On this day in 1913, the 17th Amendment is ratified. For the first time in American history, voters would be able to directly elect their...

On this day in 1745, William Dawes is born. Oddly, his most famous deed is also the one for which he is most often forgotten. On April...

On this day in 1981, a hero is born. Michael Monsoor would go on to serve as a Navy SEAL during the War on Terrorism. He would receive a...

On this day in 1719, an American heroine is born. No books would ever be written about this woman. She would never receive any awards or...

On this day in 1975, Gerald Ford approves “Operation Babylift.” Speed was of the essence! Rescue workers had been tasked with evacuating...

On this day in 1922, a heroine is born. Jonita Ruth Bonham would go on to become a nurse—and to serve in both World War II and Korea. She...

On or around this day in 1777, a signer of the Declaration of Independence passes away. Pennsylvania’s nickname, “the Keystone State,”...

On this day in 1779, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis is born. She has been called the “Daughter of Mount Vernon,” because she was raised by...

On this day in 1981, Ronald Reagan is shot by a would-be assassin. The President was then leaving an event at the Washington Hilton Hotel...

On this day in 1932, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Master Chief William R. Charette was one of five Navy corpsman to receive...

On this day in 1834, President Andrew Jackson is censured by the U.S. Senate. “[W]e should not be at all surprised,” one columnist...

On this day in 1749, a future signer of the United States Constitution is born. William Blount would go on to serve as United States...

On this day in 1785, George Washington receives commissioners from Virginia and Maryland. The gathering came to be known as the Mount...

On this day in 1765, Parliament passes the Quartering Act. Huh? What’s a Quartering Act? It’s a name that sounds foreign to modern ears....

On this day in 1775, a member of Parliament rises and gives a speech in the British House of Commons. Edmund Burke urged members to...

On this day in 1945, a U.S. soldier charges not just one, but six enemy positions. Staff Sergeant Ysmael Villegas was then just one day...

On this day in 1945, the aircraft carrier USS Franklin is miraculously saved. Just one day earlier, a Japanese Judy dive bomber had...

On this day in 1945, USS Franklin is attacked by a Japanese dive bomber. Her crew thought she’d surely capsize—but she didn’t. Amazingly,...

On this day in 1766, the Stamp Act is repealed. That Act levied taxes upon American colonists despite our lack of representation in...

On this day in 1781, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse takes place. It was technically a British victory—but only technically. Indeed,...