This Week In American History

February 18 1885 Mark Twain published his famous—and famously controversial—novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain first introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his...

February 11 1916 Emma Goldman, a crusader for women’s rights and social justice, was arrested in New York City for lecturing and distributing materials about birth control. She was accused...

February 4   1789 George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was unanimously elected the first president of the United States by all 69 presidential...

January 28 1915 President Woodrow Wilson signed the Coast Guard Act of 1915, which merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, and was officially renamed the Coast...

January 21 1950 In the conclusion to one of the most spectacular trials in U.S. history, former State Department official Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury. He was convicted of...

January 14 1954 Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio. It was the ultimate All-American romance: the tall, handsome hero of the country’s national pastime captures the heart of the beautiful, glamorous...

January 7 1927 The Harlem Globetrotters basketball team travelled 48 miles west from Chicago to play their first game in Hinckley, Illinois. The Globetrotters were the creation of Abe Saperstein...

December 31 1879 In the first public demonstration of his incandescent lightbulb, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison lit up a street in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Although the first incandescent...

December 24 1812 The Treaty of Ghent was signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory...

December 17 1892 Arthur Baldwin Turnure first publishes Vogue, a new magazine dedicated to “the ceremonial side of life” and targeted at “the sage as well as the debutante, men...

December 10 1922 The Canton Bulldogs defeated the Toledo Maroons, 19-0, and are declared the first NFL champion. Canton finished the season 10-0-2, allowing 15 points and producing nine shutouts....

December 3 1818 Illinois became the 21st state. Due to the challenge of the prairies slowing emigration into the region, the population was only about 35,000 and most of the...