The first session of the U.S. Congress is held in New York City as the U.S. Constitution takes effect. However, of the 22 senators and 59 representatives called to represent the 11 states who had ratified the document, only nine senators and 13 representatives showed up to begin …read more

1634 – Samuel Cole opened the first tavern in Boston, MA.

1681 – England’s King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area that later became the state of Pennsylvania.

1766 – The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, which had caused bitter and violent opposition in the U.S. colonies.

1778 – The Continental Congress voted to ratify the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. The two treaties were the first entered into by the U.S. government.

1789 – The first Congress of the United States met in New York and declared that the U.S. Constitution was in effect.

1791 – Vermont was admitted as the 14th U.S. state. It was the first addition to the original 13 American colonies.

1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. The Amendment limited the jurisdiction of the federal courts to automatically hear cases brought against a state by the citizens of another state. Later interpretations expanded this to include citizens of the state being sued, as well.

1813 – The Russians fighting against Napoleon reached Berlin. The French garrison evacuated the city without a fight.

1826 – The first railroad in the U.S. was chartered. It was the Granite Railway in Quincy, MA.

1837 – The state of Illinois granted a city charter to Chicago.

1861 – The Confederate States of America adopted the “Stars and Bars” flag.

1877 – Emile Berliner invented the microphone.

1880 – Halftone engraving was used for the first time when the “Daily Graphic” was published in New York City.

1881 – Eliza Ballou Garfield became the first mother of a U.S. President to live in the executive mansion.

1902 – The American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago.

1904 – In Korea, Russian troops retreated toward the Manchurian border as 100,000 Japanese troops advanced.

1908 – The New York board of education banned the act of whipping students in school.

1908 – France notified signatories of Algeciras that it would send troops to Chaouia, Morocco.

1914 – Dr. Gustave Le Fillatre successfully separated three-month-old Siamese twins. One of the twins died four days later.

1917 – Jeanette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.

1925 – Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office in Washington, DC. The presidential inauguration was broadcast on radio for the first time.

1930 – Emma Fahning became the first woman bowler to bowl a perfect game in competition run by the Women’s International Bowling Congress in Buffalo, NY.

1933 – U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt gave his inauguration speech in which he said “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”

1933 – Labor Secretary Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in a Presidential administrative cabinet.

1942 – “Junior Miss” starring Shirley Temple aired on CBS radio for the first time.

1942 – The Stage Door Canteen opened on West 44th Street in New York City.

1947 – France and Britain signed an alliance treaty.

1950 – Walt Disney’s “Cinderella” was released across the U.S.
Disney movies, music and books

1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman dedicated the “Courier,” the first seagoing radio broadcasting station.

1952 – Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married.

1954 – In Boston, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital reported the first successful kidney transplant.

1974 – “People” magazine was available for the first time.

1975 – Queen Elizabeth knighted Charlie Chaplin.

1986 – “Today” debuted in London as England’s newest, national, daily newspaper.

1989 – Time, Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced a plan to merge.

1991 – Sheik Saad al-Jaber al-Sabah, the prime minister of Kuwait, returned to his country for the first time since Iraq’s invasion.

1994 – Bosnia’s Croats and Moslems signed an agreement to form a federation in a loose economic union with Croatia.

1997 – U.S. President Clinton barred federal spending on human cloning.

1998 – Microsoft repaired software that apparently allowed hackers to shut down computers in government and university offices nationwide.

1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court said that federal law banned on-the-job sexual harassment even when both parties are the same sex.

1999 – Monica Lewinsky’s book about her affair with U.S. President Clinton went on sale in the U.S.

2002 – Canada banned human embryo cloning but permitted government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from fertility treatment or abortions.

2012 – Vladimir Putin won re-election in Russia’s presidential election.

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