Anniversaries

To illustrate the depth one can access in our collections, we have compiled relevant archival imagery to frame a diverse cultural, political and chronological retrospective of noteworthy anniversaries. Be sure to bookmark this section as the calendar is a work in progress and will continue to expand.

AprilYearAnniversaryEvent
1197238thNorth Vietnam launches an offensive to hurt Nixon's reelection chances
1198723rdPres. Reagan announces that AIDS is "public health enemy No.1"
21792218thCongress passes the Coinage Act, founding the U.S. Mint
21872138thSamuel F. B. Morse, U.S. inventor, dies
21877133rdFirst White House Easter Egg Roll, under Rutherford Hayes
2191793rdJeannette Rankin sworn in as first woman in the U.S. House of Representatives
2191793rdPresident Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany
31837173rdJohn Burroughs, U.S. nature writer, is born
31882128thJesse James, notorious bank robber, dies, shot in back
3192288thJoseph Stalin named general secretary of the Communist Party in the USSR
41812198thPresident Madison slaps an embargo on Great Britain
4196743rdDr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks against the Vietnam War, linking Civil Rights and pacifism
51792218thGeorge Washington casts the first presidential veto (against apportioning representatives among states)
51827183rdJames Hackett becomes the first U.S. actor to appear abroad - at Covent Garden
51862148thThe Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, begins
61862148thBattle of Shiloh begins in Tennessee
6191793rdU.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany
6194763rdHenry Ford, early car manufacturer, dies
81892118thMary Pickford, Academy-Award-winning actress, is born Gladys Smith
8194268thWar Production Board orders a halt to all production not necessary to WWII
8195258thPres. Truman takes control of the steel mills in Youngstown, Ohio
91682328thFrench explorer Robert la Salle reaches the lower Mississippi River
9194268thU.S. surrenders the Philippine island of Luzon to Japan
101847163rdJoseph Pulitzer, publisher and newspaperman, is born in Hungary
10191298thThe RMS Titanic sets sail from Southhampton, England, on its ill-fated voyage
10193278thAdolf Hitler comes in second to German president von Hindenburg in national elections
11196248thJFK angrily criticizes steel industry for jacking up prices
11197238thU.S. B-52s begin bombing North Vietnam
11197238thCharlie Chaplin receives an Oscar at the Academy Awards
121777233rdHenry Clay, U.S. senator and statesman, born
121862148thFort Pulaski, GA, falls to the Federals after two days of bombardment
121877133rdThe catcher's mask first used in baseball
12193773rdU.S. Supreme Court upholds National Labor Relations Act, protecting workers' rights
131777233rdBritish attack the Continental Army at Bound Brook, New Jersey
131852158thF.W. Woolworth, merchant who founded a chain of stores, born.
14191298thThe British RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic
15191298thThe "unsinkable" RMS Titanic sinks and about 1,500 passengers and crew drown
15194763rdJackie Robinson becomes baseball's first black major-league player
161862148thPres. Lincoln abolishes slavery in the District of Columbia
161867143rdWilbur Wright, aviator and inventor, born
16191793rdVladimir Lenin returns to St. Petersburg to take control of the Russian Revolution
171492518thChristopher Columbus signs a contract to seek a new route to the Indies
171837173rdJohn Pierpont Morgan, industrialist and financier, born
181857153rdClarence Darrow, attorney and champion of the underdog, born
18191793rdLeon Trotsky calls for the overthrow of Joseph Stalin
191782228thThe Netherlands officially recognizes the U.S. as a nation
191882128thCharles Darwin, British scientist, dies
201777233rdNew York adopts a state constitution
201902108thMarie and Pierre Curie isolate radium
201792218thFrance declares war on Austria and the French Revolutionary Wars begin
211777233rdThe British attack Danbury, CT, and go on a rampage, nearly destroying the town
22197238thAntiwar demonstrations coordinated across America protest U.S. bombings of Vietnam
231867143rdThe Zoetrope, forerunner of the motion picture projector, patented
23199218thSmithsonian Museum acquires the Miller racing car for display
241792218thFrance's national anthem, "La Marseillaise," is composed by Claude Rouget de Lisle
241862148thUnion Admiral David Farragut leads a flotilla past two Confederate forts
24196743rdGen. Westmoreland asserts the U.S. antiwar movement is encouraging North Vietnam
251792218thThe guillotine is first used, in Paris
251862148thThe Fall of New Orleans
261607403rdCaptain John Smith and a group of British colonists go ashore at Cape Henry, Virginia
261822188thFrederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect who designed NY's Central Park, born
271667343rdJohn Milton sells the copyright to his famous epic, "Paradise Lost."
271822188thUlysses S. Grant, Civil War general and 18th U.S. president, is born
28195258thGen. Eisenhower resigns as supreme commander of U.S. armed forces
291862148thThe Union Army occupies New Orleans
30191793rdThe U.S. begins massive enlistment for World War I
30194763rdPresident Harry Truman changes the name of Boulder Dam to Hoover Dam