The Story of America: This Day in History

On August 19, 1871, Orville Wright was born in Dayton. | In 1909, the first races were held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote nationally. | In 1874, Ohio Voters Reject New Ohio Constitution | In 1590, the disappearance of the Roanoke colony in present day North Carolina was discovered.

On August 17, 1807, the Clermont steamboat embarked on its first voyage, making it the first commercially successful steam powered riverboat. | In 1943, American actor Robert DeNiro was born in New York City.

On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died. | In 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine debuted.

On August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival opened. | In 1914, the Panama Canal was opened to traffic.

On August 14, 1945, Japan surrenders, ending World War II. | In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. |1965 Sonny & Cher's single "I Got You Babe" hits #1 on the charts.

On August 13, 1981, President Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act. | In 1860, famous American markswoman, Annie Oakley was born.

On August 12, 1973, Columbus native Jack Nicklaus won his 14th major PGA championship. This was the most of any player at the time. | In 1990, the largest assembled T-Rex skeleton was discovered by Susan Hendrickson in South Dakota.

On August 11, 2007, Airbnb is founded in San Francisco | Rugrats, Doug, and Ren and Stimpy debut on Nickelodeon | in 1903, the first U.S. patent for instant coffee is issued.

On August 10, 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was founded by President James K. Polk. | In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second female Supreme Court Justice. | In 1984, “Red Dawn” was released in theaters as the first film with a PG-13 rating.

On August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford becomes president after the resignation of Richard Nixon. | In 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s classic Walden, or, A Life in the Woods is published. It is required reading in many classrooms today, but when it was first published, it sold just around 300 copies a year.

On August 8, 1974, President Nixon announces his resignation from the presidency after his involvement in the Watergate Scandal. This is the only presidential resignation to occur in U.S. history. | In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. She was the first Hispanic American to hold this position. | In 1988, the Chicago Cubs played the first night game in Wrigley Field history.

On August 7, 1782, George Washington ordered the first military decoration, the Purple Heart. | In 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the president authority to wage war in Vietnam.

On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, which worked to dismantle barriers to voting. | In 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in an effort to end World War II. | In 1926, American Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to successfully swim across the English Channel. She broke the record at the time by nearly two hours.

On August 5, 1914, the first ever electric traffic light was installed in Cleveland, Ohio. It only contained two lights: red and green. | In 1861, the first U.S. income tax is levied to help fund the Civil War, enacted by Congress. | In 1957, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand aired nationally for the first time.

On August 4, 1790, Congress authorized the creation of what is now known today as the U.S. Coast Guard. | In 1961, Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to hold the office, was born. | In 1901, legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans.

On August 3, 1936, Ohio State legend Jesse Owens won his first of four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics for track and field. The African American athlete was the most successful at that year’s games. | In 1923, Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as the 30th President after President Warren G. Harding's death. | In 1996, the "Macarena" hits number 1 on the American pop charts.

On Aug. 2, 1776, 56 congressional delegates signed United States Declaration of Independence. | In 1923, Ohio-born President Warren G. Harding dies. | In 1790, the first U.S. Census begins.

On August 3, 1907, the birth of the United States Air Force, The U.S. Army established an aeronautical division that later became the U.S. Air Force. | In 1996, George R. R. Martin releases "Game of Thrones," which would go on to become a hit blockbuster series. | In 1981, MTV launched in New York City.

On July 31, 1946, Marilyn Monroe signed her first movie contract with Twentieth-Century Fox. | In 1884, the first electric streetcar in the United States opens in Cleveland. | In 2012, Michael Phelps breaks the record for most Olympic medals won with his gold in the 4x200 meter relay.

On July 30, 1619, The Virginia House of Burgesses, the first elected legislative assembly in the American colonies, convened for the first time. This marked the beginning of representative government in what would become the United States. | In 1788, the first justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Return Jonathan Meigs Jr., is appointed to serve as first chief clerk of the county court of common pleas.| In 1935, the first Penguin paperbacks were published, leading to the paperback revolution.

On July 29, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established by the U.S. Congress. | In 1981, Millions of Americans watched Princess Diana marry Prince Charles. | In 1927, the first iron lung was installed at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

On July 28, 1858, fingerprinting was first used for identification. | In 2000, Kathie Lee Gifford exits the U.S. daytime talk show "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee." | In 1933, the first singing telegram was sent to vocalist Rudy Vallee for his birthday.

On July 27, 1789, the U.S. Congress established the Department of State, the first executive department of the U.S. government. | In 1953, the Korean War ends. More than 36,000 Americans lost their lives in action. | In 1940, Bugs Bunny Debuts.

On July 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established the United States Post Office, appointing Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General. This laid the foundation for the modern U.S. Postal Service. | In 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was established. It was originally called the Bureau of Investigation. | In 2000, the Sixth Circuit upheld Van Wert high school's decision in Ohio to ban a student's Marilyn Manson t-shirts, ruling that the school's decision did not violate constitutional rights.

On July 25, 1992, the Summer Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain. The games were the debut of the USA "Dream Team" in basketball — featuring legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. | In 1871, Wilhelm Schneider of Iowa receives the first U.S. patent for the modern carousel. Ohio has its own rich carousel history, including the Merry-Go-Round Museum in Sandusky. | In 1868, the Geauga County courthouse in Chardon burns.

On July 24, 1866, Tennessee becomes the first Confederate state to rejoin the Union. | In 1969, NASA's Apollo 11 safely returned to earth after being the first manned mission to the moon.

On July 23, 1999, Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a U.S. space shuttle mission, leading the crew of STS-93 aboard the Columbia shuttle. | In 1885, Ohio-born President Ulysses S. Grant dies. | In 1904, Charles E. Menches is credited with inventing the ice cream cone at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, revolutionizing how ice cream was served.

On July 22, 1933, American aviator Wiley Post completed the first solo flight around the world, returning to New York after 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes in the air. | In 1796, the city of Cleveland was founded, originally named Cleaveland. | In 1923, presidential candidate Bob Dole was born.

On July 21, 1861, the first Battle of Bull Run was fought in Virginia, marking the first major land battle of the American Civil War. | In 1899, Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois.

On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans ever to land on the moon. Armstrong, of Ohio, became the first person to walk on the moon, famously stating "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." | In 1968, the first Special Olympics Games are held in Chicago. | In 1988, American action film "Die Hard" starring Bruce Willis debuts.

On July 19, 1848, the women's suffrage movement begins in Seneca Falls, New York. Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, it marked the formal start of the suffrage movement in America. | In 1941, Tom and Jerry made their first named appearance in the cartoon The Midnight Snack. Before this, they were known as Jasper and Jinx. | In 1903, Kingsley Taft was born in Cleveland. He would become the 110th justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

On July 18, 1921, U.S. Senator and first astronaut to orbit the earth, John Glenn, is born in Cambridge, Ohio. | In 1947, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower commissions Florence Blanchfield as first woman to hold permanent military rank. | In 1968, Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.

On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California. | In 1821, Spain officially transfers Florida to the United States. | In 1941, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak of 56 consecutive games came to an end in the Yankees vs. Indians game at Cleveland Stadium. This post is for educational purposes only. No endorsement by or affiliation is implied.

On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act was signed into law, establishing a new national capital along the Potomac River. This area would become Washington, D.C., the permanent seat of the U.S. government. | In 1935, the world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City. | In 1951, J.D. Salinger’s novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" is published.

On July 15, 1903, The Ford Motor Company received its first order for a car: a Model A priced at $850, ordered by a dentist in Chicago. This marked the beginning of Ford’s transformation of the automobile industry. | In 2006, Twitter is released to the public. | In 1787, Gustave Swan is born. He would become the 20th justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

On July 14, 1881, Outlaw Billy the Kid (Henry McCarty) was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. This marked the end of one of the most legendary figures of the American Wild West. | In 1798, the Sedition Act was passed by the U.S. Congress, criminalizing “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” against the government. It was part of the Alien and Sedition Acts and was widely criticized for violating the First Amendment. | In 1822, George McIlvane is born. He would become the 49th justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

On July 13, 1787, the Northwest Ordinance was enacted: The U.S. Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, establishing governance for the Northwest Territory and setting a precedent for the creation of new states. It also banned slavery in the territory and guaranteed civil liberties. | In 1960, John F. Kennedy is nominated for President of the United States.

On July 12, 1862, the Medal of Honor was created by the U.S. Congress, becoming the highest military decoration in the United States. | In 1979, the death of disco reached its peak during the "disco demolition" night at Chicago's Comiskey Park. | In 1901, Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox won his 300th game with a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia A's. | In 1960, The Ohio Art Company launched the Etch A Sketch, which has sold more than 100 million units since its debut.

On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton died the next day. | In 1914, Babe Ruth made his Major League Baseball debut with the Boston Red Sox, pitching seven innings for a win over the Cleveland Indians.

On July 10, 1925, the Scopes "Monkey" Trial began in Tennessee, challenging the legality of teaching evolution in public schools. | In 1850, Millard Fillmore became the 13th U.S. President after the death of President Zachary Taylor.

On July 9, 1850, U.S. President Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly after only 16 months in office | The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. This amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved people, and guaranteed them "equal protection under the laws."

On July 8, 1776, the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was given by Colonel John Nixon in Philadelphia.

On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court. This nomination was historic, as she became the first woman to be appointed to the position of Associate Justice.

On July 6, 1785, the Continental Congress of the United States authorized the issuance of a new currency, the U.S. dollar.

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered what would become his most celebrated speech, "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?"