Today in American History 
Historical Events
Joseph Smith Ordained
1829 Joseph Smith ordained by John the Baptist according to Joseph Smith
Emigrants Crossing the Plains
1841 First emigrant wagon train to make it to California leaves Independence, Missouri on a 1,730 mile journey over the Sierra Nevada [1]
- 1862 -May 17] Battle of Princeton, West Virginia
- 1862 Battle of Drewry's Bluff (Fort Darling), Virginia
- 1862 Confederate ship Alabama launched as the Enrica at Birkenhead, England, where she had been built in secret
General Order No. 28
1862 Major General Benjamin Butler issues order (New Orleans) that Confederate women abusing Union soldiers be treated as whores
- 1864 Battle of New Market, Virginia
National Woman Suffrage Association
1869 National Woman Suffrage Association forms in New York, founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- 1916 Claiming that the USA must act to quell dangerous disorder, the government orders US Marines to land in Santo Domingo; the American occupation will continue until 1924
- 1918 Washington Senator Walter Johnson pitches 1-0, 18 inning game
- 1929 Fire in X-ray film stock kills 125 at Crile Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio)
O'Neil's Negro League Debut
1938 Buck O'Neil makes his debut playing for the Negro league baseball team Kansas City Monarchs at Ruppert Stadium, Kansas City
- 1940 Richard and Maurice McDonald open the 1st McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California
DiMaggio Starts Streak
1941 New York Yankees Joe DiMaggio starts 56-game hitting streak, with the only RBI, in a 13-1 loss to visiting Chicago White Sox
D-Day Planning
1944 Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, Winston Churchill and King George VI discuss the plan for D-Day
73rd Preakness
1948 73rd Preakness: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Citation, 2nd leg of successful Triple Crown
- 1952 Detroit Tiger Virgil Trucks no-hits Washington Senators, 1-0
Marciano KOs Walcott
1953 In his first world heavyweight title defense, Rocky Marciano KOs former champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 1st round at Chicago Stadium
- 1955 Vienna Treaty: Britain, France, US & USSR restore Austria's independence
Billy Graham's Crusade
1957 Evangelist Billy Graham launches his "crusade" in front of 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden in NYC
5th Grammy Awards
1963 5th Grammy Awards: "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"; Robert Goulet win
Music History
1963 Folksinging trio Peter, Paul & Mary win their 1st Grammy for cover version of Pete Seeger's song "If I Had a Hammer"
- 1967 "In re Gault", US Supreme Court rules juveniles accused of crimes should be given same legal rights as adults
Paul Meets Linda
1967 Paul McCartney meets his future wife, American photographer Linda Eastman
- 1968 1st AL game played in Milwaukee, is a 4-2 California win against Chicago
- 1968 Paul McCartney & John Lennon appear on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", to promote Apple Records, Joe Garagiola is substitute host
- 1968 Tornado strikes Jonesboro, Arkansas at 10 PM, killing 36
70, Girls, 70
1971 John Kander and Fred Ebbs' musical "70, Girls, 70", starring Hans Conried and Mildred Natwick, closes at Broadhurst Theater, NYC, after 35 performances
Assassination Attempt
1972 Assassination attempt on US Governor George Wallace of Alabama by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, Maryland
Sports History
1973 California Angel Nolan Ryan's 1st no-hitter beats KC Royals, 3-0
All Those Years Ago
1981 George Harrison releases single "All Those Years Ago" in UK: the song was a tribute to John Lennon, and featured Ringo Starr on drums, and Paul and Linda McCartney on backing vocals [1]
Film & TV History
1987 Last episode of "The Late Show with Joan Rivers" after the host is fired by the Fox network
Film & TV History
1988 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams & Tracey Ullman
Carrie
1988 Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford's musical "Carrie", based on Stephen King's novel, closes at Virginia Theater, NYC, after 5 performances
Sports History
1991 US President George H. W. Bush takes Queen Elizabeth to Oakland A's-Baltimore Oriole game
- 1993 Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas opens
- 1993 Montreal Expo retires their 1st number, #10 for Rusty Staub
- 1999 124th Preakness: Chris Antley wins aboard Charismatic for the second leg of an unsuccessful Triple Crown campaign
Bowling for Columbine
2002 "Bowling for Columbine", a documentary directed by Michael Moore has its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival
Shrek 2
2004 "Shrek 2" directed Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury, with voices by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz premieres at the Cannes Film Festival
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2005 "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith", directed by George Lucas, starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman, premieres at the Cannes Film Festival
Academy of Country Music Awards
2007 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood & Brad Paisley win
Sports History
2007 Jerry Sloan leads the Utah Jazz to the Western Conference finals with a win over the Golden State Warriors
- 2008 California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
Farrah's Story
2009 "Farrah's Story" documentary following Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer airs on NBC in the US
PGA Players Championship
2011 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: K. J. Choi of South Korea defeats David Toms on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win $1.71 million winner's cheque
Event of Interest
2015 Carl Icahn invests $100 million in Lyft, a ride-sharing service
- 2019 Alabama passes law banning abortion in almost all cases including rape or incest
Billboard Music Awards
2022 29th Billboard Music Awards: Olivia Rodrigo wins 7; Drake wins 5; Taylor Swift and BTS also win
Cover Model Martha Stewart
2023 Martha Stewart is Sports Illustrated oldest-ever cover model at 81, appearing as part of its swimsuit issue [1]
American History Timeline
Famous Birthdays
- 1749 Levi Lincoln, Sr., American revolutionary, statesman, politician, and acting Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1820)
- 1802 Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, Major General (Confederate Army), (d. 1888)
- 1819 Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, American lawyer, politician, and Major General (Union Army), born in Russellville, Kentucky (d. 1893)
- 1830 Laurence Simmons Baker, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1907)
- 1856 (Lyman) L. Frank Baum, American children's book author (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), born in Chittenango, New York (d. 1919)
- 1889 Bessie Abramowitz Hillman, Russian-American labor leader and founder of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, born in Linoveh, Russia (d. 1970)
- 1891 Nipo T. Strongheart, Native American activist, lecturer and film consultant (Pony Soldier), born in Yakima, Washington (d. 1966)
- 1895 Charles Lamont, American actor and director (Abbott & Costello films), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1993)
- 1904 Clifton Fadiman, American editor, radio and TV host (Information, Please!; Quiz Kids), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1999)
- 1905 Joseph Cotten, American actor (Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Airport 77, Hearse), born in Petersburg, Virginia (d. 1994)
- 1915 Bill Williams [Herman Wilhelm Katt], American actor (The Adventures of Kit Carson; Date With the Angels), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)
- 1924 Ursula Thiess [Schmidt], German actress (Monsoon, Bengal Brigade, Americano), born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 2010)
- 1929 Frank Evans Heart, American computer engineer (worked on first routing computer for ARPANET, the Internet's predecessor), born in the Bronx, New York (d. 2018)
- 1931 Ken Venturi, American golfer, broadcaster (US Open 1964), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2013)
- 1935 Don Bragg, American pole vaulter (Olympic gold, 1960), born in Penns Grove, New Jersey (d. 2019)
- 1936 Wavy Gravy, American clown and activist
Madeleine Albright (1937-2022)
American diplomat (UN Delegate, 1993-97), and 1st female US Secretary of State (1997-2001), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
- 1940 Lainie Kazan [Levine], American stage and screen singer and actress (Lust in the Dust; Beaches: My Big Fat Greek Wedding), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1940 Paul Ryan Rudd, American stage and screen actor, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2010)
- 1940 Roger Ailes, American TV executive and CEO of Fox News (1996-2016), born in Warren, Ohio (d. 2017)
- 1941 K. T. Oslin, American country singer (80's Ladies), born in Crossett, Arkansas (d. 2020)
- 1944 Bill Alter, Missouri State Senator
- 1945 Jerry Quarry, American boxer (famous bouts v world champions Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton), born in Bakersfield, California (d. 1999)
- 1949 Frank L Culbertson Jr, American US Navy officer and NASA astronaut (STS-38), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1950 Nicholas Hammond, American actor (The Amazing Spider-Man), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1951 Frank Wilczek, American Physicist (2004 Nobel Prize), born in Mineola, New York
- 1952 Chazz Palminteri, American actor (The Usual Suspects, Bronx Tale), born in The Bronx, New York
- 1952 David Brandon, American businessman (Toys "R" Us, Domino's Pizza), born in Dearborn, Michigan
George Brett (71st Birthday)
1953 American Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman (13 x MLB All Star; World Series 1985; AL MVP 1980; KC Royals), born in Glen Dale, West Virginia
- 1954 Robert P. Harrison, American thinker
- 1955 Lee Horsley, American actor (Nero Wolfe, Matt Houston), born in Muleshoe, Texas
- 1956 Dan Patrick, American sportscaster
- 1957 Kevin Von Erich, American professional wrestler
- 1958 Ron Simmons, American professional wrestler
- 1960 Rob Bowman, American film director
- 1961 Melle Mel [Melvin Glover], American rapper (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five), born in The Bronx, New York
- 1963 Grant Herslov, actor (Wayne-Spencer, Under One Roof), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1965 Jeff Rochlin, American actor (Cutting Class, Splitz, Taps), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1967 John Smoltz, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (8 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1995; NL Cy Young Award 1996; Atlanta Braves), born in Warren, Michigan
- 1968 Seth Putnam, American hard-core punk vocalist and songwriter, born in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 2011)
Emmitt Smith (55th Birthday)
1969 American College/Pro Football HOF running back (Uni of Florida; Super Bowl 1992, 93 [MVP], 95; NFL MVP 1993; 3 x NFL rushing leader; Dallas Cowboys), born in Pensacola, Florida
- 1970 Desmond Howard, College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver (Heisman Trophy 1991, U of Michigan; Super Bowl MVP 1996, Green Bay Packers), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- 1970 Prince Be [Attrell Cordes], American rapper (PM Dawn), born in Jersey City (d. 2016)
- 1970 Rod Smith, Texarkana, Arkansas, American NFL wide receiver (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32)
- 1971 Phil Pfister, American strength athlete
- 1973 Suzannah Bianco, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-alt-96), born in San Jose, California
- 1974 Jennifer Rizzotti, Basketball Hall of Fame point guard (Uni of Connecticut) and coach (George Washington), born in White Plains, New York
Ray Lewis (49th Birthday)
1975 American Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker (13 × Pro Bowl; Super Bowl MVP 2000; Baltimore Ravens), born in Bartow, Florida
- 1978 Amy Chow, American gymnast (Olympics-gold/silver, 1996), born in San Jose, California
David Krumholtz (46th Birthday)
1978 American actor (Numb3rs; Harold and Kumar films), born in New York City
- 1978 Krissy Taylor, American model, born in Miami, Florida (d. 1995)
- 1980 Rocky Marquette, American actor
- 1981 Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
- 1982 Alex Breckenridge, American actress
- 1982 Jessica Sutta, American dancer, singer-songwriter, and actress (The Pussycat Dolls), born in Miami, Florida
- 1983 Devin Bronson, American guitarist and songwriter (Avril Lavigne), born in Seattle, Washington
- 1986 Kyle Loza, Freestyle Motocross Rider, born in Orange County, California
Famous Weddings
Martin Scorsese
1965 Director Martin Scorsese (22) weds Laraine Brennan in New York
Jensen Ackles
2010 Actress and model Danneel Harris (33) weds actor Jensen Ackles (34) at the Rosewood Crescent Court Hotel in Dallas, Texas
Ariana Grande
2021 American pop singer Ariana Grande (28) weds American realtor Dalton Gomez (25) at home in Montecito, California; divorce in 2023
Travis Barker
2022 Kourtney Kardashian and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker marry in Santa Barbara, for real, shortly after they married in Las Vegas illegally without a licence
Famous Deaths
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
American poet (Collected Poems), dies of nephritis at 55
- 1945 Major Courtney, US medal of honor marine, dies in battle of Sugar Loaf
- 1948 Edward Flanagan, Irish-American Catholic priest and founder of Boys Town, dies of a heart attack at 61
- 1954 William March, American writer (Company K), dies at 60
- 1966 Kathryn Forbes, American short story writer (mama's bank account), dies at 58
- 1967 Edward Hopper, American painter (House by Railroad), dies at 84
- 1971 Donald F. Duncan Sr., American entrepreneur (Duncan Toys Company), dies at 78
- 1971 Goose Goslin, American Baseball HOF left fielder (World Series 1924 Washington Sens, 1935 Detroit Tigers; AL batting champion 1928; MLB All Star 1936), dies at 70
- 1976 Samuel Eliot Morison, American historian (Admiral of the Ocean Sea), dies at 88
- 1979 Curtis Stevens, American bobsledder (Olympic gold 2-man [with brother Hubert] 1932), dies at 80
- 1983 James Van Der Zee, African-American photographer, dies at 96
- 1984 Francis Schaeffer, American theologian, philosopher, and pastor (b. 1912)
- 1986 Theodore H. White, American journalist (Making of President, Pulitzer Prize1962), dies at 71
- 1987 John Baur, American museum director and author (American Paintings in 19th Century), dies at 78
- 1987 Wynne Gibson, American actress (Night After Night, Aggie Appleby), dies at 88
- 1988 Andrew Duggan, American character actor (Secret War of Harry Frigg, Winds of War), dies of cancer at 64
- 1989 Johnny Green, American singer (Body and Soul) and film score composer who won 5 Academy Awards, dies at 80
- 1991 Lawrence "Bud" Freeman, American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and composer ("The Eel"; "Zen Is When"), dies of cancer at 84
- 1991 Reno Browne, American Western actress, dies at 70
- 1992 Barbara Lee, American pop singer (Chiffons - He's So Fine; Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?), dies at 44
- 1992 Robert Morris Page, American physicist who helped develop and refine radar technology, dies of heart failure at 88 [1]
- 1994 Royal Dano, American actor (Red Badge of Courage, Cocaine Wars, House II), dies of a heart attack at 71
- 1995 Perry Lederman, American folk and blues singer and guitarist, dies at 52
- 1996 Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)
- 1996 George Tindley, American soul singer and songwriter, dies at 58
- 1998 Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
- 1998 John Hawkes, American writer (2nd Skin), dies at 72
June Carter Cash (1929-2003)
American Grammy Award-winning country singer (The Carter Family; Johnny Cash Show), songwriter ("Ring of Fire"), and actress, dies from complications after heart valve replacement surgery at 73
- 2007 Jerry Falwell, American TV evangelist, founder of Liberty University, dies at 73
- 2007 Yolanda King, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. (b. 1955)
- 2008 Alexander Courage, American composer of original Star Trek theme, dies at 88
- 2008 Walt Dickerson, American jazz vibraphone player, and composer ("To My Queen"), dies of cardiac arrest at 80 [1]
- 2008 Willis Lamb, American physicist (Nobel 1955), dies at 94
- 2009 Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and smooth jazz bassist, dies from the effects of cancer at 44
- 2010 Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli Bible scholar, dies at 81
- 2011 Bob Flannigan, American jazz singer (The Four Freshmen), dies at 84
- 2012 Jean Craighead George, American writer (Julie of the Wolves), dies at 92
- 2015 Bob Hopkins, American basketball forward and coach (Syracuse Nationals; Seattle SuperSonics), dies of heart and kidney failure at 80
- 2015 Garo Yepremian, American NFL place kicker (Miami Dolphins), dies at 70
- 2020 Fred Willard, American comedian and actor (Best In Show, Everyone Loves Raymond), dies at 86
- 2021 Fred Martinelli, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Ashland University 1959-93), dies at 92
Abraham Lincoln
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Frederick Douglass
George Washington
Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas Edison