1633: Galileo Faces Inquisition
On February 13, 1633, Galileo arrived in Rome to be tried for promoting Copernican theories, such as the revolutionary idea that the Earth orbits...
1868: President Andrew Johnson Impeached
On February 24, 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. president to be impeached; the Senate subsequently acquitted him by a single vote.
House Impeaches...
1972: Congress Passes Equal Rights Amendment
On March 22, 1972, the Senate approved the Equal Rights Amendment, which banned discrimination on the basis of sex. The amendment fell three states...
On This Day: Bodies of Three Civil Rights Workers Discovered in Mississippi
On Aug. 4, 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights volunteers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman were discovered in a dam outside...
1964: Jimmy Hoffa Sentenced for Jury Tampering
On March 12, 1964, Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa was sentenced to eight years in prison for jury tampering. He lost control of the union...
1839: Dueling Outlawed in DC
On February 20, 1839, Congress passed legislation barring the practice of dueling in the District of Columbia.
Fatal Duel Between Congressmen Prompts Ban
The passage of...
2002: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic Begins
On February 12, 2002, the war crimes trial of Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic began at The Hague. The defendant died before a sentence was...
On This Day: United States Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
On Aug. 6, 1945, U.S. war plane Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy,” a 8,900-pound atomic bomb, on Hiroshima, Japan. Within eight days, Japan surrendered,...
1949: “Axis Sally” Convicted of Treason
On March 10, 1949, a jury found American-born Nazi propagandist Mildred E. Gillars, the radio broadcaster known as “Axis Sally,” guilty of treason.
“Axis Sally”...
1983: Reagan Delivers “Star Wars” Speech
On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a space and ground-based defense system to intercept...
