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William McKinley
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1900-2012
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McKinley Assassinated
He was shot while shaking hands with visitors at the Pan-American Exposition in Bufflo, New York. Anarchist Leon Czolgosz was later arrested for killing McKinley. -
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Theodore Roosevelt
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Birth: Walt Disney
He was born to Elias Disney and mother Flora Call Disney. He was one of five children, four boys and one girl. -
New York City's Subway
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (The first offical subway system) operated the 9.1-mile long subway line that consisted of 28 stations from City Hall to 145th Street and Broadway. -
First Flight
This took place in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The plane, mechanically propelled with a petroleum engine, flew 120 feet in 12 seconds, and later the same day, flew 852 feet in 59 seconds. -
46th State
The Oklahoma Territory and the Indian Territory are combined to form Oklahoma and are admitted into the Union as the 46th state. -
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William H. Taft
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Boy Scouts Established
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with 2.7 million youth members and over 1 million adult volunteers. -
Idaho's Big Burn
A rainless summer, bizarre winds and sudden lightning merged hundreds of fires into a great inferno, killing 85 people. -
Titanic Sinks
Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. -
16th Amendment
The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing the Federal government treasury to impose an income tax. -
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Woodrow Wilson
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Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. (birth name), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American baseball player who spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) playing for three teams. -
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World War One
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Russian Revolution
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18th Amendment
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established prohibition in the United States. -
19th Amendment
Women are given the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the United States constitution grants universal women's suffrage. -
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Warren Harding
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Taft to Supreme Court
He is the only person to have served in both offices (becoming the 27th president) , and along with James Polk, one of two presidents to have also headed another branch of the federal government. -
Harding Dies
President Warren G. Harding dies in office after becoming ill following a trip to Alaska. Later is was discovered that he had an embolism after having ptomaine poisioning followed by pneumonia. -
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Calvin Coolidge
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Herbert Hoover
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Immigration Act of 1924
Meant it was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country. -
Discovering Pluto
American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers the planet Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Tombaugh was also known as one of the few serious astronomers to have claimed to sight UFO's. -
Nevada Legalizes Gambling
Because of subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada again legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. -
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
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21st Amendment
This amendment ended prohibition in the United States. -
Hoover Dam Dedication
Once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. -
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Spanish Civil War
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First African American Federal Judge
William Henry Hastie, Jr. (November 17, 1904 – April 14, 1976) was an American, lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and advocate for the civil rights of African Americans. -
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World War Two
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First Peacetime Conscription Draft
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. -
G.I. Bill of Rights
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Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, commences at 7:55 a.m. when Japanese fighter planes launch a surprise attack on United States soil, destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet docked at the base. -
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Cold War
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Roosevelt Dies
Roosevelt died of a brain hemorrhage while in Warm Springs, Georgia for a time of relaxation to gain back his strength. -
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Harry S. Truman
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First Indochina War
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Labor Act
President Harry S. Truman vetoes the Taft-Hartley Labor Act that would have curbed strikes, only to be overridden by Congress on June 23. -
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Arab-Israeli War
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Korean War
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ANZUS Treaty
The treaty was previously a full three-way defense pact, but following a dispute between New Zealand and the United States in 1984 over visiting rights for nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships of the US Navy to New Zealand ports. -
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Falklands War
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Dwight Eisenhower
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First Colored T.V.
In 1925, Zworykin filed a patent disclosure for an all-electronic color television system. Both of these systems were not successful, however, they were the first for color television. A successful color television system began commercial broadcasting, first authorized by the FCC on December 17, 1953 based on a system designed by RCA. -
Polio Vaccination
A group of children from Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, receive the first injections of the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk. -
First Passanger Air Flight
National Airlines became the first to begin jet service, using leased Boeing 707s, on December 10, 1958. This flight flew between New York City and Miami, Florida. -
49th State
Alaska was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million at approximately two cents per acre. The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized territory on May 11, 1912, and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. -
50 Star Flag
The fifty star flag of the United States is debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reflecting the admission of Hawaii into the union in 1959. -
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John F. Kennedy
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Religion in public schools is unconstitutional
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of "Abington School District vs. Schempp" that laws requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools is unconstitutional. The vote was 8 to 1. -
JFK Assassination
In Dallas, Texas, during a motorcade through downtown, President John F. Kennedy is mortally wounded by assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn into office later that day. Two days later, Oswald was himself killed on live national television by Jack Ruby while being transported in police custody. -
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Lyndon Johnson
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Medicare Begins
Medicare, the government medical program for citizens over the age of 65, begins. -
Martin Luther King Assassination
Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee while standing on a motel balcony by James Earl Ray. -
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Richard Nixon
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New Abortion Law
The United States Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs. Wade that a woman can not be prevented by a state in having an abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. -
Nixon Impeachment
Impeachment hearings are begun by the House Judiciary Committee against President Richard M. Nixon in the Watergate affair. On July 24, the United States Supreme Court rules that President Nixon must turn over the sixty-four tapes of White House conversations concerning the Watergate break-in. -
Nixon Resigns
President Richard M. Nixon resigns the office of the presidency, avoiding the impeachment process and admitting his role in the Watergate affair. He was replaced by Vice President Gerald R. Ford, who, on September 8, 1974, pardoned Nixon for his role. Nixon was the first president to ever resign from office. -
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Gerald Ford
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Jimmy Carter
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New York City's Blackout
The New York City blackout results in massive looting and disorderly conduct during its twenty-five hour duration. -
The American Pioneer
The American Pioneer Eleven passes the planet Saturn, becoming the first spacecraft to visit the ringed planet, albeit at a distance of 21,000 kilometers. -
Mount St. Helens
The Mt. St. Helens volcano, in Washington State, erupts, killing fifty-seven people and economic devastation to the area with losses near $3 billion. The blast was estimated to have the power five hundred times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. -
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Ronald Reagan
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President Reagan Assassination Attempt
President Ronald Reagan withstands an assassination attempt, shot in the chest while walking to his limousine in Washington, D.C. -
First Female Supreme Court Associate Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor is approved unanimously, 99-0, by the United States Senate to become the first female Supreme Court associate justice in history. -
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Invasion of Grenada
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First Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King Day is officially observed for the first time as a federal holiday in the United States. -
Black Monday
The stock market crash known as Black Monday occurred on the New York Stock Exchange, recording a record 22.6% drop in one day. Stock markets around the world would mirror the crash with drops of their own. -
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George H. W. Bush
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Hubble Telescope
The Hubble Telescope is placed into orbit by the United States Space Shuttle Discovery. One month later, the telescope becomes operational. -
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Gulf War
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27th Amendment
The 27th Amendment to the Constitution is passed two hundred and two years after its initial proposal. It bars the United States Congress from giving itself a midterm or retroactive pay raise. This amendment had been originally proposed By James Madison in 1789, as part of twelve amendments, of which ten would become the original Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. -
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Bill Clinton
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North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect, creating a free trade zone between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. -
Oldest Astronaut
John Glenn, thirty-six years after becoming the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, becomes the oldest astronaut in space at seventy-seven years old. His role on the Space Shuttle Discovery flight tests the effect of space travel on aging. -
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 10,000 for the first time. -
Clinton in U.S. Senate
Hillary Rodham Clinton wins a seat for the United States Senate from New York. It is the first time a former FIrst Lady wins public office. -
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George W. Bush
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War on Terror
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Afghanistan War
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Space Shuttle Columbia
A tragedy at NASA occurs when the Space Shuttle Columbia explodes upon reentry over Texas. All seven astronauts inside are killed. -
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Iraq War
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Suddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein, former leader of Iraq, is captured in a small bunker in Tikrit by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast, inundating the city of New Orleans with water from Lake Pontchartrain when the levees that maintain the below sea level city break. Over one thousand three hundred people perish from Alabama to Louisiana in one of the worst natural disasters to strike the United States. -
First Female U.S. House of Representatives Speaker
The first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Representative Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, California, is sworn into office. -
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Barack Obama
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Health Care Legislation Approved
The U.S. House of Representatives finalizes the Health Care legislation approved by the Senate, extending health benefits and insurance to most Americans. The legislation, passed on a partisan basis by the Democratic Majority, has caused a significant rift within the public, who disapproves of the bill. -
Largest Oil Spill
A British Petroleum deep water oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest oil spill in the history of the United States, killing eleven workers, and devastating the envirnoment. It also severely damaged the fishing and tourism industries of gulf states. -
Osama Bin Laden Killed
Osama Bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and other locations and leader of the terrorist group, Al-Queda, is killed after ten years of pursuit by United States and coalition forces during a raid by U.S. Navy Seals on his hideout location in Pakistan. -
Final Shuttle of NASA Space Program
The final shuttle flight lands at the Kennedy Space Center, signifying the end of the NASA shuttle space program. The program, which began in 1981 and included 135 missions, was completed when the Shuttle Atlantis completed its final mission to the International Space Station. -
Iraq War
The war in Iraq is delcared over when President Obama orders the last combat troops to leave the country.
