1652 – John Johnson, a free African American, is granted 550 acres in Northampton, Virginia. 1752 – Benjamin Franklin tests the lightning conductor with his kite-flying experiment. 1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels. 1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes 1st woman nominated for US presidency by Equal […]

1792 – US establishes the military draft. 1847 – Scot Robert Thompson patents rubber tyre. 1861 – Richmond, Virginia, is named the capital of the Confederacy. 1879 – George Selden files for 1st patent for a gasoline-driven automobile. 1886 – Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca-Cola (contained cocaine) 1919 – 1st transatlantic flight […]

1789 – First US Presidential inaugural ball (for George Washington, in NYC) 1840 – Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi, kills 137. 1877 – Cincinnati Enquirer first uses term “Bullpen” to indicate foul territory. 1912 – Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories, after established by Joseph Pulitzer. 1914 – US Congress […]

1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald (price 1 cent) 1837 – John Deere creates the first steel plow. 1851 – Dr. John Gorrie patents a “refrigeration machine” 1896 – Samuel Pierpont Langley flies his unpiloted Number 5 aircraft using a catapult launch from a boat on […]

1816 – American Bible Society organized in New York. 1847 – American Medical Association organized (Philadelphia) 1865 – 1st US train robbery (North Bend, Ohio) 1893 – Panic of 1893 causes a large crash on the NY Stock Exchange. 1908 – Great White Fleet arrives in San Francisco. 1920 – US President Woodrow Wilson makes […]

1780 – American Academy of Arts & Science founded in Boston, James Bowdoin, John and Samuel Adams founding members. 1805 – Henry C. Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in the Bronx. 1846 – US state Michigan ends death penalty. 1883 – John Gordon Cashman publishes 1st edition “Vicksburg Evening Post” (Mississippi) 1904 – […]

1765 – 1st North American medical college opens in Philadelphia. 1802 – Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city. 1830 – 1st regular steam train passenger service starts. 1861 – Lincoln ask for 42,000 Army Volunteers and another 18,000 seamen. 1915 – John McCrae writes the poem “In Flanders Fields” 1921 – West Virginia imposes […]

1863 – Stonewall Jackson attacking Chancellorsville is wounded by his own men. 1865 – US President Andrew Johnson offers $100,000 reward for capture of Jefferson Davis. 1885 – “Good Housekeeping” magazine is 1st published. 1890 – Territory of Oklahoma created. 1908 – “Take me out to the Ball Game” registered for copyright. 1916 – US […]

1822 – John Phillips becomes 1st mayor of Boston. 1841 – First emigrant wagon train leaves Independence, Missouri, for California. 1873 – 1st US postal card issued. 1886 – US general strike for 8-hour working day begins. 1912 – Beverly Hills Hotel opens. 1931 – Empire State Building opens in New York City. 1937 – […]

1789 – George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America. 1803 – Chancellor Robert Livingston and James Monroe sign Louisiana Purchase Treaty in Paris at a cost of $15 million, doubles the size of the USA. 1861 – US President Abraham Lincoln ordered Federal Troops to evacuate Indian Territory […]

1805 – US Marines attack shores of Tripoli. 1838 – Fire destroys half of Charleston. 1865 – Steamboat “USS Sultana” explodes in the Mississippi River, killing up to 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Most were paroled Union POWs on their way home. 1877 – Rutherford B. […]