On This Day in History

Abraham Lincoln Nominated. On This Day, May 18th, 1860 a one-time U.S. representative from Illinois, Lincoln is nominated for the U.S. presidency by the Republican National Convention meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine […]

On this day, May 17th, in 1769, George Washington launches a legislative salvo at Great Britain’s fiscal and judicial attempts to maintain its control over the American colonies. With his sights set on protesting the […]

On this day in, May 16th, 1777, British-born Georgia Patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence Button Gwinnett receives a bullet wound in a duel with his political rival, Georgia city Whig Lachlan McIntosh. […]

On this day, May 15th,  in 1781, a 352-man-strong Loyalist force commanded by Major Andrew Maxwell surrenders a fortified frame building, named Fort Granby, to a Patriot force in South Carolina. Maxwell is better remembered […]

On  this day, May 14th, in 1804. a year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the […]

On May 13, 1846, In a dispute over Texas, President James K. Polk declares war on Mexico, when the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly votes in favor of  hist request. Under the threat of war, the United States […]

On this day May 11th, in 1776, in a letter addressed to the president of Congress, American General George Washington recommends raising companies of German-Americans to use against the German mercenaries anticipated to fight for […]

On this day May 10th, in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. […]

On this day, May 10th, in 1775, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold lead a successful attack on Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, while the Second Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Congress faced […]

On this day, May 9th,  in 1791, Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first American secular composer, dies suddenly of a seizure in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hopkinson was born to an elite […]