New
planets that could sustain life are discovered orbiting a neighborhood
star-1996
Americans
with Disabilities Act becomes law-1990
The
Berlin Wall is torn down, signaling an end to the Cold War-1989
Viking
I becomes the first spaceship to reach Mars-1976
U.S.
Armed Forces withdraw from Vietnam-1975 Congress passes Endangered
Species Act-1973
Richard
Leakey discovers hominid skull, 2.6 million years old in northern
Kenya-1972
First
"Earth Day" is observed-1970
American
astronaut Neil Armstrong walks on the moon-1969
Thurgood
Marshall becomes first African American member of U.S. supreme court-1967
Rev.
Martin Luther King, Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo,
Norway-1964
President
John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas-1963
British
pop group The Beatles make their first recordings-1962
Soviet
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first human to orbit Earth-1961
African
American trackstar Wilma Rudolph wins three gold metals at the Rome
Olympic Games-1960
Elvis
Presley records "Heartbreak Hotel"-1956
English
runner Robert Bannister runs mile in under 4 minutes-1954
Korean
War ends-1953
Dr.
Jonas Salk successfully tests polio vaccine-1952
Ten
million homes have television receivers-1951
Mao
Tse-Tung rises to power in China-1949
The
transistor is invented in Bell Laboratories in the U.S.-1948
ENIAC,
the first successful electronic digital computer, becomes operational-1946
World
War II ends-1945
Oswald
Avery determines that DNA is the hereditary material of the cell-1944
Prehistoric
cave paintings are discovered at Lascaux, France-1940
Child
film actress Judy Garland stars in "The Wizard of Oz"-1939
A
Coelacanth, a fish thought extinct for 65 million years, is caught
of the coast of Africa-1938
First
local conservation district is created-1937
Drought
leads to severe dust storms in "Dust Bowl" region of Great
Plains-1934
Frances
Perkins, Secretary of Labor, becomes first woman in U.S. cabinet-1933
Charles
Curtis of the Kaw Tribe in Kansas, a U.S. senator for 25 years,
becomes Vice President of the United States-1929
Dr.
H.O. Sargent and Dr. George Washington Owens establish the New Farmers
of America-1927
Hirohito
becomes 124th Emperor of Japan-1926
19th
amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives women the right tovote-1920
World
War I ends- 1918
Russian
Revolution begins -1917
Jeanette
Rankin (R-Montana) elected first U.S. Congresswoman-1916
Albert
Einstein formulates his general theory of relativity-1915
Jim
Thorpe of the Sauk and Fox Tribes wins Decathlon and Pentathlon
in Olympic Games, Sweden-1912
First
Model "T" Ford rolls off assembly line-1908
Upton
Sinclair's novel, "The Jungle," leads to U.S. Pure Food
and Drug Act-1906
Orville
Wright makes first successful flight in self-propelled airplane-1903
Gugliemo
Marconi tests radio transmissions between England and Newfoundland-1901
Britain
obtains 99-year lease for Hong Kong from China-1898
Dr.
George Washington Carver begins to develop over 300 products from
the peanut and 118 from the sweet potato-1896
German
Physicist Wilhelm C. Roentgen discovers X-rays-1895
San
Francisco Examiner begins printing first newspaper comic strip-1892
Thomas
Edison invents phonograph -1877
Alexander
Graham Bell invents telephone-1875
U.S.
experiences worst grasshopper plague in its history-1874
Congress
founds first national park, Yellowstone-1872
British-American
explorer Henry Morton Stanley finds Dr. David Livingstone in Central
Africa-1871
Suez
Canal opens- 1869
U.S.
Civil War ends and 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes
slavery-1865
President
Abraham Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address-1863
Congress
passes the Homestead Act-1862
Gregor
Mendel begins formal experiments in genetics-1856
American
writer and naturalist Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden"-1854
Frederick
Douglass establishes the abolitionist newspaper, "The North
Star"-1847
Samuel
F.B. Morse develops code for electric telegraph system-1838
Texas
proclaims independence from Mexico-1836
Louis
Braille publishes system of writing for the blind-1829
President
James Monroe formulates doctrine of U.S. policy opposing outside
interference in the Americas-1923
Emma
Hart Willard founds first U.S. women's college, Troy Female Seminary,
in Troy, New York-1821
Construction
of Erie Canal begins-1817
Grimm's
Fairy Tales are published in Germany-1812
Kamehameha
I becomes ruler of Hawaii and establishes Kamehameha dynasty-1810
Ludwig
van Beethoven premieres Fifth and Sixth Symphonies-1808
Lewis
and Clark begin expedition to the American Northwest-1804
A
33,000-year-old frozen mammoth is discovered at Russia's Lena River-1799
English
physician Edward Jenner develops vaccination against smallpox-1796
Eli
Whitney invents cotton gin-1793
Mary
Wollstonecraft publishes "A Vindication of the Rights of Women"-1792
Bill
of Rights is ratified-1791
French
Revolution begins with an attack on the Bastille-1789
The
U.S. Constitution is ratified-1788
Mozart's
"The Marriage of Figaro" premieres-1786
American
Revolutionary War ends-1781
Continental
Congress adopts Declaration of Independence -1776
American
Colonists throw British tea into Boston Harbor-1773
Crispic
Attucks becomes the first person and African American to die in
the Revolutionary War in the "Boston Massacre"-1770
French
and Indian War ends -1763
Thomas
Jefferson is born-1743
George
Frederick Handel composes "Messiah"-1741
British
agriculturist Jethro Tull invents seed drill-1733
George
Washington is born-1732
First
permanent Native American school is created in Williamsburg, Virginia-1720
Population
of New York City reaches 7,000-1720
Italian
musician Bartolommeo Cristofori invents the piano-1709
Benjamin
Franklin is born-1706
Russian
tzar, Peter the Great, imposes tax on beards-1698
First
public school is established in America-1689
Rice
cultivation begins in North America-1685
Edmund
Halley observes Great Comet, which is later named for him-1682
The
Dodo, a large flightless bird, becomes extinct-1681
First
mail service in North America is John Elliot's translation into
Algonquian-1661
First
Quakers land in America-1657
First
book is printed in Native American language-1653
Cardinal
Richelieu founds L'Academie Francaise in Paris-1635
First
newspaper, Gazette de France, is published in Paris-1631
Peter
Minuit founds Dutch Colony of New Amsterdam (now New York)-1625
Pilgrim
leaders at Plymouth Colony establish a governing authority through
Mayflower Compact-1620
Native
American princess Pocahontas marries John Rolf-1614
Spanish
found Santa Fe (New Mexico)-1609
Native
Americans teach colonists how to raise corn-1608
John
Smith founds first permanent English colony in North America at
Jamestown, Virginia-1607
Spain
founds colony in St. Augustine, Florida-1565
Shakespeare
and Galileo are born-1564
An
earthquake in China is worst in history with a death toll of 830,000-1556
University
of Mexico is founded-1551
First
botanical garden is founded in Pisa, Italy-1543 Francesco Coronado
introduces horses to North America-1540
The
Reformation begins-1517
Juan
Ponce de Leon discovers Florida-1513
Michelangelo
finishes painting Sistine Chapel ceiling-1512
First
sugar cane mill is established in the Americas-1509
Leonardo
da Vinci completes "Mona Lisa"-1505
The
Incan Empire reaches its height-1500
The
toothbrush is invented by a Chinese dentist-1498
John
Cabot discovers Newfoundland -1497