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.…
Read MoreOn May 3, 1957, Walter O’Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, a team deeply loved by their fans, made a shocking decision. They were leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles. For Brooklynites, the Dodgers were more than just a baseball team; they were a…
Read MoreOn 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…
Read MoreOn May 2, 1863, during the American Civil War, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, one of the most renowned figures in the Confederate army, met his fate on the battlefield in a turn of events that would echo through battlefields across the United States. The…
Read MoreOn May 1, 1931, amidst a sea of excitement and anticipation, the iconic Empire State Building was dedicated in New York City, marking a monumental moment in the city’s history. The dedication ceremony was a culmination of years of planning, engineering marvels, and the sheer will…
Read MoreOn 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…
Read MoreOn April 30, 1492, Christopher Columbus, an ambitious navigator from Genoa, was named admiral of the ocean, viceroy, and governor of any territory he claimed for Spain. The move by the two Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, launched…
Read MoreOn 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…
Read MoreThe Los Angeles riots of 1992 were a searing eruption of pent-up anger and frustration that shook the city to its core. Triggered by the acquittal of four white police officers charged with the brutal beating of Rodney King, a black motorist, the riots…
Read MoreOn 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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