Every date on the calendar carries a piece of the American story — battles won, documents signed, inventions unveiled, and lives that changed the course of a nation. Stop by each day for the moments that made this date matter.
Pick a month to walk through its anniversaries, day by day.
The Battle of Port Gibson in 1863 marked a pivotal Union victory, giving Ulysses S. Grant momentum in his Vicksburg campaign and shifting control of the Mississippi River.
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By fall 1793, about 5,000 people had died in the nation's temporary capital, and President Washington and other federal officials fled the city as deaths hit 100 a day.
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At 17 years and 257 days old in 1945, Brown homered off Preacher Roe in an 11-1 Dodgers loss, setting a record that still stands more than 80 years later.
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On August 19, 1909, Louis Schwitzer won a five-mile race at 57.4 mph, but the crushed-rock track broke apart and killed drivers, mechanics, and spectators.
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When John White reached Roanoke in 1590, all 100 colonists—including his granddaughter Virginia Dare—were gone, with only the word "CROATOAN" carved into a post.
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For 119 years, 17 attempts failed and at least seven balloonists died before three Americans crossed in six days on hot dogs and canned sardines in 1978.
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On August 14, 1935, FDR signed the law creating old-age benefits funded by payroll taxes, born from a Depression that had wiped out the savings of older Americans.
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