1887: First Groundhog Day Celebrated in Punxsutawney
On February 2, 1887, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, celebrated the first official Groundhog Day, a holiday with roots in ancient traditions.
The Origins of Groundhog Day
On February...
1920: 19th Amendment Gives Women Right to Vote
On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified after decades of struggle by women’s rights advocates, bringing a successful end to the U.S....
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis Begins
On Oct. 14, 1962, a United States spy plane spotted missile bases under construction in Cuba, touching off the two-week Cuban Missile Crisis.
Two Weeks...
1993: Car Bomb Explodes Beneath World Trade Center
On February 26, 1993, Islamic terrorists detonated a car bomb in the World Trade Center’s basement garage, killing six and injuring more than 1,000.
Explosion...
USSR established -1922
In post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established, comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation (divided...
1974: Russian Dissident Writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn Charged With Treason
On February 14, 1974, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer who revealed the horrors of the Soviet gulag, was charged with treason a day after...
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...
1970: Jury Convicts Five of Chicago Seven
On February 18, 1970, five members of the “Chicago Seven” were found guilty of inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention.
Trial Illustrates Cultural Divide...
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,...
1938: “Kristallnacht” Attacks Mark Unofficial Start of Holocaust
On Nov. 9, 1938, Nazi storm troopers launched a coordinated attack against Jewish communities, destroying property and shipping thousands to concentration camps.
“Night of Broken...
