This Day in History

The Boxer Rebellion in China officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol.

7 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The Boxer Rebellion, more properly called the Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in Chinese, was a violent anti-imperialism, anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous Fists of Harmony” , between 1898 and 1901

Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.

6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The Plymouth Company under the guidance of Sir Ferdinando Gorges covered the more northern area, including present-day New England, and established the Sagadahoc Colony in 1607 in present-day Maine

Great Fire of London ends: 10,000 buildings including St. Pauls Cathedral are destroyed, but only 16 people died

5 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall. It threatened, but did not reach, the aristocratic district of Westminster, Charles II's Palace of Whitehall, and most of the suburban slums

In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions

4 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

is a working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous — particularly by industrialized nations with high standards of living. However sweatshops may exist in any country. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for unusually low pay

Scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms

3 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness. 5 main points of Dalton's atomic theory 1. The atoms of a given element are different from those of any other element; the atoms of different elements can be dist

Act of Union 1800 merges Great Britain and Ireland to form the UK

1 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The Act of Union 1800 is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector

31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach

The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published

28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Throughout its early years much emphasis was placed on reports of what was going on at the U.S. Patent Office. It also reported on a broad range of inventions including perpetual motion machines

The New York Sun perpetrates the Great Moon Hoax

25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

a series of six articles that were published in the New York Sun beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, perhaps the best-known astronomer of his time

Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic as

24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. They were never rebuilt, although surviving townspeople and probably looters did undertake extensive salvage work after the destructions

Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by employee Vincenzo Peruggia

22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

However, where the Mona Lisa should have stood, he found four iron pegs. Beroud contacted the section head of the guards, who thought the painting was being photographed for marketing purposes...

The American Bar Association is founded.

21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over

20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

(1861–1865), among other names also known as the War Between the States, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy"

The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Ohio.

19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Cars competing in this and related events are unpowered, relying completely upon gravity to move.

Jimi Hendrix plays the unofficial last day of the Woodstock festival.

18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

uring the sometimes rainy weekend, thirty-two acts performed outdoors in front of 500,000 concert-goers. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most pivotal moments in popular music history and was listed among Rolling Stone's 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll

The first CDs are released in Germany

17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

The first edition of Sports Illustrated is published

16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

It now has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the United States. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice.

Tivoli Gardens opens in Denmark.

15 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

a famous amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is the second oldest amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg. Tivoli is currently the 3rd most visited in Europe.

Japans first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint.

14 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time.

13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Johnson was a United States Marine in the late 1910s. She became the first woman to enlist in the Marine Corps on August 13, 1917, when she joined the Marine Corps Reserve during World War I. Johnson was the first of 305 women to enlist in the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve that day

Candid Camera makes its television debut

10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone.

Smokey Bear is introduced to the US

9 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear to educate the public on the dangers of forest fires. Smokey Bear's message, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," was created in 1944 by the Ad Council.

Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.

8 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

the mimeograph or stencil duplicator (often abbreviated to mimeo) is a low-cost printing press that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper.

Construction of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) in Florence begins.

7 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. The cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence.

Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat

6 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping. Houdini continued to perform the escape until his death in 1926. Despite two Hollywood movies depicting Houdini dying in the Torture Cell, the escape had nothing to do with his demise.