On May 4, 1886, the Haymarket Affair, a watershed event marked by ideological conflict and explosive violence, unfolded in Chicago, profoundly shaping America’s political and labor landscape. Occurring amid escalating nationwide tensions driven by a determined campaign for an eight-hour workday, this incident encapsulated…
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On May 3, 1802, the City of Washington—the urban core of the newly established District of Columbia—was formally incorporated by act of Congress, inaugurating a mayor-council form of government and dissolving the three-man Board of Commissioners that had governed the district since its inception.…
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On May 2, 1611, in the heart of London, England, printer Robert Barker released the first edition of what would become one of the most influential and widely read books in the English-speaking world: the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. Commissioned by…
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On April 30, 1803, one of the most significant land deals in history was finalized in Paris, France. For a sum of $15 million, the United States purchased the vast Louisiana Territory from France, instantly doubling the size of the young American republic and…
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On April 29, 2015, Major League Baseball staged a spectacle unlike any it had seen before—or has seen since. Inside Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards, two professional teams, the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox, went through the timeless motions of America’s…
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On the night of April 28, 1881, one of the most legendary figures of the American West, Billy the Kid, staged his most daring feat: a violent and dramatic escape from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico. Already infamous as an outlaw…
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In April 1953, as aerial battles continued to rage fiercely over Korea, the United States military launched an ambitious psychological warfare campaign designed to destabilize enemy morale and gain a strategic intelligence advantage. This unusual operation, codenamed Operation Moolah, was aimed squarely at communist…
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In the early hours of April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history unfolded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Reactor No. 4 exploded during a late-night safety test gone awry, releasing massive amounts of…
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The morning of April 26, 1607, broke clear and bright over the Atlantic. After 144 days at sea, the weary passengers of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery caught sight of the low, sandy shore of what would become Virginia. With cautious excitement, they…
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On April 25, 1901, New York became the first state in the United States to require license plates for automobiles—an unassuming administrative milestone that marked the beginning of a new era in transportation regulation. As motor vehicles began their ascent from elite novelty to…
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