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Meet Josephine Garis Cochrane, inventor of the dishwasher (1892)

The inventor of the dishwashing machine The patron saint of the emancipated woman of the future will be Josephine Garis Cochrane, the inventor of... Click to read more...

President Nixon resigns - farewell speech 1974

President Nixon’s last 17 days in office: Desperate search for a way out after Watergate (1974)

Nixon's final presidential crisis was thrust upon him by the ruling that he could no longer withhold 64 disputed White House tapes from the Watergate prosecutors. Here is the story of those last 17 days of his presidency.

Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ comes to life, and TV will never be the same (1977)

I am at loss for the proper word to use to describe what television has done with Haley's book Roots. "Enhance" will not do, nor is "heightened" sufficient. There is no word that is adequate.

Louis Gossett Jr. (Fiddler) and LeVar Burton (Kunta Kinte)

A guide to Roots: The TV miniseries, night by night (1977)

The story 'Roots' spans six generations and 100 years. Here's a day-by-day synopsis of Roots: The TV miniseries.

Charlotte Collyer and daughter - Titanic survivors

How I was saved from the Titanic: A Titanic survivor’s story (1912)

Charlotte Collyer lived through the tragic disaster the world remembers more than 100 years later. Here, read about what happened in this dramatic and compelling first-person account from a Titanic survivor.

WWII newspaper headlines from the D-Day invasion of France (1944)

The Allies today sent their invading forces against Adolf Hitler's occupied Europe. The long-awaited invasion was announced by General Dwight Eisenhower with the promise that the high command would accept nothing short of victory.

New Amsterdam to now: Images of New York in the Colonial days

Here are images showing New York City's growth from a frontier settlement known as New Amsterdam to the metropolis of the western world --through the Colonial times, and in the early days of US independence.

About Mother’s Day: How it began, and who started it all (1909)

Have you ever wondered about Mother's Day -- like how it got started? In the early years of the 20th century, Anna Jarvis started a movement that spread throughout the world: the custom of observing the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

America’s slave trade: Newspaper ads offering people for sale (1729-1800)

While books and articles on the American slave trade can provide important insights, actually seeing the ads that were placed in the newspapers of the era really brings it home.

How the railroads first crossed America (1968)

The most dramatic and best-known story of railroading in the United States is the connecting of the Atlantic and the Pacific by railroad in 1869, tying of the oceans together by rail across the heart of the United States

Photos from the day of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863)

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address speech was so brief, history has no photographs of President Lincoln actually saying those oft-repeated words on November 19, 1863. But here are the pictures we do have of the President that day.

Follow-up: Titanic survivor Charlotte Collyer (1912)

Response from Charlotte Collyer, survivor of the Titanic Mrs Charlotte Collyer's article, "How I Was Saved from the Titanic," printed seven weeks ago... Click to read more...

Tesla holding a phosphor-coated wireless light bulb

Nikola Tesla’s plan to give free electricity to everyone (1896)

Free electricity for everyone? It means that if Nikola Tesla succeeds in harnessing the electrical earth currents and putting them to work for man there will be an end to oppressive extortionate monopolies in steam, telephones, telegraphs and the other commercial uses of electricity

World wonders about first words after landing on the moon (1969)

Before the world heard the sentence that has since been etched into billions of memories -- "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for manki... Click to read more...

The assassination of President Kennedy (1963)

Above: View of flowers on the backseat of Vice-President Lyndon Johnson's Lincoln convertible as it sits parked near the entrance of Parkland Hospita... Click to read more...

Death of an outlaw: First account of Jesse James’ murder (1882)

Get the true story behind 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' from 1882 -- when, Jesse James, the Missouri outlaw, was killed by a boy twenty years old at his temporary residence on Thirteenth and Lafayette streets, in this city.

Richard Nixon’s first Watergate speech – Text & video (1973)

Richard Nixon's first Watergate speech was broadcast live from the White House's Oval Office on April 30, 1973, starting at 9:01 pm Eastern. Below, see a video of his statements, followed by a transcript of the speech.

See the last photograph ever taken of Abraham Lincoln (1865)

A final look at President Lincoln This photo of Abraham Lincoln was taken on the balcony of the White House on March 6, 1865 by Henry F Warren. It's ... Click to read more...

Abraham Lincoln assassinated: Official accounts of the President’s murder (1865)

Last evening at about 9:30 p.m., at Ford's Theatre, the President was shot by an assassin who suddenly entered the box and approached behind the President. The pistol-ball entered the back of the President's head, and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound is mortal.

The Encyclopedia of American Last Names

How did your last name come to be -- and who brought it to America? Find out in this book, featuring 400 pages of information about more than a thousand last names of the original colonists and other early settlers!

The Gettysburg Address: How it really happened (1863)

Apart from providing a detailed description of the ceremonies, these fascinating accounts also give some unique perspectives on President Lincoln’s famous two-minute speech.

How to make these lion and elephant quilted comforters (1972)

Wild bedtime! Lion and elephant quilted comforters Our comical quilts can turn a youngster's bedtime from hassle to heyday! Materials needed Lion... Click to read more...

Young actor James Dean killed in car crash (1955)

James Dean killed in car accident: Speed-loving James Dean, Hollywood's latest bobby sox idol, was killed last night in a head-on collision of his German sports car and another automobile.

Liner Titanic strikes iceberg, sinking head down (1912)

Thousands in dire peril on the Atlantic Largest vessel afloat reported sinking head down; women put off in boats Wireless call for help responded to... Click to read more...

Whites have no reason to be surprised by civil rights movement (1968)

Original Editor's note from 1968: This article by the noted author James Baldwin... is an attempt to explain to whites the militant Negro's reaction to 'black power,' as well as the Negro revolution now in progress. It is bitter, but not devoid of hope.