Party is rescued
February 20, 1792--George Washington signs the Postal System into existence as a cabinet post and makes regular postal service a part of American life
February 21, 1965--Activist Malcolm X is assassinated
February 22, 1980--In what is considered to be one of the greatest sports miracles of all time, the United States beat the heavily favored Soviet ice hockey team in the 1980 Olympics
February 23, 1954--U.S. children receive the first polio vaccine
February 24, 1917--The United States learns about the Zimmerman Telegram and finally joins the Allied side in World War I
February 25, 1938--The first drive-in theater opens in Miami, Florida
February 26, 1993--The World Trade Center is bombed for the first time
February 27, 1973--The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee
February 28, 1953--Watson and Crick discover DNA's chemical structure
February 29, 2004--Movie favorite The Return of the King wins Best Picture and 10 other Oscars
March 1, 1961--JFK founds the Peace Corps
March 2, 1776--The city of Boston is besieged by Continental troops
March 3, 1865--The Freedmen's Bureau is founded by the Union during the Civil War
March 4, 1933--FDR is inaugurated as president of the United States
March 5, 1770--The Boston Massacre takes place
March 6, 1857--The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision is handed down by the Supreme Court
March 7, 1876--Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
March 8, 1917--Russia suffers through the February Revolution; the czar is forced to resign
March 9, 1862--The first modern sea battle is fought off Hampton Roads, Virginia
March 10, 1864--President Lincoln signs Ulysses Grant's commission to command the Union Army
March 11, 1888--The Great Blizzard of 1888 strikes the eastern coast of the United States
March 12, 1947--The Truman Doctrine is announced
March 13, 1942--The K9 Corps is established
March 14, 1879--Albert Einstein is born
March 15, 1965--President Lyndon Baines Johnson proposes the Voting Rights Act
March 16, 1802--The military academy at West Point is established
March 17, 1905--Franklin Delano Roosevelt marries his distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
March 18, 1925--The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 is part of one of the worst tornado outbreaks on record
March 19, 1916--The United States uses aircraft in a combat role for the first time
March 20, 1852--Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin
March 21, 1980--President Jimmy Carter announces a boycott of the Moscow Olympics
March 22, 1765--Britain's Parliament passes the Stamp Act and lays the foundation for rebellion in their American Colonies
March 23, 1983--President Ronald Reagan announces his plans for SDI, a missile-based defense system
March 24, 1989--The oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska
March 25, 1911--A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory kills more than 100 workers
March 26, 1976--President Jimmy Carter presides over the landmark peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
March 27, 1964--The Great Alaskan Earthquake devastates parts of Alaska and spawns a tsunami that hits coastlines all over the Pacific
March 28, 1979--The Three Mile Island nuclear plant nearly melts down
March 29, 1951--Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested for espionage
March 30, 1870--The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
March 31, 1776--Abigail Adams reminds her Founding Father husband to "remember the ladies"
April 1, 1700--The world experiences its first April Fool's Day
April 2, 1513--Juan Ponce de León finds Florida and claims it for Spain
April 3, 1860--The legendary Pony Express is founded as a swift mail delivery service across the vast expanse of the United States
April 4, 1968--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
April 5, 1614--Pocahontas marries Englishman John Rolfe
April 6, 1896--The first modern Olympics take place in Athens, Greece
April 7, 1954--President Dwight Eisenhower uses the term "domino theory" for the first time
April 8, 1935--The U.S. Congress approves the WPA
April 9, 1939--African American opera singer Marian Anderson sings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
April 10, 1866--The ASPCA is founded
April 11, 1970--Apollo 13 is launched
April 12, 1861--The Civil War begins
April 13, 1748--Future president Thomas Jefferson is born
April 14, 1865--President Abraham Lincoln is shot by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth
April 15, 1912--The unsinkable White Star ocean liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks in less than four hours
April 16, 1947--Texas City, Texas, a factory town that produced fertilizer products, is all but destroyed by an explosion that kills nearly 600 people
April 17, 1964--The Ford Mustang debuts
April 18, 1906--The Great San Francisco Earthquake leaves the harbor city in ruins
April 19, 1995--A car bomb explodes outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 20, 1964--Cleveland, Ohio, schools boycott class to protest segregation
April 21, 1836--Texas rebels defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto
April 22, 1970--The first Earth Day is held
April 23, 1564--William Shakespeare is born and, 52 years later, dies on the same date
April 24, 1945--New president Harry S. Truman is finally told about the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project
April 25, 1917--Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald is born in Virginia, but will spend her childhood in New York City
April 26, 1865--John Wilkes Booth is killed after a pursuit by the Union Army
April 27, 1865--More than 1,500 soldiers returning from prisoner-of-war camps in the South were killed in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana
April 28, 1758--President James Monroe is born
April 29, 2004--The National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C.
April 30, 1789--George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the new United States
May 1, 1931--President Herbert Hoover dedicates the Empire State Building
May 2, 1933--The legendary Loch Ness Monster is spotted
May 3, 1942--The U.S. Navy fights the Battle of the Coral Sea
May 4, 1970--Student protestors are fired upon by National Guardsmen
May 5, 1877--Sitting Bull and his people cross the border into Canada
May 6, 1937--The Hindenburg explodes just as it touches down in Lakehurst, New Jersey
May 7, 1915--The ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed by a German U-boat
May 8, 1945--The Allies celebrate V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day
May 9, 1887--Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show entertains European monarchs
May 10, 1869--The transcontinental railroad is finally completed
May 11, 1934--Dust storms from the Plains' Dust Bowl hit the East Coast of the United States
May 12, 1903--President Teddy Roosevelt is the first U.S. president filmed by movie cameras
May 13, 1607--The first settlers arrive in Jamestown
May 14, 1796--Edward Jenner tries his smallpox vaccine for the first time
May 15, 1756--The Seven Years' War begins
May 16, 1929--The first Academy Awards are held in Hollywood, California
May 17, 1954--The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education is decided
May 18, 1980--The Mount St. Helens volcano erupts
May 19, 1836--Cynthia Ann Parker is kidnapped by Comanche Indians
May 20, 1873--The first blue jeans are patented by Levi Strauss
May 21, 1881--The American Red Cross is founded
May 22, 1843--The Great Migration strikes out for Oregon Territory
May 23, 1701--Captain Kidd "walks the plank"
May 24, 1883--The Brooklyn Bridge opens
May 25, 1787--The Constitutional Convention opens in Philadelphia
May 26, 1865--One of the last Confederate generals surrenders
May 27, 1941--FDR declares an unlimited time of emergency
May 28, 1754--The French and Indian War begins in North America
May 29, 1914--The Empress of Ireland collides with a freighter and sinks
May 30, 1911--The Indianapolis 500 is held for the first time
May 31, 1889--A flood wipes out Johnstown, Pennsylvania
June 1, 1926--Marilyn Monroe is born
June 2, 1924--The Indian Citizenship Act grants American citizenship to Native American tribal members
June 3, 1800--President Adams moves into the new U.S. capital
June 4, 1754--George Washington is tasked to build Fort Necessity
June 5, 1947--The Marshall Plan is discussed for the first time
June 6, 1944--The D-Day invasion of Europe marks the beginning of the end of the war in Europe
June 7, 1692--Port Royal, Jamaica, is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami
June 8, 1949--The FBI names several Hollywood stars and writers as communists
June 9, 1863--Union and Confederate cavalry forces fight the Battle of Brandy Station
June 10, 1775--The Continental Army is proposed
June 11, 1880--Jeannette Rankin is born
June 12, 1987--President Reagan calls for tearing down the Berlin Wall
June 13, 1966--The Miranda rights become standard for all Americans
June 14, 1777--The U.S. Congress makes the Stars and Stripes the official flag of the rebelling American nation
June 15, 1775--George Washington is asked to command the Continental Army
June 16, 1884--The U.S. gets its first roller coaster
June 17, 1775--The Battle of Bunker Hill begins
June 18, 1812--The War of 1812 starts
June 19, 1905--America discovers the nickelodeon
June 20, 1975--The movie Jaws is released
June 21, 1788--The American Constitution is ratified by nine of 13 states
June 22, 1775--The Continental Congress issues its first currency
June 23, 1972--Title IX legislation levels the playing field for both male and female athletes
June 24, 1675--King Metacomet's War starts
June 25, 1876--The Battle of Little Bighorn begins
June 26, 1948--The United States and British air forces begin the Berlin Airlift
June 27, 1829--English scientist James Smithson funds the creation of the Smithsonian
June 28, 1953--The first Corvette is built in Flint, Michigan
June 29, 1995--The U.S. shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station
June 30, 1950--President Truman sends U.S. forces to Korea
July 1, 1863--The Battle of Gettysburg begins
July 2, 1776--The new Continental Congress resolves to declare the Colonies' freedom from Great Britain
July 3, 1863--General Pickett leads Pickett's Charge on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg
July 4, 1776--The American Colonies declare their freedom from Great Britain
July 5, 1865--The Salvation Army is founded
July 6, 1957--African American tennis player Althea Gibson wins Wimbledon
July 7, 1865--Supposed Lincoln-assassination conspirator Mary Surratt is executed along with the rest of the conspirators charged with the president's assassination
July 8, 1776--The Liberty Bell rings to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence
July 9, 1850--American president Zachary Taylor dies in office
July 10, 1925--The Scopes Monkey Trial begins
July 11, 1804--Former vice president Aaron Burr shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel
July 12, 1861--The Confederate States of America sign treaties with Native Americans to bring the tribes into the Civil War
July 13, 1787--The Northwest Ordinance becomes law
July 14, 1881--The outlaw Billy the Kid is killed by lawman Pat Garrett
July 15, 1971--President Richard Nixon prepares to visit China
July 16, 1863--Draft riots occur in New York City
July 17, 1955--The "happiest place on earth" opens for the first time
July 18, 1936--The Spanish Civil War breaks out
July 19, 1848--The Seneca Falls Convention opens
July 20, 1969--Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon
July 21, 1861--The first Battle of Bull Run is fought outside Washington, D.C.
July 22, 1933--Aviator Wiley Post flies around the world alone
July 23, 1885--President Grant dies
July 24, 1911--Machu Picchu is rediscovered
July 25, 1956--Two ships collide off the coast of Nantucket Island
July 26, 1775--The United States Postal System is established
July 27, 2003--Bob Hope dies
July 28, 1868--The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
July 29, 1958--The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is founded
July 30, 1864--The Union army suffers huge casualties at the Battle of the Crater
July 31, 1715--A hurricane sinks a Spanish treasure fleet
August 1, 1914--World War I breaks out in Europe
August 2, 1943--PT 109, under the command of JFK, is destroyed by the Japanese
August 3, 1492--Columbus sets sail on the voyage to discover a new route to the Orient
August 4, 1892--"Lizzie Borden took an ax..."
August 5, 1858--The first transatlantic telegraph cable is finished
August 6, 1945--The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
August 7, 1782--George Washington creates the Purple Heart as an award for wounded U.S. troops
August 8, 1974--Richard Nixon resigns from the U.S. presidency
August 9, 1974--Gerald Ford takes the oath of office and becomes president of the United States
August 10, 1937--The first electric guitar is patented
August 11, 1973--Hip-hop music is born
August 12, 1961--The East Germans, under Soviet rule, begin to build the Berlin Wall
August 13, 1521--Cortés conquers the Aztec capital
August 14, 1784--The Russians claim Alaska
August 15, 1969--Woodstock opens
August 16, 1896--"There's gold in them thar hills!" (Gold is found in the Yukon)
August 17, 1998--President Bill Clinton is called to testify before a grand jury
August 18, 1590--The Roanoke colony is found abandoned
August 19, 1812--The USS Constitution earns its nickname of "Old Ironsides"
August 20, 1975--Viking 1 heads for Mars
August 21, 1959--Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States of America
August 22, 1851--The United States wins its first America's Cup
August 23, 1861--Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow is arrested
August 24, 1814--British troops burn the White House and Washington, D.C.
August 25, 1939--The Wizard of Oz hits movie theaters
August 26, 1939--The first major league baseball game is shown on television
August 27, 1952--The "Red Scare" rears its ugly head for a second time in American politics
August 28, 1955--Emmett Till is killed
August 29, 2005--Hurricane Katrina strikes the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coasts
August 30, 1963--A nuclear phone "hotline" is established between Washington, D.C., and Moscow
August 31, 1935--Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act into law
September 1, 1985--The wreck of the Titanic is finally found
September 2, 1666--The Great London Fire nearly burns the entire city to the ground
September 3, 1783--The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution
September 4, 1886--Geronimo surrenders to the U.S. government
September 5, 1774--The Continental Congress meets for the first time
September 6, 2007--The German car manufacturer Volkswagen begins building cars in Virginia
September 7, 1776--The first submarine attack in history takes place during the American Revolution
September 8, 1900--Galveston, Texas, is nearly destroyed by a hurricane
September 9, 1965--Pitcher Sandy Koufax pitches a rare perfect game
September 10, 1919--NYC throws a parade for returning World War I veterans
September 11, 2001--Terrorists fly airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania
September 12, 1940--The Lascaux cave paintings are discovered
September 13, 1814--Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner"
September 14, 1975--The first American is canonized as a saint
September 15, 1858--Mail service crosses the American continent to San Francisco
September 16, 1893--Settlers race to stake their claim on a piece of the Cherokee Strip
September 17, 1862--Northern and Southern armies fight the Battle of Antietam
September 18, 1793--The cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol is laid
September 19, 1881--President Garfield dies of complications arising from a wound received during an assassination attempt
September 20, 1881--The year 1881 marks a year of three U.S. presidents
September 21, 1780--Benedict Arnold betrays the United States
September 22, 1776--Nathan Hale is executed for spying on the British
September 23, 1944--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his famous "Fala" speech
September 24, 1789--The first ever United States Supreme Court meets
September 25, 1957--Little Rock's Central High School is integrated by force
September 26, 1820--Daniel Boone dies
September 27, 1869--Wild Bill Hickok is too wild for Kansas
September 28, 1918--The Spanish Flu hits Philadelphia hard
September 29, 1780--Major John Andre is convicted of spying for the British
September 30, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson finally gives a speech supporting female suffrage
October 1, 1908--Ford introduces the Model T
October 2, 1967--Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African American Supreme Court Justice
October 3, 1863--Lincoln declares the first official Thanksgiving
October 4, 1927--Work starts on Mount Rushmore
October 5, 1892--The Dalton Gang comes to an end as a result of a double bank robbery
October 6, 1683--The first Mennonites arrive in Pennsylvania
October 7, 1871--Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is destroyed by a fire of unknown origin
October 8, 1871--Chicago burns in the Great Chicago Fire
October 9, 1992--A small meteorite damages a car in Peekskill, New York
October 10, 1951--President Truman signs the Mutual Security Act and puts communist nations on alert
October 11, 2002--Former President Carter receives the Nobel Peace Prize
October 12, 1492--Christopher Columbus rediscovers the New World
October 13, 1792--Construction begins on the U.S. White House
October 14, 1962--The Cuban Missile Crisis begins
October 15, 1863--The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sinks on its maiden voyage
October 16, 1859--John Brown raids the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia
October 17, 1931--Al Capone goes to prison on tax charges
October 18, 1973--Congress authorizes bicentennial coins to celebrate the upcoming U.S. Bicentennial
October 19, 1781--British Commander Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
October 20, 1947--The American government fears the presence of communists in Hollywood
October 21, 1967--Protestors march on Washington, D.C., to protest the growing U.S. presence in the Vietnam War
October 22, 1934--Outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd is shot by the FBI
October 23, 1983--The United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut is destroyed by a truck bomb
October 24, 1951--The war with Germany officially ends
October 25, 1944--Japanese kamikaze planes attack Allied ships at Leyte Gulf
October 26, 1881--The shootout at the O.K. Corral takes place
October 27, 1962--The United States and Soviet Russia end the Cuban Missile Crisis
October 28, 1886--The Statue of Liberty is officially dedicated in New York
October 29, 1998--John Glenn blasts back into space
October 30, 1938--Orson Welles scares much of the United States with a radio broadcast
October 31, 1926--Harry Houdini dies
November 1, 1765--The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act
November 2, 1948--President Harry S. Truman wins reelection
November 3, 1948--The Chicago Tribune prints a front-page headline mistaking Thomas Dewey for the new president
November 4, 1879--America's favorite son, Will Rogers, is born in Oklahoma Territory
November 5, 1940--Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected for a third term as president
November 6, 1861--Jefferson Davis is elected as president of the newly formed Confederate States of America
November 7, 1957--The call goes out for more American missiles and fallout shelters across the nation
November 8, 1960--JFK is elected president
November 9, 1965--The Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 leaves much of the northeastern U.S. in the dark
November 10, 1975--The cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior
November 11, 1921--The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated
November 12, 1980--Voyager I nears the planet Saturn
November 13, 1982--The Vietnam Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
November 14, 1969--Apollo 12 is launched for a journey to the moon
November 15, 1777--The Articles of Confederation are proposed to the 13 Colonies
November 16, 1532--Pizarro captures the Incan emperor, Atahualpa
November 17, 1558--Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen of England
November 18, 1916--General Haig calls an end to the Battle of the Somme
November 19, 1863--Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
November 20, 1820--The whaling boat Essex was sunk... by a whale
November 21, 1877--Thomas Edison invents the recording machine
November 22, 1718--The great pirate Blackbeard is hanged off the coast of North Carolina
November 23, 1876--New York's "Boss" Tweed returns to the United States
November 24, 1859--Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species
November 25, 1941--The United States is warned of a possible attack by Japan
November 26, 1941--The first official Thanksgiving Holiday is established by the federal government
November 27, 1868--George Armstrong Custer's troops massacre the Cheyenne on the Washita River
November 28, 1925--The first broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry is heard on WMS radio
November 29, 1963--LBJ forms the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy assassination
November 30, 1993--The Brady Bill becomes law
December 1, 1955--Seamstress Rosa Parks starts a bus boycott in Alabama
December 2, 1823--The Monroe Doctrine is announced to the world
December 3, 1989--Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev declare the Cold War is ended
December 4, 1872--The sailing ship Mary Celeste is found abandoned
December 5, 1933--Prohibition ends
December 6, 1917--Two ships explode in Halifax Harbor and destroy half of Halifax, Canada
December 7, 1941--Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is bombed
December 8, 1980--Former Beatle John Lennon is shot
December 9, 1775--The British are run out of Virginia
December 10, 1864--Sherman reaches the sea
December 11, 1941--Hitler declares war on the United States
December 12, 1806--Cherokee General Stand Watie is born
December 13, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson makes the first presidential visit to Europe
December 14, 1799--George Washington dies
December 15, 1791--The Bill of Rights is ratified
December 16, 1811--A huge quake rocks the New Madrid fault line
December 17, 1903--The Wright brothers fly the first airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
December 18, 1620--The Mayflower arrives at Plymouth Harbor
December 19, 1776--The American Crisis is published
December 20, 1803--The French hand New Orleans over to the United States
December 21, 1970--Elvis has left the building, headed for the White House
December 22, 1941--Churchill and Roosevelt meet to discuss World War II
December 23, 1968--The crew of the USS Pueblo is released
December 24, 1814--The War of 1812 ends
December 25, 1914--An informal Christmas truce is declared on the front lines of World War I
December 26, 2004--A massive tsunami strikes the Indian Ocean coast
December 27, 1900--Anti-alcohol crusader Carrie Nation smashes up another bar
December 28, 1895--Customers pay admission to see the first official movie
December 29, 1890--The U.S. Army massacres Native Americans at Wounded Knee
December 30, 1862--The ironclad USS Monitor sinks in a storm
December 31, 1999--The Panama Canal is returned to Panama
©2017. Middle school, high school. Reproducible. 370 pages.
Book Download: PDF.
Print Book: Spiral-bound. 8 x 5 inches.
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On This Day in History Book
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Do YOU Know What Happened on This Day in History?—DIGITAL RESOURCE DOWNLOAD
Description
Description
On This Day in History provides awesome historical writing prompts, ice breakers, and discussion starters for each day of the year! Each entry gives students a notable event or achievement from history, along with a short description and two differentiated close reading questions. These daily entries are a quick way to have students analyze history and connect historical events to current events. Read entries aloud or project them for the class to do independently. With 365 entries, you can use the same book year after year regardless of how the calendar dates fall!
Aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Table of Contents
January 1, 1863--President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation
January 2, 1974--Nixon signs a new national speed limit into law
January 3, 1967--Aretha Franklin is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
January 4, 1858--The Lecompton Constitution is rejected
January 5, 1933--Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge
January 6, 1838--Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates the telegraph
January 7, 1789--The first U.S. presidential election is held
January 8, 1815--The Battle of New Orleans takes place
January 9, 1776--Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
January 10, 1901--The first oil well gusher "gushes" to life in Spindletop, Texas, and the U.S. oil industry booms
January 11, 1908--The Grand Canyon National Monument is created
January 12, 1888--The Schoolhouse Blizzard catches hundreds of children on the open prairie
January 13, 1929--Famed cowboy and sheriff Wyatt Earp dies in Los Angeles
January 14, 1784--Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution
January 15, 1929--Martin Luther King Jr. is born
January 16, 1919--Prohibition takes effect
January 17, 1893--American planters overthrow the last ruling queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani
January 18, 1919--The Versailles Peace Conference begins
January 19, 1809--Edgar Allan Poe is born
January 20, 1981--The Iranian hostage crisis finally ends
January 21, 1977--President Jimmy Carter pardons draft dodgers
January 22, 1901--Queen Victoria dies after more than 60 years on the throne
January 23, 1968--North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo
January 24, 1848--Gold is found at Sutter's Mill, California
January 25, 1905--The world's largest diamond is discovered
January 26, 1500--Pinzón discovers Brazil
January 27, 1888--The National Geographic Society is founded
January 28, 1986--Space shuttle Challenger explodes just after takeoff
January 29, 1850--The Compromise of 1850 is passed
January 30, 1835--President Jackson survives an assassination attempt
January 31, 1862--The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is approved by the U.S. Senate
February 1, 2003--Space shuttle Columbia breaks up while entering the atmosphere
February 2, 1848--The Mexican-American War officially ends
February 3, 1959--Three of the most promising rock and roll stars of the 1950s are killed in a single plane crash
February 4, 1945--The World War II Yalta Conference sets the stage for the Cold War
February 5, 1631--Roger Williams arrives in the American Colonies
February 6, 1778--The Continental Congress signs the Treaty of Alliance with France
February 7, 1964--The Beatles land in New York
February 8, 1887--President Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act
February 9, 1942--Daylight saving time is adopted during wartime
February 10, 1763--The French and Indian War ends and France is forced to cede its North American territories to Great Britain
February 11, 1990--Nelson Mandela is released from prison
February 12, 1793--Congress enacts the first Fugitive Slave Act
February 13, 1945--Dresden, Germany, is firebombed
February 14, 1929--The St. Valentine's Day Massacre happens in Chicago
February 15, 1896--The USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor
February 16, 1923--Howard Carter opens King Tut's tomb
February 17, 1972--The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the best-selling car in history
February 18, 1885--Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
February 19, 1847--The Donner Party is rescued
February 20, 1792--George Washington signs the Postal System into existence as a cabinet post and makes regular postal service a part of American life
February 21, 1965--Activist Malcolm X is assassinated
February 22, 1980--In what is considered to be one of the greatest sports miracles of all time, the United States beat the heavily favored Soviet ice hockey team in the 1980 Olympics
February 23, 1954--U.S. children receive the first polio vaccine
February 24, 1917--The United States learns about the Zimmerman Telegram and finally joins the Allied side in World War I
February 25, 1938--The first drive-in theater opens in Miami, Florida
February 26, 1993--The World Trade Center is bombed for the first time
February 27, 1973--The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee
February 28, 1953--Watson and Crick discover DNA's chemical structure
February 29, 2004--Movie favorite The Return of the King wins Best Picture and 10 other Oscars
March 1, 1961--JFK founds the Peace Corps
March 2, 1776--The city of Boston is besieged by Continental troops
March 3, 1865--The Freedmen's Bureau is founded by the Union during the Civil War
March 4, 1933--FDR is inaugurated as president of the United States
March 5, 1770--The Boston Massacre takes place
March 6, 1857--The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision is handed down by the Supreme Court
March 7, 1876--Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
March 8, 1917--Russia suffers through the February Revolution; the czar is forced to resign
March 9, 1862--The first modern sea battle is fought off Hampton Roads, Virginia
March 10, 1864--President Lincoln signs Ulysses Grant's commission to command the Union Army
March 11, 1888--The Great Blizzard of 1888 strikes the eastern coast of the United States
March 12, 1947--The Truman Doctrine is announced
March 13, 1942--The K9 Corps is established
March 14, 1879--Albert Einstein is born
March 15, 1965--President Lyndon Baines Johnson proposes the Voting Rights Act
March 16, 1802--The military academy at West Point is established
March 17, 1905--Franklin Delano Roosevelt marries his distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
March 18, 1925--The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 is part of one of the worst tornado outbreaks on record
March 19, 1916--The United States uses aircraft in a combat role for the first time
March 20, 1852--Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin
March 21, 1980--President Jimmy Carter announces a boycott of the Moscow Olympics
March 22, 1765--Britain's Parliament passes the Stamp Act and lays the foundation for rebellion in their American Colonies
March 23, 1983--President Ronald Reagan announces his plans for SDI, a missile-based defense system
March 24, 1989--The oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska
March 25, 1911--A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory kills more than 100 workers
March 26, 1976--President Jimmy Carter presides over the landmark peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
March 27, 1964--The Great Alaskan Earthquake devastates parts of Alaska and spawns a tsunami that hits coastlines all over the Pacific
March 28, 1979--The Three Mile Island nuclear plant nearly melts down
March 29, 1951--Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested for espionage
March 30, 1870--The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
March 31, 1776--Abigail Adams reminds her Founding Father husband to "remember the ladies"
April 1, 1700--The world experiences its first April Fool's Day
April 2, 1513--Juan Ponce de León finds Florida and claims it for Spain
April 3, 1860--The legendary Pony Express is founded as a swift mail delivery service across the vast expanse of the United States
April 4, 1968--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
April 5, 1614--Pocahontas marries Englishman John Rolfe
April 6, 1896--The first modern Olympics take place in Athens, Greece
April 7, 1954--President Dwight Eisenhower uses the term "domino theory" for the first time
April 8, 1935--The U.S. Congress approves the WPA
April 9, 1939--African American opera singer Marian Anderson sings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
April 10, 1866--The ASPCA is founded
April 11, 1970--Apollo 13 is launched
April 12, 1861--The Civil War begins
April 13, 1748--Future president Thomas Jefferson is born
April 14, 1865--President Abraham Lincoln is shot by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth
April 15, 1912--The unsinkable White Star ocean liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks in less than four hours
April 16, 1947--Texas City, Texas, a factory town that produced fertilizer products, is all but destroyed by an explosion that kills nearly 600 people
April 17, 1964--The Ford Mustang debuts
April 18, 1906--The Great San Francisco Earthquake leaves the harbor city in ruins
April 19, 1995--A car bomb explodes outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 20, 1964--Cleveland, Ohio, schools boycott class to protest segregation
April 21, 1836--Texas rebels defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto
April 22, 1970--The first Earth Day is held
April 23, 1564--William Shakespeare is born and, 52 years later, dies on the same date
April 24, 1945--New president Harry S. Truman is finally told about the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project
April 25, 1917--Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald is born in Virginia, but will spend her childhood in New York City
April 26, 1865--John Wilkes Booth is killed after a pursuit by the Union Army
April 27, 1865--More than 1,500 soldiers returning from prisoner-of-war camps in the South were killed in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana
April 28, 1758--President James Monroe is born
April 29, 2004--The National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C.
April 30, 1789--George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the new United States
May 1, 1931--President Herbert Hoover dedicates the Empire State Building
May 2, 1933--The legendary Loch Ness Monster is spotted
May 3, 1942--The U.S. Navy fights the Battle of the Coral Sea
May 4, 1970--Student protestors are fired upon by National Guardsmen
May 5, 1877--Sitting Bull and his people cross the border into Canada
May 6, 1937--The Hindenburg explodes just as it touches down in Lakehurst, New Jersey
May 7, 1915--The ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed by a German U-boat
May 8, 1945--The Allies celebrate V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day
May 9, 1887--Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show entertains European monarchs
May 10, 1869--The transcontinental railroad is finally completed
May 11, 1934--Dust storms from the Plains' Dust Bowl hit the East Coast of the United States
May 12, 1903--President Teddy Roosevelt is the first U.S. president filmed by movie cameras
May 13, 1607--The first settlers arrive in Jamestown
May 14, 1796--Edward Jenner tries his smallpox vaccine for the first time
May 15, 1756--The Seven Years' War begins
May 16, 1929--The first Academy Awards are held in Hollywood, California
May 17, 1954--The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education is decided
May 18, 1980--The Mount St. Helens volcano erupts
May 19, 1836--Cynthia Ann Parker is kidnapped by Comanche Indians
May 20, 1873--The first blue jeans are patented by Levi Strauss
May 21, 1881--The American Red Cross is founded
May 22, 1843--The Great Migration strikes out for Oregon Territory
May 23, 1701--Captain Kidd "walks the plank"
May 24, 1883--The Brooklyn Bridge opens
May 25, 1787--The Constitutional Convention opens in Philadelphia
May 26, 1865--One of the last Confederate generals surrenders
May 27, 1941--FDR declares an unlimited time of emergency
May 28, 1754--The French and Indian War begins in North America
May 29, 1914--The Empress of Ireland collides with a freighter and sinks
May 30, 1911--The Indianapolis 500 is held for the first time
May 31, 1889--A flood wipes out Johnstown, Pennsylvania
June 1, 1926--Marilyn Monroe is born
June 2, 1924--The Indian Citizenship Act grants American citizenship to Native American tribal members
June 3, 1800--President Adams moves into the new U.S. capital
June 4, 1754--George Washington is tasked to build Fort Necessity
June 5, 1947--The Marshall Plan is discussed for the first time
June 6, 1944--The D-Day invasion of Europe marks the beginning of the end of the war in Europe
June 7, 1692--Port Royal, Jamaica, is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami
June 8, 1949--The FBI names several Hollywood stars and writers as communists
June 9, 1863--Union and Confederate cavalry forces fight the Battle of Brandy Station
June 10, 1775--The Continental Army is proposed
June 11, 1880--Jeannette Rankin is born
June 12, 1987--President Reagan calls for tearing down the Berlin Wall
June 13, 1966--The Miranda rights become standard for all Americans
June 14, 1777--The U.S. Congress makes the Stars and Stripes the official flag of the rebelling American nation
June 15, 1775--George Washington is asked to command the Continental Army
June 16, 1884--The U.S. gets its first roller coaster
June 17, 1775--The Battle of Bunker Hill begins
June 18, 1812--The War of 1812 starts
June 19, 1905--America discovers the nickelodeon
June 20, 1975--The movie Jaws is released
June 21, 1788--The American Constitution is ratified by nine of 13 states
June 22, 1775--The Continental Congress issues its first currency
June 23, 1972--Title IX legislation levels the playing field for both male and female athletes
June 24, 1675--King Metacomet's War starts
June 25, 1876--The Battle of Little Bighorn begins
June 26, 1948--The United States and British air forces begin the Berlin Airlift
June 27, 1829--English scientist James Smithson funds the creation of the Smithsonian
June 28, 1953--The first Corvette is built in Flint, Michigan
June 29, 1995--The U.S. shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station
June 30, 1950--President Truman sends U.S. forces to Korea
July 1, 1863--The Battle of Gettysburg begins
July 2, 1776--The new Continental Congress resolves to declare the Colonies' freedom from Great Britain
July 3, 1863--General Pickett leads Pickett's Charge on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg
July 4, 1776--The American Colonies declare their freedom from Great Britain
July 5, 1865--The Salvation Army is founded
July 6, 1957--African American tennis player Althea Gibson wins Wimbledon
July 7, 1865--Supposed Lincoln-assassination conspirator Mary Surratt is executed along with the rest of the conspirators charged with the president's assassination
July 8, 1776--The Liberty Bell rings to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence
July 9, 1850--American president Zachary Taylor dies in office
July 10, 1925--The Scopes Monkey Trial begins
July 11, 1804--Former vice president Aaron Burr shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel
July 12, 1861--The Confederate States of America sign treaties with Native Americans to bring the tribes into the Civil War
July 13, 1787--The Northwest Ordinance becomes law
July 14, 1881--The outlaw Billy the Kid is killed by lawman Pat Garrett
July 15, 1971--President Richard Nixon prepares to visit China
July 16, 1863--Draft riots occur in New York City
July 17, 1955--The "happiest place on earth" opens for the first time
July 18, 1936--The Spanish Civil War breaks out
July 19, 1848--The Seneca Falls Convention opens
July 20, 1969--Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon
July 21, 1861--The first Battle of Bull Run is fought outside Washington, D.C.
July 22, 1933--Aviator Wiley Post flies around the world alone
July 23, 1885--President Grant dies
July 24, 1911--Machu Picchu is rediscovered
July 25, 1956--Two ships collide off the coast of Nantucket Island
July 26, 1775--The United States Postal System is established
July 27, 2003--Bob Hope dies
July 28, 1868--The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
July 29, 1958--The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is founded
July 30, 1864--The Union army suffers huge casualties at the Battle of the Crater
July 31, 1715--A hurricane sinks a Spanish treasure fleet
August 1, 1914--World War I breaks out in Europe
August 2, 1943--PT 109, under the command of JFK, is destroyed by the Japanese
August 3, 1492--Columbus sets sail on the voyage to discover a new route to the Orient
August 4, 1892--"Lizzie Borden took an ax..."
August 5, 1858--The first transatlantic telegraph cable is finished
August 6, 1945--The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
August 7, 1782--George Washington creates the Purple Heart as an award for wounded U.S. troops
August 8, 1974--Richard Nixon resigns from the U.S. presidency
August 9, 1974--Gerald Ford takes the oath of office and becomes president of the United States
August 10, 1937--The first electric guitar is patented
August 11, 1973--Hip-hop music is born
August 12, 1961--The East Germans, under Soviet rule, begin to build the Berlin Wall
August 13, 1521--Cortés conquers the Aztec capital
August 14, 1784--The Russians claim Alaska
August 15, 1969--Woodstock opens
August 16, 1896--"There's gold in them thar hills!" (Gold is found in the Yukon)
August 17, 1998--President Bill Clinton is called to testify before a grand jury
August 18, 1590--The Roanoke colony is found abandoned
August 19, 1812--The USS Constitution earns its nickname of "Old Ironsides"
August 20, 1975--Viking 1 heads for Mars
August 21, 1959--Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States of America
August 22, 1851--The United States wins its first America's Cup
August 23, 1861--Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow is arrested
August 24, 1814--British troops burn the White House and Washington, D.C.
August 25, 1939--The Wizard of Oz hits movie theaters
August 26, 1939--The first major league baseball game is shown on television
August 27, 1952--The "Red Scare" rears its ugly head for a second time in American politics
August 28, 1955--Emmett Till is killed
August 29, 2005--Hurricane Katrina strikes the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coasts
August 30, 1963--A nuclear phone "hotline" is established between Washington, D.C., and Moscow
August 31, 1935--Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act into law
September 1, 1985--The wreck of the Titanic is finally found
September 2, 1666--The Great London Fire nearly burns the entire city to the ground
September 3, 1783--The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution
September 4, 1886--Geronimo surrenders to the U.S. government
September 5, 1774--The Continental Congress meets for the first time
September 6, 2007--The German car manufacturer Volkswagen begins building cars in Virginia
September 7, 1776--The first submarine attack in history takes place during the American Revolution
September 8, 1900--Galveston, Texas, is nearly destroyed by a hurricane
September 9, 1965--Pitcher Sandy Koufax pitches a rare perfect game
September 10, 1919--NYC throws a parade for returning World War I veterans
September 11, 2001--Terrorists fly airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania
September 12, 1940--The Lascaux cave paintings are discovered
September 13, 1814--Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner"
September 14, 1975--The first American is canonized as a saint
September 15, 1858--Mail service crosses the American continent to San Francisco
September 16, 1893--Settlers race to stake their claim on a piece of the Cherokee Strip
September 17, 1862--Northern and Southern armies fight the Battle of Antietam
September 18, 1793--The cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol is laid
September 19, 1881--President Garfield dies of complications arising from a wound received during an assassination attempt
September 20, 1881--The year 1881 marks a year of three U.S. presidents
September 21, 1780--Benedict Arnold betrays the United States
September 22, 1776--Nathan Hale is executed for spying on the British
September 23, 1944--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his famous "Fala" speech
September 24, 1789--The first ever United States Supreme Court meets
September 25, 1957--Little Rock's Central High School is integrated by force
September 26, 1820--Daniel Boone dies
September 27, 1869--Wild Bill Hickok is too wild for Kansas
September 28, 1918--The Spanish Flu hits Philadelphia hard
September 29, 1780--Major John Andre is convicted of spying for the British
September 30, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson finally gives a speech supporting female suffrage
October 1, 1908--Ford introduces the Model T
October 2, 1967--Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African American Supreme Court Justice
October 3, 1863--Lincoln declares the first official Thanksgiving
October 4, 1927--Work starts on Mount Rushmore
October 5, 1892--The Dalton Gang comes to an end as a result of a double bank robbery
October 6, 1683--The first Mennonites arrive in Pennsylvania
October 7, 1871--Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is destroyed by a fire of unknown origin
October 8, 1871--Chicago burns in the Great Chicago Fire
October 9, 1992--A small meteorite damages a car in Peekskill, New York
October 10, 1951--President Truman signs the Mutual Security Act and puts communist nations on alert
October 11, 2002--Former President Carter receives the Nobel Peace Prize
October 12, 1492--Christopher Columbus rediscovers the New World
October 13, 1792--Construction begins on the U.S. White House
October 14, 1962--The Cuban Missile Crisis begins
October 15, 1863--The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sinks on its maiden voyage
October 16, 1859--John Brown raids the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia
October 17, 1931--Al Capone goes to prison on tax charges
October 18, 1973--Congress authorizes bicentennial coins to celebrate the upcoming U.S. Bicentennial
October 19, 1781--British Commander Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
October 20, 1947--The American government fears the presence of communists in Hollywood
October 21, 1967--Protestors march on Washington, D.C., to protest the growing U.S. presence in the Vietnam War
October 22, 1934--Outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd is shot by the FBI
October 23, 1983--The United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut is destroyed by a truck bomb
October 24, 1951--The war with Germany officially ends
October 25, 1944--Japanese kamikaze planes attack Allied ships at Leyte Gulf
October 26, 1881--The shootout at the O.K. Corral takes place
October 27, 1962--The United States and Soviet Russia end the Cuban Missile Crisis
October 28, 1886--The Statue of Liberty is officially dedicated in New York
October 29, 1998--John Glenn blasts back into space
October 30, 1938--Orson Welles scares much of the United States with a radio broadcast
October 31, 1926--Harry Houdini dies
November 1, 1765--The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act
November 2, 1948--President Harry S. Truman wins reelection
November 3, 1948--The Chicago Tribune prints a front-page headline mistaking Thomas Dewey for the new president
November 4, 1879--America's favorite son, Will Rogers, is born in Oklahoma Territory
November 5, 1940--Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected for a third term as president
November 6, 1861--Jefferson Davis is elected as president of the newly formed Confederate States of America
November 7, 1957--The call goes out for more American missiles and fallout shelters across the nation
November 8, 1960--JFK is elected president
November 9, 1965--The Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 leaves much of the northeastern U.S. in the dark
November 10, 1975--The cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior
November 11, 1921--The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated
November 12, 1980--Voyager I nears the planet Saturn
November 13, 1982--The Vietnam Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
November 14, 1969--Apollo 12 is launched for a journey to the moon
November 15, 1777--The Articles of Confederation are proposed to the 13 Colonies
November 16, 1532--Pizarro captures the Incan emperor, Atahualpa
November 17, 1558--Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen of England
November 18, 1916--General Haig calls an end to the Battle of the Somme
November 19, 1863--Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
November 20, 1820--The whaling boat Essex was sunk... by a whale
November 21, 1877--Thomas Edison invents the recording machine
November 22, 1718--The great pirate Blackbeard is hanged off the coast of North Carolina
November 23, 1876--New York's "Boss" Tweed returns to the United States
November 24, 1859--Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species
November 25, 1941--The United States is warned of a possible attack by Japan
November 26, 1941--The first official Thanksgiving Holiday is established by the federal government
November 27, 1868--George Armstrong Custer's troops massacre the Cheyenne on the Washita River
November 28, 1925--The first broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry is heard on WMS radio
November 29, 1963--LBJ forms the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy assassination
November 30, 1993--The Brady Bill becomes law
December 1, 1955--Seamstress Rosa Parks starts a bus boycott in Alabama
December 2, 1823--The Monroe Doctrine is announced to the world
December 3, 1989--Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev declare the Cold War is ended
December 4, 1872--The sailing ship Mary Celeste is found abandoned
December 5, 1933--Prohibition ends
December 6, 1917--Two ships explode in Halifax Harbor and destroy half of Halifax, Canada
December 7, 1941--Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is bombed
December 8, 1980--Former Beatle John Lennon is shot
December 9, 1775--The British are run out of Virginia
December 10, 1864--Sherman reaches the sea
December 11, 1941--Hitler declares war on the United States
December 12, 1806--Cherokee General Stand Watie is born
December 13, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson makes the first presidential visit to Europe
December 14, 1799--George Washington dies
December 15, 1791--The Bill of Rights is ratified
December 16, 1811--A huge quake rocks the New Madrid fault line
December 17, 1903--The Wright brothers fly the first airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
December 18, 1620--The Mayflower arrives at Plymouth Harbor
December 19, 1776--The American Crisis is published
December 20, 1803--The French hand New Orleans over to the United States
December 21, 1970--Elvis has left the building, headed for the White House
December 22, 1941--Churchill and Roosevelt meet to discuss World War II
December 23, 1968--The crew of the USS Pueblo is released
December 24, 1814--The War of 1812 ends
December 25, 1914--An informal Christmas truce is declared on the front lines of World War I
December 26, 2004--A massive tsunami strikes the Indian Ocean coast
December 27, 1900--Anti-alcohol crusader Carrie Nation smashes up another bar
December 28, 1895--Customers pay admission to see the first official movie
December 29, 1890--The U.S. Army massacres Native Americans at Wounded Knee
December 30, 1862--The ironclad USS Monitor sinks in a storm
December 31, 1999--The Panama Canal is returned to Panama
January 2, 1974--Nixon signs a new national speed limit into law
January 3, 1967--Aretha Franklin is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
January 4, 1858--The Lecompton Constitution is rejected
January 5, 1933--Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge
January 6, 1838--Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrates the telegraph
January 7, 1789--The first U.S. presidential election is held
January 8, 1815--The Battle of New Orleans takes place
January 9, 1776--Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
January 10, 1901--The first oil well gusher "gushes" to life in Spindletop, Texas, and the U.S. oil industry booms
January 11, 1908--The Grand Canyon National Monument is created
January 12, 1888--The Schoolhouse Blizzard catches hundreds of children on the open prairie
January 13, 1929--Famed cowboy and sheriff Wyatt Earp dies in Los Angeles
January 14, 1784--Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution
January 15, 1929--Martin Luther King Jr. is born
January 16, 1919--Prohibition takes effect
January 17, 1893--American planters overthrow the last ruling queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani
January 18, 1919--The Versailles Peace Conference begins
January 19, 1809--Edgar Allan Poe is born
January 20, 1981--The Iranian hostage crisis finally ends
January 21, 1977--President Jimmy Carter pardons draft dodgers
January 22, 1901--Queen Victoria dies after more than 60 years on the throne
January 23, 1968--North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo
January 24, 1848--Gold is found at Sutter's Mill, California
January 25, 1905--The world's largest diamond is discovered
January 26, 1500--Pinzón discovers Brazil
January 27, 1888--The National Geographic Society is founded
January 28, 1986--Space shuttle Challenger explodes just after takeoff
January 29, 1850--The Compromise of 1850 is passed
January 30, 1835--President Jackson survives an assassination attempt
January 31, 1862--The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is approved by the U.S. Senate
February 1, 2003--Space shuttle Columbia breaks up while entering the atmosphere
February 2, 1848--The Mexican-American War officially ends
February 3, 1959--Three of the most promising rock and roll stars of the 1950s are killed in a single plane crash
February 4, 1945--The World War II Yalta Conference sets the stage for the Cold War
February 5, 1631--Roger Williams arrives in the American Colonies
February 6, 1778--The Continental Congress signs the Treaty of Alliance with France
February 7, 1964--The Beatles land in New York
February 8, 1887--President Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act
February 9, 1942--Daylight saving time is adopted during wartime
February 10, 1763--The French and Indian War ends and France is forced to cede its North American territories to Great Britain
February 11, 1990--Nelson Mandela is released from prison
February 12, 1793--Congress enacts the first Fugitive Slave Act
February 13, 1945--Dresden, Germany, is firebombed
February 14, 1929--The St. Valentine's Day Massacre happens in Chicago
February 15, 1896--The USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor
February 16, 1923--Howard Carter opens King Tut's tomb
February 17, 1972--The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the best-selling car in history
February 18, 1885--Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
February 19, 1847--The Donner Party is rescued
February 20, 1792--George Washington signs the Postal System into existence as a cabinet post and makes regular postal service a part of American life
February 21, 1965--Activist Malcolm X is assassinated
February 22, 1980--In what is considered to be one of the greatest sports miracles of all time, the United States beat the heavily favored Soviet ice hockey team in the 1980 Olympics
February 23, 1954--U.S. children receive the first polio vaccine
February 24, 1917--The United States learns about the Zimmerman Telegram and finally joins the Allied side in World War I
February 25, 1938--The first drive-in theater opens in Miami, Florida
February 26, 1993--The World Trade Center is bombed for the first time
February 27, 1973--The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee
February 28, 1953--Watson and Crick discover DNA's chemical structure
February 29, 2004--Movie favorite The Return of the King wins Best Picture and 10 other Oscars
March 1, 1961--JFK founds the Peace Corps
March 2, 1776--The city of Boston is besieged by Continental troops
March 3, 1865--The Freedmen's Bureau is founded by the Union during the Civil War
March 4, 1933--FDR is inaugurated as president of the United States
March 5, 1770--The Boston Massacre takes place
March 6, 1857--The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision is handed down by the Supreme Court
March 7, 1876--Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
March 8, 1917--Russia suffers through the February Revolution; the czar is forced to resign
March 9, 1862--The first modern sea battle is fought off Hampton Roads, Virginia
March 10, 1864--President Lincoln signs Ulysses Grant's commission to command the Union Army
March 11, 1888--The Great Blizzard of 1888 strikes the eastern coast of the United States
March 12, 1947--The Truman Doctrine is announced
March 13, 1942--The K9 Corps is established
March 14, 1879--Albert Einstein is born
March 15, 1965--President Lyndon Baines Johnson proposes the Voting Rights Act
March 16, 1802--The military academy at West Point is established
March 17, 1905--Franklin Delano Roosevelt marries his distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
March 18, 1925--The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 is part of one of the worst tornado outbreaks on record
March 19, 1916--The United States uses aircraft in a combat role for the first time
March 20, 1852--Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin
March 21, 1980--President Jimmy Carter announces a boycott of the Moscow Olympics
March 22, 1765--Britain's Parliament passes the Stamp Act and lays the foundation for rebellion in their American Colonies
March 23, 1983--President Ronald Reagan announces his plans for SDI, a missile-based defense system
March 24, 1989--The oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska
March 25, 1911--A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory kills more than 100 workers
March 26, 1976--President Jimmy Carter presides over the landmark peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
March 27, 1964--The Great Alaskan Earthquake devastates parts of Alaska and spawns a tsunami that hits coastlines all over the Pacific
March 28, 1979--The Three Mile Island nuclear plant nearly melts down
March 29, 1951--Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested for espionage
March 30, 1870--The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
March 31, 1776--Abigail Adams reminds her Founding Father husband to "remember the ladies"
April 1, 1700--The world experiences its first April Fool's Day
April 2, 1513--Juan Ponce de León finds Florida and claims it for Spain
April 3, 1860--The legendary Pony Express is founded as a swift mail delivery service across the vast expanse of the United States
April 4, 1968--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
April 5, 1614--Pocahontas marries Englishman John Rolfe
April 6, 1896--The first modern Olympics take place in Athens, Greece
April 7, 1954--President Dwight Eisenhower uses the term "domino theory" for the first time
April 8, 1935--The U.S. Congress approves the WPA
April 9, 1939--African American opera singer Marian Anderson sings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
April 10, 1866--The ASPCA is founded
April 11, 1970--Apollo 13 is launched
April 12, 1861--The Civil War begins
April 13, 1748--Future president Thomas Jefferson is born
April 14, 1865--President Abraham Lincoln is shot by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth
April 15, 1912--The unsinkable White Star ocean liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks in less than four hours
April 16, 1947--Texas City, Texas, a factory town that produced fertilizer products, is all but destroyed by an explosion that kills nearly 600 people
April 17, 1964--The Ford Mustang debuts
April 18, 1906--The Great San Francisco Earthquake leaves the harbor city in ruins
April 19, 1995--A car bomb explodes outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
April 20, 1964--Cleveland, Ohio, schools boycott class to protest segregation
April 21, 1836--Texas rebels defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto
April 22, 1970--The first Earth Day is held
April 23, 1564--William Shakespeare is born and, 52 years later, dies on the same date
April 24, 1945--New president Harry S. Truman is finally told about the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project
April 25, 1917--Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald is born in Virginia, but will spend her childhood in New York City
April 26, 1865--John Wilkes Booth is killed after a pursuit by the Union Army
April 27, 1865--More than 1,500 soldiers returning from prisoner-of-war camps in the South were killed in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana
April 28, 1758--President James Monroe is born
April 29, 2004--The National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C.
April 30, 1789--George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the new United States
May 1, 1931--President Herbert Hoover dedicates the Empire State Building
May 2, 1933--The legendary Loch Ness Monster is spotted
May 3, 1942--The U.S. Navy fights the Battle of the Coral Sea
May 4, 1970--Student protestors are fired upon by National Guardsmen
May 5, 1877--Sitting Bull and his people cross the border into Canada
May 6, 1937--The Hindenburg explodes just as it touches down in Lakehurst, New Jersey
May 7, 1915--The ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed by a German U-boat
May 8, 1945--The Allies celebrate V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day
May 9, 1887--Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show entertains European monarchs
May 10, 1869--The transcontinental railroad is finally completed
May 11, 1934--Dust storms from the Plains' Dust Bowl hit the East Coast of the United States
May 12, 1903--President Teddy Roosevelt is the first U.S. president filmed by movie cameras
May 13, 1607--The first settlers arrive in Jamestown
May 14, 1796--Edward Jenner tries his smallpox vaccine for the first time
May 15, 1756--The Seven Years' War begins
May 16, 1929--The first Academy Awards are held in Hollywood, California
May 17, 1954--The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education is decided
May 18, 1980--The Mount St. Helens volcano erupts
May 19, 1836--Cynthia Ann Parker is kidnapped by Comanche Indians
May 20, 1873--The first blue jeans are patented by Levi Strauss
May 21, 1881--The American Red Cross is founded
May 22, 1843--The Great Migration strikes out for Oregon Territory
May 23, 1701--Captain Kidd "walks the plank"
May 24, 1883--The Brooklyn Bridge opens
May 25, 1787--The Constitutional Convention opens in Philadelphia
May 26, 1865--One of the last Confederate generals surrenders
May 27, 1941--FDR declares an unlimited time of emergency
May 28, 1754--The French and Indian War begins in North America
May 29, 1914--The Empress of Ireland collides with a freighter and sinks
May 30, 1911--The Indianapolis 500 is held for the first time
May 31, 1889--A flood wipes out Johnstown, Pennsylvania
June 1, 1926--Marilyn Monroe is born
June 2, 1924--The Indian Citizenship Act grants American citizenship to Native American tribal members
June 3, 1800--President Adams moves into the new U.S. capital
June 4, 1754--George Washington is tasked to build Fort Necessity
June 5, 1947--The Marshall Plan is discussed for the first time
June 6, 1944--The D-Day invasion of Europe marks the beginning of the end of the war in Europe
June 7, 1692--Port Royal, Jamaica, is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami
June 8, 1949--The FBI names several Hollywood stars and writers as communists
June 9, 1863--Union and Confederate cavalry forces fight the Battle of Brandy Station
June 10, 1775--The Continental Army is proposed
June 11, 1880--Jeannette Rankin is born
June 12, 1987--President Reagan calls for tearing down the Berlin Wall
June 13, 1966--The Miranda rights become standard for all Americans
June 14, 1777--The U.S. Congress makes the Stars and Stripes the official flag of the rebelling American nation
June 15, 1775--George Washington is asked to command the Continental Army
June 16, 1884--The U.S. gets its first roller coaster
June 17, 1775--The Battle of Bunker Hill begins
June 18, 1812--The War of 1812 starts
June 19, 1905--America discovers the nickelodeon
June 20, 1975--The movie Jaws is released
June 21, 1788--The American Constitution is ratified by nine of 13 states
June 22, 1775--The Continental Congress issues its first currency
June 23, 1972--Title IX legislation levels the playing field for both male and female athletes
June 24, 1675--King Metacomet's War starts
June 25, 1876--The Battle of Little Bighorn begins
June 26, 1948--The United States and British air forces begin the Berlin Airlift
June 27, 1829--English scientist James Smithson funds the creation of the Smithsonian
June 28, 1953--The first Corvette is built in Flint, Michigan
June 29, 1995--The U.S. shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station
June 30, 1950--President Truman sends U.S. forces to Korea
July 1, 1863--The Battle of Gettysburg begins
July 2, 1776--The new Continental Congress resolves to declare the Colonies' freedom from Great Britain
July 3, 1863--General Pickett leads Pickett's Charge on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg
July 4, 1776--The American Colonies declare their freedom from Great Britain
July 5, 1865--The Salvation Army is founded
July 6, 1957--African American tennis player Althea Gibson wins Wimbledon
July 7, 1865--Supposed Lincoln-assassination conspirator Mary Surratt is executed along with the rest of the conspirators charged with the president's assassination
July 8, 1776--The Liberty Bell rings to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence
July 9, 1850--American president Zachary Taylor dies in office
July 10, 1925--The Scopes Monkey Trial begins
July 11, 1804--Former vice president Aaron Burr shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel
July 12, 1861--The Confederate States of America sign treaties with Native Americans to bring the tribes into the Civil War
July 13, 1787--The Northwest Ordinance becomes law
July 14, 1881--The outlaw Billy the Kid is killed by lawman Pat Garrett
July 15, 1971--President Richard Nixon prepares to visit China
July 16, 1863--Draft riots occur in New York City
July 17, 1955--The "happiest place on earth" opens for the first time
July 18, 1936--The Spanish Civil War breaks out
July 19, 1848--The Seneca Falls Convention opens
July 20, 1969--Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon
July 21, 1861--The first Battle of Bull Run is fought outside Washington, D.C.
July 22, 1933--Aviator Wiley Post flies around the world alone
July 23, 1885--President Grant dies
July 24, 1911--Machu Picchu is rediscovered
July 25, 1956--Two ships collide off the coast of Nantucket Island
July 26, 1775--The United States Postal System is established
July 27, 2003--Bob Hope dies
July 28, 1868--The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
July 29, 1958--The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is founded
July 30, 1864--The Union army suffers huge casualties at the Battle of the Crater
July 31, 1715--A hurricane sinks a Spanish treasure fleet
August 1, 1914--World War I breaks out in Europe
August 2, 1943--PT 109, under the command of JFK, is destroyed by the Japanese
August 3, 1492--Columbus sets sail on the voyage to discover a new route to the Orient
August 4, 1892--"Lizzie Borden took an ax..."
August 5, 1858--The first transatlantic telegraph cable is finished
August 6, 1945--The first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima
August 7, 1782--George Washington creates the Purple Heart as an award for wounded U.S. troops
August 8, 1974--Richard Nixon resigns from the U.S. presidency
August 9, 1974--Gerald Ford takes the oath of office and becomes president of the United States
August 10, 1937--The first electric guitar is patented
August 11, 1973--Hip-hop music is born
August 12, 1961--The East Germans, under Soviet rule, begin to build the Berlin Wall
August 13, 1521--Cortés conquers the Aztec capital
August 14, 1784--The Russians claim Alaska
August 15, 1969--Woodstock opens
August 16, 1896--"There's gold in them thar hills!" (Gold is found in the Yukon)
August 17, 1998--President Bill Clinton is called to testify before a grand jury
August 18, 1590--The Roanoke colony is found abandoned
August 19, 1812--The USS Constitution earns its nickname of "Old Ironsides"
August 20, 1975--Viking 1 heads for Mars
August 21, 1959--Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States of America
August 22, 1851--The United States wins its first America's Cup
August 23, 1861--Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow is arrested
August 24, 1814--British troops burn the White House and Washington, D.C.
August 25, 1939--The Wizard of Oz hits movie theaters
August 26, 1939--The first major league baseball game is shown on television
August 27, 1952--The "Red Scare" rears its ugly head for a second time in American politics
August 28, 1955--Emmett Till is killed
August 29, 2005--Hurricane Katrina strikes the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coasts
August 30, 1963--A nuclear phone "hotline" is established between Washington, D.C., and Moscow
August 31, 1935--Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act into law
September 1, 1985--The wreck of the Titanic is finally found
September 2, 1666--The Great London Fire nearly burns the entire city to the ground
September 3, 1783--The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution
September 4, 1886--Geronimo surrenders to the U.S. government
September 5, 1774--The Continental Congress meets for the first time
September 6, 2007--The German car manufacturer Volkswagen begins building cars in Virginia
September 7, 1776--The first submarine attack in history takes place during the American Revolution
September 8, 1900--Galveston, Texas, is nearly destroyed by a hurricane
September 9, 1965--Pitcher Sandy Koufax pitches a rare perfect game
September 10, 1919--NYC throws a parade for returning World War I veterans
September 11, 2001--Terrorists fly airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania
September 12, 1940--The Lascaux cave paintings are discovered
September 13, 1814--Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner"
September 14, 1975--The first American is canonized as a saint
September 15, 1858--Mail service crosses the American continent to San Francisco
September 16, 1893--Settlers race to stake their claim on a piece of the Cherokee Strip
September 17, 1862--Northern and Southern armies fight the Battle of Antietam
September 18, 1793--The cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol is laid
September 19, 1881--President Garfield dies of complications arising from a wound received during an assassination attempt
September 20, 1881--The year 1881 marks a year of three U.S. presidents
September 21, 1780--Benedict Arnold betrays the United States
September 22, 1776--Nathan Hale is executed for spying on the British
September 23, 1944--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his famous "Fala" speech
September 24, 1789--The first ever United States Supreme Court meets
September 25, 1957--Little Rock's Central High School is integrated by force
September 26, 1820--Daniel Boone dies
September 27, 1869--Wild Bill Hickok is too wild for Kansas
September 28, 1918--The Spanish Flu hits Philadelphia hard
September 29, 1780--Major John Andre is convicted of spying for the British
September 30, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson finally gives a speech supporting female suffrage
October 1, 1908--Ford introduces the Model T
October 2, 1967--Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African American Supreme Court Justice
October 3, 1863--Lincoln declares the first official Thanksgiving
October 4, 1927--Work starts on Mount Rushmore
October 5, 1892--The Dalton Gang comes to an end as a result of a double bank robbery
October 6, 1683--The first Mennonites arrive in Pennsylvania
October 7, 1871--Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is destroyed by a fire of unknown origin
October 8, 1871--Chicago burns in the Great Chicago Fire
October 9, 1992--A small meteorite damages a car in Peekskill, New York
October 10, 1951--President Truman signs the Mutual Security Act and puts communist nations on alert
October 11, 2002--Former President Carter receives the Nobel Peace Prize
October 12, 1492--Christopher Columbus rediscovers the New World
October 13, 1792--Construction begins on the U.S. White House
October 14, 1962--The Cuban Missile Crisis begins
October 15, 1863--The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sinks on its maiden voyage
October 16, 1859--John Brown raids the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia
October 17, 1931--Al Capone goes to prison on tax charges
October 18, 1973--Congress authorizes bicentennial coins to celebrate the upcoming U.S. Bicentennial
October 19, 1781--British Commander Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia
October 20, 1947--The American government fears the presence of communists in Hollywood
October 21, 1967--Protestors march on Washington, D.C., to protest the growing U.S. presence in the Vietnam War
October 22, 1934--Outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd is shot by the FBI
October 23, 1983--The United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut is destroyed by a truck bomb
October 24, 1951--The war with Germany officially ends
October 25, 1944--Japanese kamikaze planes attack Allied ships at Leyte Gulf
October 26, 1881--The shootout at the O.K. Corral takes place
October 27, 1962--The United States and Soviet Russia end the Cuban Missile Crisis
October 28, 1886--The Statue of Liberty is officially dedicated in New York
October 29, 1998--John Glenn blasts back into space
October 30, 1938--Orson Welles scares much of the United States with a radio broadcast
October 31, 1926--Harry Houdini dies
November 1, 1765--The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act
November 2, 1948--President Harry S. Truman wins reelection
November 3, 1948--The Chicago Tribune prints a front-page headline mistaking Thomas Dewey for the new president
November 4, 1879--America's favorite son, Will Rogers, is born in Oklahoma Territory
November 5, 1940--Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected for a third term as president
November 6, 1861--Jefferson Davis is elected as president of the newly formed Confederate States of America
November 7, 1957--The call goes out for more American missiles and fallout shelters across the nation
November 8, 1960--JFK is elected president
November 9, 1965--The Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 leaves much of the northeastern U.S. in the dark
November 10, 1975--The cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior
November 11, 1921--The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated
November 12, 1980--Voyager I nears the planet Saturn
November 13, 1982--The Vietnam Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
November 14, 1969--Apollo 12 is launched for a journey to the moon
November 15, 1777--The Articles of Confederation are proposed to the 13 Colonies
November 16, 1532--Pizarro captures the Incan emperor, Atahualpa
November 17, 1558--Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen of England
November 18, 1916--General Haig calls an end to the Battle of the Somme
November 19, 1863--Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
November 20, 1820--The whaling boat Essex was sunk... by a whale
November 21, 1877--Thomas Edison invents the recording machine
November 22, 1718--The great pirate Blackbeard is hanged off the coast of North Carolina
November 23, 1876--New York's "Boss" Tweed returns to the United States
November 24, 1859--Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species
November 25, 1941--The United States is warned of a possible attack by Japan
November 26, 1941--The first official Thanksgiving Holiday is established by the federal government
November 27, 1868--George Armstrong Custer's troops massacre the Cheyenne on the Washita River
November 28, 1925--The first broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry is heard on WMS radio
November 29, 1963--LBJ forms the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy assassination
November 30, 1993--The Brady Bill becomes law
December 1, 1955--Seamstress Rosa Parks starts a bus boycott in Alabama
December 2, 1823--The Monroe Doctrine is announced to the world
December 3, 1989--Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev declare the Cold War is ended
December 4, 1872--The sailing ship Mary Celeste is found abandoned
December 5, 1933--Prohibition ends
December 6, 1917--Two ships explode in Halifax Harbor and destroy half of Halifax, Canada
December 7, 1941--Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is bombed
December 8, 1980--Former Beatle John Lennon is shot
December 9, 1775--The British are run out of Virginia
December 10, 1864--Sherman reaches the sea
December 11, 1941--Hitler declares war on the United States
December 12, 1806--Cherokee General Stand Watie is born
December 13, 1918--President Woodrow Wilson makes the first presidential visit to Europe
December 14, 1799--George Washington dies
December 15, 1791--The Bill of Rights is ratified
December 16, 1811--A huge quake rocks the New Madrid fault line
December 17, 1903--The Wright brothers fly the first airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
December 18, 1620--The Mayflower arrives at Plymouth Harbor
December 19, 1776--The American Crisis is published
December 20, 1803--The French hand New Orleans over to the United States
December 21, 1970--Elvis has left the building, headed for the White House
December 22, 1941--Churchill and Roosevelt meet to discuss World War II
December 23, 1968--The crew of the USS Pueblo is released
December 24, 1814--The War of 1812 ends
December 25, 1914--An informal Christmas truce is declared on the front lines of World War I
December 26, 2004--A massive tsunami strikes the Indian Ocean coast
December 27, 1900--Anti-alcohol crusader Carrie Nation smashes up another bar
December 28, 1895--Customers pay admission to see the first official movie
December 29, 1890--The U.S. Army massacres Native Americans at Wounded Knee
December 30, 1862--The ironclad USS Monitor sinks in a storm
December 31, 1999--The Panama Canal is returned to Panama
©2017. Middle school, high school. Reproducible. 370 pages.
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Print Book: Spiral-bound. 8 x 5 inches.
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