In Washington, D.C. on June 9, 1893, the interior of ramshackle Ford’s Theatre collapses, causing the deaths of 23 people. The building—where President Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865—houses hundreds of clerks employed by the War Department’s Records and Pensions Division. An investigation determines the cause of the tragedy was a pier that had given way during excavation in the basement for an electric-light plant.
Rescue workers quickly arrived on the scene, toiling “like demons” to search for victims and to remove debris. Clerks recalled screams of co-workers. One witness said Civil War veterans who worked in the building were the “wildest and craziest.” In a panic, some employees jumped from the second floor, using an awning to brace their fall.
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” […]
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed […]
On November 24, 1974, the fossils of an early human ancestor are discovered in northeastern Ethiopia. Soon nicknamed “Lucy,” the remains showed that human species were walking upright over three millions years ago. The groundbreaking discovery […]
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