History.com Editors
HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen.
Articles From This Author
Street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolates in Tunisia, igniting the Arab Spring
On December 17, 2010 26-year-old street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolates in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. His dramatic action is considered the start of the Arab Spring, a period of pro-democracy uprisings that reverberated through North Africa and the Middle East. Mohamed ...read more
Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte becomes the first Native American woman to graduate from medical school
On March 18, 1889, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte becomes the first Native American woman to graduate from medical school. She was top of her class at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. As an eight-year-old on Nebraska’s Omaha Reservation, La Flesche experienced a ...read more
Madam C.J. Walker is born
Future entrepreneur, philanthropist and self-made millionaire Madam C.J. Walker is born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana. Walker's parents, sharecroppers who had been enslaved, died when she was seven. Walker eventually left Louisiana and spent her ...read more
“Serial” debuts, inaugurating the podcast boom
The podcast Serial, a spinoff of the long-running radio program This American Life, debuts on October 3, 2014, and quickly becomes a smash hit. Producer Sarah Koenig conceived of the show after she was approached by the attorney Rabia Chaudry, who asked Koenig to investigate the ...read more
The term “global warming” appears for the first time
The term “global warming” appears for the first time in print on August 8, 1975, with the publication of Wallace Smith Broecker's paper “Climatic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” in the journal Science. Five years earlier, in 1970, Broecker, a ...read more
Young Lords occupy Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx
Early on the morning of July 14, 1970, the Young Lords, a predominantly Puerto Rican group of community activists in New York City, storm Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx and barricade themselves inside. The Young Lords claimed the hospital as their own, placing a Puerto Rican ...read more
FDA fully approves the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
On August 23, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approves the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 16 and older, following a manufacturing review and analysis of the company’s expanded clinical trial, which included approximately 44,000 participants ...read more
Proposition 8 is passed in California, banning same-sex marriage
With over 13 million votes cast, California voters approve Proposition 8 on November 4, 2008, amending the state’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Only months earlier, in May 2008, the California Supreme Court had deemed the state’s ban on same-sex marriage ...read more
Kenyan environmentalist and human rights campaigner Wangari Maathai wins Nobel Peace Prize
On October 8, 2004, Kenyan environmental justice organizer Wangari Maathai receives a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace," becoming the first African woman to win the award. Maathai was born to peasant farmers in ...read more
Pluto is demoted
In Prague on August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union votes to demote Pluto from the ninth planet from the Sun to one of dozens of known dwarf planets. The vote followed a week of debate by the IAU, who voted on multiple proposals including one that kept not just ...read more
23-year-old peace activist Rachel Corrie is crushed to death by Israeli bulldozer
An Israeli-owned bulldozer kills 23-year-old American woman Rachel Corrie on March 16, 2003, as she protests a demolition campaign that destroyed over a thousand homes in the Gaza Strip. Following the death of their daughter, Corrie’s parents filed a civil lawsuit against the ...read more
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
The U.S. Supreme Court's 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey reaffirmed a woman's right to an abortion as granted in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. However, the contentious 5-4 decision altered Roe and upheld a number of Pennsylvania abortion ...read more
"Gang of 19" activists occupy Denver intersection to protest inaccessibility on the city’s bus system
On July 5, 1978, a Regional Transportation District (RTD) bus stops at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway in Denver, Colorado. As passengers board, a group of people in wheelchairs position themselves in front of the bus, preventing it from leaving the stop. When a ...read more
Laverne Cox becomes first transgender person to appear on the cover of TIME magazine
On May 29, 2014, Laverne Cox, the transgender actor and advocate best known for her Emmy-winning performance on Orange Is the New Black, appears on the cover of TIME magazine's June 14 issue for their story "The Transgender Tipping Point." The moment is widely cited as a turning ...read more
First rainbow Pride flag premieres at San Francisco parade
On June 25, 1978, activists hoist a vibrant rainbow flag in the midst of the festivities for San Francisco’s Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day parade. According to its creator, Gilbert Baker, the crowd immediately recognized the flat’s significance: “It completely astounded me that ...read more
Earl Warren
Setting the course for civil rights and liberties in the 1950s and ’60s, Earl Warren, the 14th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, dedicated half a century to serving in public office. The former Republican politician and California’s only three-term governor, was appointed ...read more
Mary Kay launches her namesake company
On September 13, 1963, Texas-born entrepreneur Mary Kay Ash launches a cosmetic company in Dallas with her $5,000 life savings and the help of her 20-year-old son Richard Rogers. Mary Kay Inc. would become a cosmetic empire with revenue of more than $3.5 billion and salespeople ...read more
"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" is repealed
On September 20, 2011, the federal government repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a law that had allowed gay people to serve in the U.S. armed forces only if they kept their sexual orientation a secret. “As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about ...read more
The first PFLAG meeting
On March 11, 1973, the first formal meeting of “Parents of Gays,” co-founded by the parents of a gay son, is held in a church in Greenwich Village in New York. In 1982, it became a national organization called “Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,” or PFLAG—the ...read more
Japanese American Fred Korematsu is arrested for resisting internment
On May 30, 1942, Fred Korematsu is arrested in San Leandro, California for resisting internment under President Franklin Roosevelt’s controversial Executive Order 9066, which called for the incarceration of nearly all Japanese Americans in the United States in the wake of Japan’s ...read more
Henry A. Kissinger
Henry Kissinger, the nation’s 56th secretary of state, played a key role in influencing U.S. foreign policy on a global stage. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his part in trying to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War, he gained global fame for his strong, pragmatic ...read more
Robert Hanssen, FBI agent turned Russian spy, is sentenced to life in prison
On May 10, 2002, Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent who intermittently sold state secrets to Russia over the course of two decades, receives his sentencing for espionage: life in prison without the possibility of parole. "I apologize for my behavior. I am shamed by it," said ...read more
Tea Party protest draws thousands to Washington, D.C.
On September 12, 2009, thousands of protesters participate in the “Taxpayer March on Washington,” one of the earliest and biggest Tea Party movement events. Marchers in the nation’s capital clogged streets near the Capitol, railing against President Barack Obama’s healthcare ...read more
Researchers claim to have found signs of Martian life in Antarctic meteorite
On August 6, 1996, NASA and Stanford researchers announce they have found signs of Martian life in a meteorite discovered 12 years earlier in Allan Hills, Antarctica, causing a worldwide sensation. But some viewed the announcement skeptically, and the Martian life connection was ...read more
2,800 mile-long walk for Native American justice concludes in Washington, D.C.
On July 15, 1978, the “Longest Walk”—a 2,800-mile trek for Native American justice that had started with several hundred marchers in California—ends in Washington, D.C., accompanied by thousands of supporters. The intent of the event was to call attention to issues affecting ...read more
UpStairs Lounge arson attack
On June 24, 1973, an arson fire at the UpStairs Lounge, a popular gathering spot for New Orleans' LGBT community in the French Quarter, results in 32 deaths and at least 15 injuries. At the time, it was the deadliest known attack at a gay club in American history. The fire's ...read more
LGBTQ activists hold the first Annual Reminder demonstration in Philadelphia
On July 4, 1965, more than two dozen LGBTQ activists demonstrate in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia in one of the earliest gay rights demonstrations in the United States. The “Reminder” demonstration, held annually through 1969, drew scant mainstream media coverage at ...read more
Arab American autoworkers lead walkout at Chrysler’s Dodge Main plant
On November 28, 1973, approximately 2,000 Detroit auto workers, led by Arab Americans, walk off their jobs at Chrysler’s Dodge Main plant, demanding that the leadership of their union, the United Auto Workers (UAW), divest from Israel. The strike, which was organized by the ...read more
George A. Kasem of California becomes first Arab American member of Congress
On January 3, 1959, George A. Kasem takes office in the U.S. House of Representatives for California’s 25th District, making history as the first Arab American Congressperson. Kasem, who is of Lebanese descent, was born in Oklahoma and raised in Los Angeles. He ran as a ...read more
James Abourezk of South Dakota becomes first Arab American to serve in U.S. Senate
On January 3, 1973, James Abourezk, a Congressperson representing South Dakota’s 2nd District, takes office in his newly elected role in the U.S. Senate, once again representing his home state. Abourezk, who is of Lebanese descent, was the first Arab American to ever serve in the ...read more
"The Prophet," by Lebanese-American poet-philosopher Kahlil Gibran, is published
On September 23, 1923, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, a Romantic book of prose poetry centered on a prophet who shares wisdom about family, work, death, love and freedom, is published. It sold about 1,200 copies in its first year with little fanfare, but gradually gained readers by ...read more
Gentlemen’s Agreement
The Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907-08 was an informal arrangement between the United States and Japan to ease growing tensions between the two countries, particularly pertaining to immigration. It called for U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to force San Francisco to repeal its ...read more
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) is an annual celebration that recognizes the historical and cultural contributions of individuals and groups of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to the United States. The AAPI umbrella term includes ...read more
"Shuffle Along," the first major African American hit musical, premieres on Broadway
Deeply in debt and relegated to a shabby theater, the musical Shuffle Along debuts at the Sixty-Third Street Music Hall on May 23, 1921. The odds are stacked against the revue-style show, written and performed by African Americans, but it will run for over a year, making it the ...read more
Arab American Heritage Month 2022
Celebrating the rich and diverse culture and contributions of the diverse population of Arab Americans, National Arab American Heritage Month has been observed during the month of April since 2017. An estimated 3.7 million Americans have Arab roots, according to the Arab ...read more
See Photos of the Wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance
For more than a century, the location of Endurance—the ship which carried Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew on a doomed expedition to Antarctica before becoming trapped in the ice and ultimately sinking beneath it—had been a mystery. That changed on March 9, 2022, with the ...read more
Harlem Cultural Festival begins
On the afternoon of June 29, 1969, a crowd consisting mostly of Black people from the nearby area packs Harlem’s Mt. Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). Over the course of this afternoon and the next five Sunday afternoons, Black performers from many different genres and eras ...read more
Mirabal sisters assassinated by Trujillo regime
On November 25, 1960, a car carrying three Dominican political dissidents, the Mirabal sisters, is stopped as they travel to visit a prison where two of their husbands are being held. Members of the Dominican Republic’s secret police, including the alleged “right-hand man” of ...read more
98 people die in Surfside condo collapse
Early in the morning on June 24, 2021, 98 people die when a 12-story, beachfront condominium building collapses in Surfside, Florida, near Miami. The disaster is one of the worst of its kind in U.S. history. Responders pulled dozens of survivors from the 40-year-old Champlain ...read more
More than 1,000 schoolchildren protest segregation in the Children's Crusade
On May 2, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, more than 1,000 Black school children march through the city in a demonstration against segregation. The goal of the non-violent demonstration, which became known as the "Children’s Crusade" and "Children’s March," was to provoke the city’s ...read more
Universal Studios fire
On June 1, 2008, a massive, early morning fire at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and studio backlot in Universal City, California destroys a trove of irreplaceable recordings by some of the greatest musical artists in American history, thousands of archived digital ...read more
Pennsylvania
One of the original 13 colonies, Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a haven for his fellow Quakers. Pennsylvania’s capital, Philadelphia, was the site of the first and second Continental Congresses in 1774 and 1775, the latter of which produced the Declaration of ...read more
Lunar New Year 2022
Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year among East and Southeast Asian cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean communities, among others. The New Year celebration is usually celebrated for multiple days—not just one day as in the Gregorian ...read more
Greensboro sit-in begins
On February 1, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina, four Black college students spark a nationwide civil rights movement by refusing to leave a “whites-only” lunch counter at a popular retail store after they are denied service. The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State ...read more
Journalist Daniel Pearl is murdered
On February 1, 2002, 38-year-old American journalist Daniel Pearl, the Southeast Asia bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, is murdered by a terror group in Pakistan. Weeks later, a videotape of Pearl’s beheading was released, shocking millions and underscoring the threat of ...read more
New Jersey
One of the original 13 colonies, New Jersey was an important battleground during the American Revolution. New Jersey is located in the heart of the bustling Atlantic corridor, nestled between New York and Pennsylvania, and it has the highest population density of any state. New ...read more
Amadou Diallo killed by police
Plainclothes officers of the New York Police Department’s Street Crime Unit fire 41 shots at unarmed Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea, killing him on the steps of his apartment building shortly after midnight on February 4, 1999. Diallo’s killing sparked a public outcry ...read more
Kamala Harris becomes first female vice president
Kamala Harris makes history when she is sworn in as the 49th U.S. vice president on January 20, 2021, becoming the first woman, the first Black American and the first Asian American to occupy the office. When Harris was chosen as Joe Biden’s running mate in August 2020, the ...read more
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) emerged as one of the greatest orators and most influential statesmen in the United States in the early 19th century. As an attorney, he argued several landmark cases before the Supreme Court that expanded the power of the federal government. A ...read more
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), the U.S. congressman from Nebraska, three-time presidential nominee and secretary of state, emerged near the end of the 19th century as a leading voice in the Democratic Party and the nation. A devout Protestant, his populist rhetoric and ...read more