On This Day in History

On This Day, February 12th in 1988 – Two Soviet warships bump two U.S. navy vessels in waters claimed by the Soviet Union. The incident was an indication that even though the Cold War was […]

On This Day, February 10th, 1962 – Francis Gary Powers, an American who was shot down over the Soviet Union while flying a CIA spy plane in 1960, is released by the Soviets in exchange […]

On This Day, February 9th, 1950 – During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican-Wisconsin) claims that he has a list with the names of over 200 members of the Department of […]

On this day, February 8th in 1918, the United States Army resumes publication of the military newsletter Stars and Stripes. Begun as a newsletter for Union soldiers during the American Civil War, Stars and Stripes was published weekly […]

In London on this day February 7th in 1775, Benjamin Franklin publishes An Imaginary Speech in defense of American courage. Franklin’s speech was intended to counter an unnamed officer’s comments to Parliament that the British […]

On This Day, February 6th,  1778 – During the American War for Independence, representatives from the United States and France sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris. The […]

On This Day, February 5th in 1917, With more than a two-thirds majority, Congress overrides President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the previous week and passes the Immigration Act. The law required a literacy test for […]

Facing a surprise British counterassault in the bitter cold and with a snowstorm approaching, American commander Major General William Heath and his army of 6,000 abandon their siege on Fort Independence, in Bronx County, New […]

  John Burgoyne, poet, playwright and British general, submits an ill-fated plan to the British government to isolate New England from the other colonies on this day in 1777. Burgoyne’s plan revolved around an invasion […]