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Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft
Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. -
Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration.
Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration after his first presidency began with the assassination of President McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York. He was his vice president at the time and therefore replaced him as president. -
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the 27th president.
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the 27th president. He had a miserable presidency and got very little credit for his achievements. He was supported by Roosevelt and therefore supported the Roosevelt program. -
Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the 28th president.
Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the 28th president and begins a second term in 1917. He asks Congress to declare war on Germany in the same year, but later suffers a stroke in 1919. -
Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, providing for the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote rather than by the state legislatures. -
World War I: U.S. enters World War I
World War I: U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany on April 6th and Austria-Hungary on December 7th three years after conflict began in 1914. The U.S. entry was prompted by Germany naval policy of sinking neutral ships. -
Armistice ending World War I is signed.
Armistice ending World War I is signed at Le Francport near Compiègne. It ended fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies and their opponent, Germany. -
Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor. It led to a massive rise in organized crime and was later repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933. -
Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote. It said that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.