1953 Discovery of DNA

James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928), is an American molecular biologist, geneticist and zoologist, best known as a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA with Francis Crick. Watson has written many science books, his bestselling book The Double Helix (1968) about the DNA structure discovery.

1941 Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.

1937 The Golden Gate Bridge

It is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It had until 1964 the longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,280 m).

1935 The FBI was established

The bureau was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI). Its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935. The FBI headquarters is 
the J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C. 

1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States (1933–1945), served for 12 years and four terms until his death in 1945, the only president ever to do so, and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic depression and total war.

1931 Empire State Building

Is a 103-story skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It stood as the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years, with its antenna spire included a total of 1,454 ft (443.2 m) high.

1927 Charles Lindbergh flight

Lindbergh was the first person in history to be in New York one day and Paris the next (he made solo non-stop flight). Lindbergh, a U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve officer, was also awarded the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his historic exploit.

1926 NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network. It is headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", due to its stylized peacock logo, which was originally created for its color broadcasts.

1914 Mother's Day

Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Previous attempts at establishing Mother's Day sought to promote peace by means of honoring mothers who had lost or were at risk of losing their sons to war. Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis and her daughter, Anna Marie Jarvis are recognized as the founders.

1912 RMS Titanic

Was a British 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. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of more than 1,500 people of the 2,224 passengers aboard.

1906 San Francisco earthquake

As a result of the quake and fires, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. The earthquake and resulting fire are remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the US alongside the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

1903 Ford Motor Company

Founded by Henry Ford, is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand and most luxury cars under the Lincoln brand.

1901 Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt was 42 years old when sworn in as President, after the assassination of President McKinley, making him the youngest president ever. Roosevelt was also the first of only three sitting presidents to have won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Teddy bear is named for him, despite his contempt for being called "Teddy".

1892 The Sierra Club

Was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the Scottish conservationist and preservationist John Muir. The Sierra Club is one of the oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the United States. 

1888 The National Geographic Society

Is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interest include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history.

1882 Jesse Woodson James

Jesse Woodson James (1847 - 1882) was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He became a legendary figure of the Wild West after his death.

1881 The American Red Cross

One of the greatest accomplishments of Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton was founding the American Red Cross. This organization helps victims of war and disasters.

1879 Thomas Alva Edison

Was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Edison is the fourth most prolific inventor in history, holding 1,093 US patents in his name.

1876 Wild Bill Hickok

James Butler Hickok was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood by an unsuccessful gambler. The card hand he held at the time of his death has come to be known today as poker's "Dead Man's Hand".

1876 National League

Is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball and the world's oldest current professional team sports league.

1872 Yellowstone National Park

Is a national park located primarily in Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world, is known for its wildlife and many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser.

1871 Great Chicago Fire

Though the fire was one of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th century, Chicago was rebuilt and continued to grow as one of the most populous and economically important American cities.

1866 The Ku Klux Klan was founded

Informally known as the "Hooded Order", is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism and anti-immigration.

1865 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

He was shot on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination of Lincoln was planned and carried out by the well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth.

1864 Sand Creek massacre

700-man force of Colorado Territory militia attacked and destroyed a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho, killing and mutilating an estimated 70–163 Indians, about two-thirds of whom were women and children.

1860 Abraham Lincoln

Was the 16th President of the United States. The election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860 and served as the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War, because of slavery and the rights of slave owners.

1860 The Pony Express

Was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, mail, even small packages from St. Joseph, Missouri. It reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days.

1858 Transatlantic telegraph cable

The first was laid across the floor of the Atlantic from Telegraph Field, Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. It reduced the communication from ten days – the time to deliver a message by ship – to a matter of minutes.

1848 California Gold Rush

Began when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.

1846 Mexican–American War

Was conflict between the United States and Mexico in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory despite the 1836 Texas Revolution. Mexico accepted the loss of Texas and thereafter cited the Rio Grande as its national border.

1841 The shortest tenure in US presidential history

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States. He died on his 32nd day in office of complications from pneumonia. John Tyler became president on the death of Harrison in April 1841.

1836 Van Buren elected President

The election of 1836 is principally remembered for strategy of the Whig party, which ran four candidates in different parts of the country in hopes that each would be popular enough to defeat Democrat Martin Van Buren in their respective regions.

 

1831 The Liberator newspaper

Was anti-slavery newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison, published weekly issues from Boston continuously for 35 years.

 

1830 Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) historic east-west large wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon.

1829 Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson State Park, South Carolina state park established in 1952 to honor the only South Carolina born president, who was born nearby in 1767.On the last day of the presidency, Jackson admitted that he had but two regrets, that he "had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun."

1826 Former Presidents

Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each other on Independence Day.

1824 John Quincy Adams

No candidate had received a majority of the Presidential Electoral votes, so election of the new president was decided by the House of Representatives in what was termed the Corrupt Bargain. 

1819 Financial crisis in the United States

The Panic of 1819 was the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States followed by a general collapse of the American economy persisting through 1821.

1817 Harvard Law School

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world.

1817 5th President of the United States

James Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, the third of them to die on Independence Day.

 

1814 Burning of Washington

On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross occupied Washington City and set fire to many public buildings.

1812 The war began

Between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its Indian allies.

1809 James Madison inaugurated

As the 4th President of the United States (1809–1817). He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for being instrumental in the drafting of the US Constitution and author of the US Bill of Rights.

1801 Thomas Jefferson elected President

The principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809).

1797 US presidential election

Was the 3rd presidential election. George Washington refused a third term in office. Vice President John Adams from Massachusetts won the presidency.

1793 Yellow fever

A serious outbreak afflicted Philadelphia in 1793. The only known hosts of the virus are primates and several species of mosquito. In the 19th century, yellow fever was deemed one of the most dangerous infectious diseases.

1793 The Cotton gin was invented

It was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Eli Whitney's invention made upland short cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery in the United States.

1791 US Bill of Rights ratified

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. The amendments were introduced by James Madison.

1789 The First President of the United States

The first inauguration of George Washington took place on April 30, 1789. The inaugural ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.

1783 Treaty of Paris

Ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States of America. The Peace of Paris was the set of treaties which ended it. The United States gained more than it expected.