This Week In American History

December 22 1894 The Amateur Golf Association of the United States—later renamed the United States Golf Association—was formed in New York to govern the sport. Five charter golf clubs join...

December 15 1925 The New York Americans lose to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1, in the formal opening of New York's Madison Square Garden, which became one of the world's most...

December 8 1941 As America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requested, and received, a declaration of war against Japan. FDR walked haltingly into the...

December 1 1913 Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. His innovation reduced the time it took to build a car...

November 24 1954 A new Lockheed VC-121E Constellation was brought into service for President Dwight Eisenhower, which he names "Columbine III," and is christened Air Force One by First Lady...

November 17 1968 The Oakland Raiders scored two touchdowns in nine seconds to beat the New York Jets—and no one saw it, because they were watching the movie Heidi instead....

November 10 1775 During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that “two Battalions of Marines be raised” for service as landing forces for the recently formed...

November 3 1964 Residents of the District of Columbia cast their ballots in a presidential election for the first time. The passage of the 23rd Amendment in 1961 gave citizens...

October 27 1904 At 2:35pm, New York City Mayor George McClellan took the controls on the inaugural run of the city’s innovative new rapid transit system: the subway. While London...

October 20 1803 The U.S. Senate approved a treaty with France providing for the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, which would double the size of the U.S. Facing war...

October 13 1775 The Continental Congress authorized construction and administration of the first American naval force—the precursor to the United States Navy. Since the outbreak of open hostilities with the...

October 6 1866 Brothers John and Simeon Reno staged the first train robbery in American history, making off with $13,000 from an Ohio and Mississippi railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana. The Reno...