history

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1522 – The Victoria, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition, returns to Spain, thus becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe (More info) 1901 – Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots and fatally wounds US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1813 – French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden (More info) 1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Penn., leading to the world’s first commercially successful oil well (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 79 – Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae in volcanic ash (More info) 1912 – Alaska becomes a United States territory (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1831 – Nat Turner leads black slaves in a rebellion (More info) 1858 – The famous debates between Sen. Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln begin (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1866 – President Andrew Johnson formally declares an end to the Civil War (More info) 1920 – The National Football League is founded (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1807 – Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat begins its trip up the Hudson River to Albany, New York, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world (More info) 1962 – East German border guards spur riots when they kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berli

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1858 – President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the UK (More info) 1896 – Gold is discovered in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1824 – Freed American slaves found Liberia (More info) 1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1878 – A yellow fever epidemic in Memphis eventually empties the city (More info) 1918 – Opha Mae Johnson becomes the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1793 – The Louvre officially opens in Paris (More info) 1846 – The Smithsonian Institution is chartered by the United States Congress (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1890 – Murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair (More info) 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping (More info)

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history: 1492 – Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain (More info) 1900 – The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company is founded (More info)