This Day in History

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 19th. It was one of the most famous--and inspiring--speeches in American history: On this day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a cemetery for those killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. In the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary publi...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 18th. What time is it where you are? Well, before this day in 1883, that question was much more difficult to answer. That’s when American railroads begin using the four continental time zones. Before that most towns in the U.S. had their own local time, generally based on “high noon,” or the time when the sun was at its hi...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 17th. If you tune in to watch NFL football, you can usually rest assured that the game will be broadcast in its entirety, all thanks to what happened on this day in 1968. That night, the Oakland Raiders scored two touchdowns in nine seconds to beat the New York Jets—but no one saw it, because they were watching the movie H...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 16th. Climb ev’ry mountain. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Do-re-mi. If these lyrics sound familiar, then you’re one of the millions of Americans who’s seen--or heard--The Sound of Music, which premiered on Broadway on this day in 1959. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 15th. For nearly a decade after declaring independence from Great Britain, the United States wasn’t governed by the Constitution, but by a vastly different document that was adopted on this day in 1777--the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 14th. If you’ve seen the film “We Are Marshall,” then you’re familiar with the tragic event that devastated the Marshall University community 50 years ago today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 13th. Studies show consumption of wine, beer, and liquor has risen as much as 30 percent during the pandemic, but we know wine making and drinking dates back at least 8,000 years. That’s what scientists discovered on this day in 2017, when earthenware jars holding residual wine compounds were found at two archaeological si...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 12th. Today, nearly 40 percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island. The immigration gateway processed more than 12 million immigrants between its opening in 1892 and this day in 1954, when it finally shut its doors. The first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island was a 15-year-old Irish girl named...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 11th. Today, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, marks the 102nd anniversary of the end of one of the most devastating conflicts in human history--World War I. That's when Germany signed an armistice with the Allies in a railroad car in northern France. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 10th. “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Those were the famous words uttered by New York journalist Henry Morton Stanley on this day in 1871 upon finding Socttish explorer David Livingstone in Ujiji, in present day Tanzania, after a nearly 8 month long search. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 9th. It was the biggest power failure in U.S. history: On this day in 1965, the Great Northeast Blackout began when a power surge overwhelmed the transmission lines in western New York, which resulted in the eventual breakup of the entire Northeastern transmission network. All together, 30 million people in eight U.S. stat...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 8th. He was one of the Old West’s most colorful, and dangerous, figures: on this day in 1887, gunslinger, gambler, and occasional dentist Doc Holliday died of tuberculosis. Holliday left a successful dental practice in Dallas and drifted between the wild towns of the Old West, making his living at card tables and aggravati...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 7th. This year we’re celebrating 100 years of U.S. women voting, but even before the 19th amendment was passed, Jeannette Rankin of Wyoming became the first woman ever to win a seat in Congress on this day in 2016. A dedicated pacifist, Rankin’s first vote as a U.S. congresswoman was against U.S. entry into World War I. Le...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 6th. He remains one of America’s most admired presidents, and on this day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th U.S. president on the eve of the Civil War. Though he received only 40 percent of the popular vote, he handily defeated the three other candidates in the race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 5th. It was one of the most fateful decisions in military history: On this day in 1941, the Combined Japanese Fleet received Top-Secret Order No. 1, which called for the bombing of the U.S. navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, along with Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

Hello, and welcome to This Day In History. Here’s what happened on November 4th. Did you stay up late last night watching election returns? That’s just what millions around the country were doing on this day in 2008, when then-Senator Barack Obama from Illinois defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona to become the 44th U.S. president, and America’s first Black commander-in-chief. Learn more about...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 3rd. Today is Election Day, and like many Americans, residents of Washington, D.C. will be headed to the polls. And although D.C. residents can only elect non-voting members of the House and Senate, they have been casting votes in U.S. presidential elections since this day in 1964. That’s when capital dwellers helped elect...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 2nd. Tomorrow is Election Day, the last day to vote in this year’s presidential election. And with many pundits predicting a close race, we look back to one of the most surprising upsets in presidential history. On this day in 1948, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman defeated his Republican challenger, New York Governor...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on November 1st. George Washington was our first president, but he wasn’t our first president to live in the White House. That was president number two, John Adams, who moved into the executive mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on this day in 1800. Although Adams was initially enthusiastic about their new digs, he and first lady Abi...

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 31st. Today is Halloween, but what happened way back on this day in 1926 was neither trick nor treat. That’s when Harry Houdini, the most celebrated magician and escape artist of the 20th century, died in a Detroit hospital. Twelve days earlier, Houdini had been telling a group of students in Montreal about the strength of...