History
Why Suffragists Helped Send Women Doctors to WWI's Front...
Doctors of the Women's Oversea Hospitals Unit operated under bomb and gas attacks....
The Female World War II Codebreaker Who Busted Nazi Spy...
Elizebeth Friedman’s codebreaking helped save the Queen Mary and capture a Nazi...
Valhalla: How Viking Belief in a Glorious Afterlife Empowered...
Female valkyrie would greet fallen Viking warriors and lead the boldest to a glorious...
The Last Confederate General to Surrender Was Native American
Stand Watie, a contentious Cherokee leader who signed away his ancestral lands,...
Why the 19th Amendment Did Not Guarantee All Women the...
Despite the adoption of the 19th Amendment, many women of color, immigrant women...
How Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ Confronted an Ugly...
During a time when violence against Black Americans was devastatingly common, Holiday's...
9 Groundbreaking Inventions by Women
Women inventors are behind a wide range of key innovations, from Kevlar to dishwashers...
Women in WWII Took on These Dangerous Military Jobs
Looking beyond traditional nursing or clerical roles, some women served as snipers,...
Who Invented the TV Dinner?
It came. It thawed. It conquered. Along the way, the frozen meal in a box had multiple...
How the Aztec Empire Was Forged Through a Triple Alliance
Three city-states joined in a fragile, but strategic alliance to wield tremendous...
How Barbara Jordan's 1974 Speech Marked a Turning Point...
Representative Jordan's primetime remarks on the Constitution riveted the nation...
Why Labor Unions Declined in the 1920s
Stripped of wartime protections and branded as anti-American, labor unions languished...
How the Perfect Lawn Became a Symbol of the American Dream
And of course, all that grass inspired innovations in mowing. With the rise of suburbia...
Who Is Cupid?
And how did he become the unofficial mascot of Valentine's Day? The mention of Cupid...
The Surprising Origins of the Fortune Cookie
They didn't come from China. Where did fortune cookies come from—and how did they...
Why Frederick Douglass Wanted Black Men to Fight in the...
He believed that, as soldiers, Black men could gain self-respect, self-defense skills...
“The Birth of A Nation” opens, glorifying the KKK
On February 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, a landmark film in the...
Three protestors die in the Orangeburg Massacre
On the night of February 8, 1968, police officers in Orangeburg, South Carolina...
First confirmed case of COVID-19 found in U.S.
Following a rapid spread from its origin in Wuhan, China, the first U.S. case of...
Shirley Chisholm visits her opponent George Wallace in...
Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress,...
Fukushima nuclear disaster
On March 11, 2011, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan causes massive...
Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis dies
On July 17, 2020, in the midst of a pandemic and a time of unparalleled racial tensions...
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's protest strategies of nonviolence and civil disobedience,...
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" opens in New York's...
On February 12, 2005, 7,503 orange curtains unfurl across New York City’s Central...
Black History: Timeline of the Post-Civil Rights Era
From the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., to the 2008 election of...
World Health Organization officially names novel coronavirus...
A few months after the first known case was detected in Wuhan, China, and approximately...
Niagara Movement
In 1905, a group of prominent Black intellectuals led by W.E.B. Du Bois met in Erie,...
Full U.S.-Cuba embargo is announced
On February 7, 1962, President John F. Kennedy issues an executive order broadening...
Southern Pacific Railroad completes New Orleans to California...
The Southern Pacific Railroad completes its transcontinental “Sunset Route” from...
Punic Wars, between Rome and Carthage, come to an end
On February 5, 146 BCE, the Roman Republic finally triumphed over its nemesis, Carthage,...
Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks at UN, justifies...
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell gives a speech to the United Nations that is...
How Many US Presidents Have Faced Censure?
More than a dozen sitting presidents have faced Congressional censure, but the official...
5 Iconic Mashup Inventions That Have Stood the Test of...
It wasn't until the 20th century that inventors looked past single-use products....
How Gilded Age Corruption Led to the Progressive Era
As the rich grew richer during the Gilded Age, the poor grew poorer, spurring the...
15 of America's Most Historic Restaurants
This selection of enduring eateries reflects our country's mosaic of cultures. How...
Who Invented the Potato Chip?
It's complicated. The credit for America’s greatest inventions is often a matter...
Reconstruction: A Timeline of the Post-Civil War Era
For a 14-year period following the Civil War, the U.S. government took steps to...
America’s First Black Regiment Earned Their Freedom by...
The Slave Enlistment Act of 1778 stipulated that any enslaved person accepted to...
Black Women Who Have Run for President
Since 1968, these 11 Black women have entered the running for the highest office...
8 Boundary-Breaking Black TV Shows
These shows helped broaden the range of African American experiences portrayed on...
The 1969 Raid That Killed Black Panther Leader Fred Hampton
Some details around the 1969 police shooting of Hampton and other Black Panther...
How Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition Championed Diversity
In his 1984 presidential run, Jackson sought to unite a multiracial, multicultural...
The Atlantic Slave Trade Continued Illegally in America...
The United States transatlantic slave trade wasn’t supposed to last all the way...
8 Steps That Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation that required decades of actions—and...
Why Ice Cream Soared in Popularity During Prohibition
No beer? No problem. Better refrigeration, together with innovations in making and...
How the Tulsa Race Massacre Was Covered Up
A search for mass graves of the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre highlights...
The Conflicted Legacy of the First Vice President of Color
Vice President Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Nation who served under Herbert...
How the US Civil War Influenced Music
For soldiers on both sides, music was a vital source of inspiration and comfort....
Chocolate’s Sweet History: From Elite Treat to Food for...
Originally consumed as a bitter drink, it was prized as both an aphrodisiac and...
How Cesar Chavez Joined Larry Itliong to Demand Farm Workers'...
Itliong may not be as well-known a name as Chavez, but his role among Filipino-American...
Shirley Chisholm: Facts About Her Trailblazing Career
She may be best known for her 1972 run for president, but Shirley Chisholm broke...
How Tuskegee Airmen Fought Military Segregation With Nonviolent...
Their coordinated efforts to integrate a white officers' club set an example that...
The US National Guard's 400-Year History
The reserve force of men and women traces its roots to Colonial America. Founded...
Same-sex marriage is made legal nationwide with Obergefell...
June 26, 2015 marks a major milestone for civil rights in the United States, as...
What Happened to Amelia Earhart?
The trailblazing aviator’s disappearance remains a source of fascination—and controversy....
Members of the Niagara Movement meet for the first time
Niagara Movement members begin meeting on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls....
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appears, sparking a...
Outraged and saddened after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who...
Sandra Bland dies in jail after traffic stop confrontation
On July 10, 2015, Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia pulls over a 28-year-old Black...
Eric Garner dies in NYPD chokehold
On July 17, 2014, two New York Police Department officers confront Eric Garner,...
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed into law
On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities...
President Truman ends discrimination in the military
President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981—ending discrimination in the...
Operation Tidal Wave: U.S. forces attempt risky air raid...
On August 1, 1943, 177 B-24 bombers take off from an Allied base in Libya, bound...
Dayton, Ohio shooting becomes second mass shooting in 24-hour...
A mass shooting takes place early in the morning in Dayton, Ohio on August 4, 2019....
5-day long Russo-Georgian War begins
On August 8, 2008, a long-simmering conflict between Russia and Georgia boiled over...
Michael Brown is killed by a police officer in Ferguson,...
On August 9, 2014, police officer Darren Wilson shoots and kills Michael Brown,...
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is founded
On August 21, 1980, animal rights advocates Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco found...
Thousands of Mexican-American antiwar activists march in...
On August 29, 1970, more than 20,000 Mexican-Americans march through East Los Angeles...
Off-duty police officer mistakenly enters neighbor's apartment...
On September 6, 2018 an off-duty Dallas police officer fatally shoots an unarmed...
Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the...
Hispanic History Milestones: Timeline
The American Hispanic/Latinx history is a rich, diverse and long one, with immigrants,...
Proposition 187 is approved in California
On November 8, 1994, 59 percent of California voters approve Proposition 187, banning...
Navajo Code Talkers: Zonnie Gorman
Historian Zonnie Gorman, whose father was one of the original Navajo Code Talker,...
Navajo Code Talkers: Samuel F. Sandoval
Samuel F. Sandoval, one of the four surviving Navajo Code Talkers, discusses his...
Gloria Steinem publishes part one of "A Bunny's Tale" in...
After enduring a brief but grueling stint as a Bunny in Manhattan's Playboy Club,...
"Paris is Burning" premieres in theaters
After more than five years of fundraising, shooting, and editing, the documentary...
"House of Cards," Netflix's first original series, starts...
By 2013, Netflix had already fundamentally changed the way Americans consumed movies...
First episode of "60 Minutes" airs
On September 24, 1968, CBS airs the first episode of 60 Minutes, a show that would...
First issue of "Vogue" is published
On December 17, 1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure first publishes a new magazine, dedicated...
Basketball star Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash
On January 26, 2020, a helicopter carrying former pro basketball player Kobe Bryant,...
Groundbreaking novel "Don Quixote" is published
On January 16, 1605, Miguel de Cervantes' El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la...
2020: The Year in Events
2020 was a tumultuous year that saw the onset of a deadly pandemic, widespread protests...
Martin Luther King, Jr. is jailed; writes "Letter from...
On April 3, 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his Southern Christian Leadership...
