Armored, all-terrain battle vehicles, AKA Tanks, were first created by the British Landship Committee in 1915, for trench warfare in World War I. Despite being bulky, slow and frequently stuck, the tank ushered in a new era of moveable...

In the first century AD, Celtic Iceni queen Boudica leads an insurgency against Roman Empire forces as they conquer the British Isles. As dictated in her husband Prasutagus’s will, he bequeaths his kingdom to their two daughters and the...

1863 - Seizing upon the Union Army victory at Antietam, Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves held in the rebellious Confederate states. This demonstration of the President’s executive war powers...

In order to fund the American Revolutionary War, The Continental Congress created a paper currency called the “Continental”. It’s value plummeted after the war leading to the coinage act of 1792, which created the US Dollar in the form...

The Senate tradition of the filibuster is a political action that allows lawmakers to prolong debate over a proposed piece of legislation. The goal of the filibuster is to delay or prevent a vote on the proposal. Senators can speak for...

1621 - Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag natives share an autumn harvest feast; this is believed to be the first Thanksgiving in the colonies. Despite objections, George Washington issues a thanksgiving proclamation to celebrate American...

1787 - Delegates at the Constitutional Convention are divided on how slaves will be counted for the purpose of representation in the United States Congress. Northern states don’t want slaves to be counted at all, while Southern states...

December 8, 1941 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by...

1924 - Lubaantun, Belize - Anna Mitchell-Hedges discovers a Crystal Skull under a collapsed altar inside a Mayan temple. It becomes known as the Skull of Doom, when Mayans tell Anna that the skull was used by the High Priests to curse...

Aaron Burr journeys into the Western frontier after fatally wounding his political rival, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel. His political career in ruins, Burr leases 40,000 acres, known as the Bastrop Tract, from the Spanish government....

June 2, 1899 - Wilcox, Wyoming - A group of outlaws rob Union Pacific Number 1 of its loot; a haul worth an estimated thirty to fifty thousand dollars. Union Pacific Railroad dispatches its own specially outfitted Number 4 train to...

In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the California government pleads with Franklin D. Roosevelt to address what they call, the ‘Japanese Problem’. FDR signs Executive Order 9066, authorizing the relocation of over 110,000 Japanese...

The year: 1835. The dispute: Territorial claim of the Toledo Strip. Toledo holds geographical importance as a port city at the base of the Maumee Bay. The conflict arises out of differing interpretations of the boundary lines set by the...

John Adams recruits Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence at the Second Continental Congress. Jefferson writes, Adams edits. After the American Revolution, their friendship flourishes in the courts of Europe, where...

Duct Tape, or Duck Tape? Whatever you would like to call it... it serves its purpose. Discover the history of Duct Tape.

A harmless parlor game or a gateway to another world? Discover the history of the Ouija Board.

VELCRO® Brand Fastener, a novelty fastener... or a genius invention?

At the end of World War II, Korea is divided into two zones along the 38th parallel; with Soviets in the North and Americans in the South. 1948 - The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is established in the North with Kim Il-sung as...

On January 28, 1986, seven astronauts boarded the Space Shuttle Challenger on a mission into low earth orbit. Seventy three seconds later, the shuttle began to break apart, resulting in the death of the entire crew. We honor the courage...

When William Henry Harrison dies in office in 1841, John Tyler, his vice president, assumes the presidency; setting a precedent for future presidential successions based on what would be called the ‘Tyler precedent’. November 22, 1963 -...

One Minute History. Ole Kirk Kristiansen starts a woodworking business in Billund, Denmark. The company re-names itself “LEGO” from the Danish word “Leg Godt” meaning “Play Well”. Inspired by Kiddicraft Building Bricks, the company buys...

Witness Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama take...

Born into slavery, Robert Smalls earned the trust of his captors on the waterways of Charleston, South Carolina. HIred as pilot and chief crewman of an armed Confederate transport named the Planter, his meager wage was not enough to buy...

March 5, 1770 - Boston - Tensions are high in the wake of the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. British soldiers of the 29th Regiment respond to a crowd of colonists who have gathered to confront an English officer accused of not paying...