HistoryPod

23rd January 1849: Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to receive a medical degree in the USA

Blackwell graduated first in her class and became the first woman to achieve a medical degree in the United ...

• 0
• 0
• Today

22nd January 1973: The Supreme Court issues its decision on the Roe v. Wade abortion case

Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority opinion that the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution gives women in the...

• 0
• 0
• 1 day

21st January 1954: Launch of USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine

Nuclear propulsion enabled Nautilus to smash numerous records including those for both submerged speed and distance,...

• 0
• 0
• 2 days

20th January 1986: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day first observed as a federal holiday

President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on 2 November ...

• 0
• 0
• 3 days

19th January 1920: Foundation of the American Civil Liberties Union

The organization now boasts more than 1.2 million members and continues to provide legal support where individual...

• 0
• 0
• 4 days

16th January 1919: Nebraska becomes the vital 36th of the 48 states to approve prohibition in the 18th Amendment

Nationwide prohibition began on 17 January the following year, and existed until its repeal by the Twenty-first...

• 0
• 0
• 7 days

13th January 1910: First public radio broadcast features a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera House in New ...

The broadcast included performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci featuring acclaimed Italian tenor Enrico ...

• 0
• 0
• 10 days

11th January 1964: US Surgeon General publishes groundbreaking report on the health effects of tobacco smoking

The report drew three main conclusions focused on the effect of smoking on the functioning of the respiratory ...

• 0
• 0
• 12 days

10th January 1776: Thomas Paine publishes the pamphlet Common Sense advocating American independence

The 47-page pamphlet is credited with having a dramatic impact on public opinion in the colonies, and helped to...

• 0
• 0
• 13 days

9th January 1861: Star of the West fired upon by South Carolina batteries as it approached Fort Sumter

As Star of the West approached Fort Sumter on the morning of 9 January it was met with cannon shots from cadet George...

• 0
• 0
• 14 days

5th January 1925: Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first woman in the United States to be sworn in as governor of a state

Ross later achieved another ‘first’ in 1933 when she was appointed Director of the U.S. Mint by President...

• 0
• 0
• 18 days

4th January 1642: Charles I attempts to arrest the Five Members

On the 4th January 1642, Charles I attempted and failed to arrest the Five Members of Parliament, prompting the...

• 0
• 0
• 19 days

28th December 1958: ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ in the NFL Championship Playoff

The game was the first to be decided in sudden-death ...

• 0
• 0
• 26 days

27th December 1845: Manifest Destiny introduced in a newspaper column by John L. O’Sullivan

Manifest Destiny was a belief that the United States had a divinely-inspired right to expand across North America,...

• 0
• 0
• 27 days

22nd December 1882: The first use of electric lights on a Christmas tree

80 red, white, and blue walnut-sized glass light bulbs were hand-wired and placed around a large Christmas tree in...

• 0
• 0
• 1 month

20th December 1860: South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States of America

Other states soon followed South Carolina’s lead, setting the stage for the American Civil ...

• 0
• 0
• 1 month

19th December 1918: Ripley’s ‘Believe it or Not!’ published for the first time in the New York Globe

It has since been adapted into numerous formats and is still printed in more than 40 ...

• 0
• 0
• 1 month

13th December 1636: The Massachusetts Bay Colony organised a formal militia, laying the foundations for the US Nation...

Some modern-day Massachusetts National Guard regiments are able to trace their history back to the Massachusetts Bay...

• 0
• 0
• 1 month

11th December 1941: Nazi Germany declares war on the USA

Approximately six hours after Germany’s declaration of war, the United States declared war on ...

• 0
• 0
• 1 month

5th December 1848: President James K. Polk sparks the California Gold Rush as a result of his State of the Union Address

Polk’s speech was intended to warn Congress about the risks of inflation, labor shortages, and the potential...

• 0
• 0
• 2 months