Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty
San Francisco Earthquake
William Howard Taft becomes president
Woodrow Wilson becomes president
17th Amendment is ratified
Panama canal opens for travel
First long distance telephone service, between New York and San Francisco, is demonstrated.
U.S. agrees to purchase Danish West Indies (Virgin Islands) for $25 million.
Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
World War I: U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany (April 6, 1917) and Austria-Hungary (Dec. 7, 1917) three years after conflict began in 1914
Wilson begins 2nd term as president
First regular airmail service begins, with one round trip a day between Washington, DC, and New York
Influenza epidemic strikes
Armistice is signed ending WWI
League of Nations meet for the first time but the U.S. is not present
18th amendment is ratified
19th amendment is ratified allowing women to vote
Outline for the Treaty of Versailles is rejected by the senate