On this day in 1876, Patent Number 174,465 was awarded to Alexander Graham Bell for a device that would electrically transmit sound. Bell’s application to the U.S. Patent Office, made […]

On this day in 1475, Michelangelo was born in Caprese, Italy, near Florence. His father, a member of the declining Buonarroti family, ridiculed his son’s artistic pursuits, believing they were […]

On this day in 1962, George C. Scott refused a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role of a shady gambler in The Hustler. When he learned that he had […]

On this day in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office to become the  32nd  president of the United States. With unemployment during the election year at over […]

On this day in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed congressional legislation to make The Star Spangled Banner the official national anthem of the United States. Though this patriotic tune had […]

On this day in 1972, NASA launched Pioneer 10 from Cape Canaveral, its primary mission to gather information on the planet Jupiter. Carried on a three-stage Atlas-Centaur rocket, the nine-foot […]

On this day in 1790, Congress authorized the first official U.S. census. Five months later, under the authority of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, 17 federal marshals, aided by 200 […]

On this day in 1996, the “Siege of Sarajevo” was officially terminated after nearly four years of constant attack. It became the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. […]

On this day in 1983, the final episode of M*A*S*H aired, becoming the most-watched television episode in U.S. history. The  2½ hour program, entitled “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” drew in […]

On this day in 1900, the Bayer Company patented acetylsalicylic acid, which the world came to know as aspirin. The invention of this wonder drug actually occurred 47 years earlier […]