This Week In American History

November 16 1907 Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory collectively entered the United States as Oklahoma, the 46th state. Oklahoma, with a name derived from the Choctaw Indian words okla, meaning...

November 9 1965 The biggest power failure in U.S. history occurred as all of New York state, portions of seven neighboring states, and parts of eastern Canada are plunged into darkness....

November 2 1947 In one of the greatest upsets in presidential election history, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman defeated his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, by...

October 26 1881 The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday faced off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. While Wyatt Earp and...

October 19 1781 Americans defeat the British at Yorktown, Virginia when British General Lord Cornwallis, hopelessly trapped, surrendered 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing...

October 12 1979 Future Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers at the San Diego Clippers. Johnson scored 26 points during the Lakers 103-102...

October 5 1947 President Harry Truman made the first-ever televised presidential address from the White House, asking Americans to cut back on their use of grain in order to help starving Europeans....

September 28 1781 General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles...

September 21 1780 During the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold met with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British, in return for the...

September 14 1814 Francis Scott Key penned the poem, “The Defence of Fort M'Henry,” after he witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key was...

August 31 1886 A 7.6 magnitude earthquake, the largest in southeastern US, hits Charleston, South Carolina, leaving more than 100 people dead and hundreds of buildings destroyed. The initial shock...

August 24 1873 William Henry Jackson became the first person to photograph Colorado’s elusive Mount of the Holy Cross, a natural cross of snow that lay hidden high in the...