Portal:United States
Parent Portals: Geography / North America / United States
Introduction
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The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states, a federal district and 14 territories. It is located mostly in central North America. The U.S. has three land borders, two with Canada and one with Mexico, and has sea borders with Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda and Russia, and is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 50 states, only Alaska and Hawaii are not contiguous with any other state. The U.S. also has a collection of districts, territories, and possessions in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Each state has a high level of autonomy according to the system of federalism. The U.S. traces its national origin to the declaration by 13 British colonies in 1776 that they were one free and independent state. They were recognized as such by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Since then, the nation has grown to become a superpower and exerts a high level of economic, political, military, and cultural influence.
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Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately 310,000 acres (1,300 km2), the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park is 10 miles (16 km) south of Yellowstone National Park, to which it is connected by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway which is managed by the National Park Service. Along with surrounding national forests, these three protected areas constitute the almost 22-million-acre (89,000-square-kilometer) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the world's largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems.
The human history of the Grand Teton region dates back at least 11,000 years when the first Paleo-Indians began migrating into the region during warmer months to pursue food and supplies. In the early 19th century, the first explorers encountered the eastern Shoshone people. Between 1810 and 1840, the region attracted fur trading companies that vied for control of the lucrative beaver pelt trade. U.S. government expeditions to the region commenced in the mid-19th century as an offshoot of exploration in Yellowstone, with the first permanent white settlers in Jackson Hole arriving in the 1880s. (Full article...) -
Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. The lowest point in the park is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to 2,640 ft (800 m) deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The park attracted 5 million visitors in 2023.
Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans, one of which was the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Ancestral Puebloans (who used to be called Anasazi by early non-indigenous archeologists) (c. 300 CE). Subsequently, what has been called the Virgin Anasazi culture (c. 500) and the Parowan Fremont group developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities. Both groups moved away by 1300 and were replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes. Mormons came into the area in 1858 and settled there in the early 1860s. (Full article...) -
The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one United States national park and three California state parks located along the coast of northern California. The combined RNSP contain Redwood National Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The parks' 139,000 acres (560 km2) preserve 45 percent of all remaining old-growth coast redwood forests.
Located in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, the four parks protect the endangered coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)—the tallest, among the oldest, and one of the most massive tree species on Earth—which thrives in the humid temperate rainforest. The park region is highly seismically active and prone to tsunamis. The parks preserve 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline, indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, waterways, as well as threatened animal species, such as the Chinook salmon, northern spotted owl, and Steller's sea lion. (Full article...) -
The Buffalo nickel or Indian Head nickel is a copper–nickel five-cent piece that was struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938. It was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser.
As part of a drive to beautify the coinage, five denominations of US coins had received new designs between 1907 and 1909. In 1911, Taft administration officials decided to replace Charles E. Barber's Liberty Head design for the nickel, and commissioned Fraser to do the work. They were impressed by Fraser's designs showing a Native American and an American bison. The designs were approved in 1912, but were delayed several months because of objections from the Hobbs Manufacturing Company, which made mechanisms to detect slugs in nickel-operated machines. The company was not satisfied by changes made in the coin by Fraser, and in February 1913, Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh decided to issue the coins despite the objections. (Full article...) -
Ima Hogg, c. 1900
Ima Hogg (July 10, 1882 – August 19, 1975), known as "The First Lady of Texas", was an American society leader, philanthropist, mental health advocate, patron and collector of the arts, and one of the most respected women in Texas during the 20th century. Hogg was an avid art collector, and owned works by Picasso, Klee, and Matisse, among others. Hogg donated hundreds of pieces of artwork to Houston's Museum of Fine Arts and served on a committee to plan the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. An enthusiastic collector of early American antiques, she also served on a committee tasked with locating historical furniture for the White House. She restored and refurbished several properties, including the Varner plantation and Bayou Bend, which she later donated to Texas arts and historical institutions who maintain the facilities and their collections today. Hogg received numerous awards and honors, including the Louise E. du Pont Crowninshield Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Santa Rita Award from the University of Texas System, and an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Southwestern University.
Hogg was the daughter of Sarah Ann "Sallie" Stinson and James Stephen "Big Jim" Hogg, later attorney general and governor of the state. Ima Hogg's first name was taken from The Fate of Marvin, an epic poem written by her uncle Thomas Hogg. She endeavored to downplay her unusual name by signing her first name illegibly and having her stationery printed with "I. Hogg" or "Miss Hogg". Although it was rumored that Hogg had a sister or sisters, whose names were suggested to be "Hoosa Hogg", "Ura Hogg" or "Wera Hogg", she had only brothers. Hogg's father left public office in 1895, and soon after, her mother was diagnosed with tuberculosis. When Sarah died later that year, Jim Hogg's widowed elder sister moved to Austin to care for the Hogg children. Between 1899 and 1901, Hogg attended the University of Texas at Austin; she then moved to New York City to study piano and music theory for two years. After her father's death in 1906, she traveled to Europe and spent two years studying music under Xaver Scharwenka in Vienna. When she returned to Texas, she established and managed the Houston Symphony Orchestra and served as president of the Symphony Society. (Full article...) -
Love, Inc. is an American television sitcom created by Andrew Secunda, which originally aired for one season on UPN from September 22, 2005, to May 11, 2006. With an ensemble cast led by Busy Philipps, Vince Vieluf, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Ion Overman and Holly Robinson Peete, the show revolves around five matchmakers working at a dating agency. The series was produced by Chase TV, the Littlefield Company, Burg/Koules Television, and Paramount Television. It was distributed by UPN in its original run and later by LivingTV and Nelonen in the United Kingdom and Finland respectively. The executive producers were Adam Chase, Warren Littlefield, Mark Burg and Oren Koules.
The series was originally developed as a vehicle and sitcom debut for Shannen Doherty under the working title Wingwoman. Though picked up by UPN, Doherty was removed from the project at the request of the network due to her poor reception by preview audiences; she was replaced by Philipps. The show was set in New York City, but filming took place at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles and other locations in California. It included contemporary hip hop music and was promoted heavily by UPN to attract an urban audience, and to that end it was paired with Everybody Hates Chris as its lead-in on Thursday nights. (Full article...) -
The 2005 United States Grand Prix (officially the 2005 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on June 19, 2005, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was the ninth race of the 2005 Formula One World Championship. The event is one of the most infamous races in motor sports history. Out of the 20 cars that entered the race, only the six cars from the teams using Bridgestone tyres (Ferrari, Jordan, and Minardi) competed. The remaining fourteen entrants, all using Michelin tyres, completed the formation lap, but retired to the pit lane before the race started.
Following several tyre failures before the race, which caused major accidents for Ralf Schumacher's Toyota during Friday practice and then for his Toyota stand-in Ricardo Zonta, Michelin advised its seven customer teams that without a reduction in speed in Turn 13, the tyres provided for the race would only be safe for 10 laps. Michelin had been providing working tyres for the race since 2001. The situation was worsened by the 2005 Formula One rules, which forbade tyre changes during the race, and a repave of the oval portion of the course after the 2004 Brickyard 400. (Full article...) -
Born to Run is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co-produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recording took place in New York. Following the commercial failures of his first two albums, the album marked Springsteen's effort to break into the mainstream and create a commercially successful album. Springsteen sought to emulate Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production, leading to prolonged sessions with the E Street Band lasting from January 1974 to July 1975; six months alone were spent working on the title track.
The album incorporates musical styles including rock and roll, pop rock, R&B, and folk rock. Its character-driven lyrics describe individuals who feel trapped and fantasize about escaping to a better life, conjured via romantic lyrical imagery of highways and travel. Springsteen envisioned the songs taking place over one long summer day and night. They are also less tied to the New Jersey area than his previous work. The album cover, featuring Springsteen leaning on E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons's shoulder, is considered iconic and has been imitated by various musicians and in other media. (Full article...) -
American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. The Boeing 757-200 aircraft serving the flight was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijacked airliner was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, killing all 64 aboard and another 125 in the building.
Flight 77 became airborne at 08:20 ET. Thirty-one minutes after takeoff, the attackers stormed the cockpit and forced the passengers and crew to the rear of the cabin, threatening the hostages but initially sparing all of them. Lead hijacker Hani Hanjour assumed control of the aircraft after having undergone extensive flight training as part of his preparation for the attack. In the meantime, two people aboard discreetly made phone calls to family members and relayed information on the situation without the knowledge of their assailants. (Full article...) -
The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial located in Saratoga National Historical Park, New York. Erected during 1887 by John Watts de Peyster and sculpted by George Edwin Bissell, it commemorates Major General Benedict Arnold's service at the Battles of Saratoga while in the Continental Army, but he is not named on the monument because Arnold later defected from the Americans to the British. Instead, the monument commemorates Arnold as the "most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army".
While fighting at the Battle of Bemis Heights, the second of the Saratoga engagements, Arnold was shot and severely injured in his left leg. His horse was also hit by gunfire and fell on Arnold, crushing his already injured leg. After this, Arnold continued to grow ever more bitter towards the Continental Army when he was passed over for promotion and was court-martialed. He later attempted to help the British capture the fortification of West Point but was discovered and fled to the British army. (Full article...) -
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Despite a short mainstream career spanning only three years, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
In the late 1980s, Nirvana established itself as part of the Seattle grunge scene, releasing its first album, Bleach, for the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. They developed a sound that relied on dynamic contrasts, often between quiet verses and loud, heavy choruses. After signing to the major label DGC Records in 1991, Nirvana found unexpected mainstream success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit", the first single from its landmark second album, Nevermind (1991). A cultural phenomenon of the 1990s, Nevermind was certified diamond and is credited for ending the popularity of hair metal. (Full article...) -
The 2006 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006, before a crowd of 65,000, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, a short track that holds NASCAR races. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won the 500‑lap race starting from the ninth position; Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second, and Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte was third.
Jeff Burton was the driver who led the Drivers' Championship going into the race with a 45-point margin over Matt Kenseth in second. Kurt Busch won the pole position with the fastest lap time in qualifying. He was immediately passed by Jeff Gordon at the start of the race. Gordon held the lead for 143 laps, until Johnson took the lead for one lap. Gordon regained the lead on the next lap, only to lose it to Johnson again on the 153rd lap. Labonte moved into the lead on lap 406 and held it with 55 laps remaining when he was passed by Johnson. At the race's final restart on lap 495, Hamlin challenged Johnson for the lead, but the latter held off Hamlin's passing maneuver and won the race. There were 18 cautions and 16 lead changes by five different drivers during the race. (Full article...) -
B Reactor and water treatment area in 1944
The Hanford Engineer Works (HEW) was a nuclear production complex in Benton County, Washington, established by the United States federal government in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. It built and operated the B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor. Plutonium manufactured at the HEW was used in the atomic bomb detonated in the Trinity test in July 1945, and in the Fat Man bomb used in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in August 1945. The plant continued producing plutonium for nuclear weapons until 1971. The HEW was commanded by Colonel Franklin T. Matthias until January 1946, and then by Colonel Frederick J. Clarke.
The director of the Manhattan Project, Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves Jr., engaged DuPont as the prime contractor for the design, construction and operation of the HEW. DuPont recommended that it be located far from densely populated areas, and a site on the Columbia River, codenamed Site W, was chosen. The federal government acquired the land under its war powers authority and relocated some 1,500 nearby residents. The acquisition was one of the largest in US history. Disputes arose with farmers over the value of the land and compensation for crops that had already been planted. The acquisition was not completed before the Manhattan Project ended in December 1946. (Full article...) -
USS Kearsarge (BB-5), was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy and lead ship of her class of battleships. She was named after the sloop-of-war Kearsarge, famous for sinking the CSS Alabama, and was the only United States Navy battleship not named after a state.
Her keel was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Virginia, on 30 June 1896. She was launched on 24 March 1898, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Winslow (née Maynard), the wife of Rear Admiral Herbert Winslow, and commissioned on 20 February 1900. (Full article...) -
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, campaigning for president in 1968
"On the Mindless Menace of Violence" is a speech given by United States Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. He delivered it in front of the City Club of Cleveland at the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. With the speech, Kennedy sought to counter the King-related riots and disorder emerging in various cities, and address what he viewed as the growing problem of violence in American society.
On April 4, King, a prominent African-American civil rights leader, was assassinated. Race riots subsequently broke out across the United States. After delivering an improvised speech on the matter in Indianapolis, Kennedy withdrew to the hotel he was staying in and suspended his presidential campaign. Community leaders convinced him to keep a single engagement before the City Club of Cleveland. Doing away with his prepared remarks, Kennedy's speechwriters worked early into the morning of April 5 to craft a response to the assassination. Kennedy reviewed and revised the draft en route to Cleveland. Speaking for only ten minutes, Kennedy outlined his view on violence in American society before a crowd of 2,200. He criticized both the rioters and the white establishment who, from his perspective, were responsible for the deterioration of social conditions in the United States. He proposed no specific solutions to the internal division and conflict, but urged the audience to seek common ground and try to cooperate with other Americans. (Full article...) -
On November 2, 2002, U.S. Marine Corps Major Michael Brown attempted an indecent assault on a Filipina bartender in Okinawa, Japan. The bartender accused Brown of attempting to rape her and of throwing her cell phone into a nearby river; Brown denied the rape charges. The victim later recanted and attempted to withdraw the accusation, though prosecutors presented evidence that she had received a cash payment just before doing so.
The case received extensive attention in the Japanese media, especially in Okinawa, and the crime sparked a public debate over the U.S. military presence in Japan, the privileges of extraterritoriality, as well as the fair-trial practices of Japanese legal system and the Japanese police. The case involved the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan and the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). (Full article...) -
Chains of Love is an American dating game show that aired for six episodes in April–May 2001 on UPN. Adapted from a Dutch television series, it revolves around a man or woman being chained to four members of the opposite sex over four days and nights. This person, identified as the "Picker", is given $10,000 and can remove three contestants one at a time. The Picker can give a portion of the money to each eliminated participant. When left with a single partner, the Picker can choose to either split the money or keep it. American television personality Madison Michele hosted each episode.
Chains of Love was originally ordered by NBC, before UPN began producing it. The program was produced as part of a campaign to have more unscripted programming in UPN's schedule to boost the network's ratings. Media outlets have identified Chains of Love as part of a renaissance in reality television. David Garfinkle, who had previously worked on the show Blind Date, served as the executive producer. (Full article...) -
The South Lake Union Streetcar, officially the South Lake Union Line, is a streetcar route in Seattle, Washington, United States, forming part of the Seattle Streetcar system. It travels 1.3 miles (2.1 km) and connects Downtown Seattle to the South Lake Union neighborhood on Westlake Avenue, Terry Avenue, and Valley Street. The South Lake Union Streetcar was the first modern line to operate in Seattle, beginning service on December 12, 2007, two years after a separate heritage streetcar ceased operations.
The streetcar line was conceived as part of the redevelopment of South Lake Union into a technology hub, with lobbying and financial support from Paul Allen and his venture capital firm Vulcan Inc. The $56 million project was funded using a combination of contributions from local property owners, the city government, and grants from the state and federal government. Construction began in July 2006 and was completed over a year later by the Seattle Department of Transportation. The line is owned by the City of Seattle, with operation and maintenance contracted out to King County Metro. (Full article...) -
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Cooper appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list three times and on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. His films have grossed $13 billion worldwide, and he has been placed in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors four times.
Cooper began his television and film career in 1999 with a guest role in the television series Sex and the City. In 2000, he enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program at the Actors Studio. Shortly after, he made his film debut with a starring role in the comedy Wet Hot American Summer (2001) and gained some recognition as Will Tippin in the television series Alias (2001–2006). After his role in the show was demoted, he began to have career doubts; however, he quickly gained additional recognition with a supporting part in the comedy film Wedding Crashers (2005). Cooper had his breakthrough in The Hangover (2009), a critically and commercially successful comedy that spawned sequels in 2011 and 2013. His career progressed with starring roles in Limitless (2011) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012). (Full article...) -
The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.
In 1831, Green DeWitt asked the Mexican authorities to lend the Gonzales colonists a cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. One was supplied, on the condition that the cannon would be returned to the Mexicans on request. Over the next four years, the political situation in Mexico deteriorated, and in 1835 several states revolted. As the unrest spread, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales with a weapon and requested the return of the cannon. (Full article...) -
Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 (1883), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that followed the death of one member of a Native American tribe at the hands of another on reservation land. Crow Dog was a member of the Brulé band of the Lakota Sioux. On August 5, 1881 he shot and killed Spotted Tail, a Lakota chief; there are different accounts of the background to the killing. The tribal council dealt with the incident according to Sioux tradition, and Crow Dog paid restitution to the dead man's family. However, the U.S. authorities then prosecuted Crow Dog for murder in a federal court. He was found guilty and sentenced to hang.
The defendant then petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the federal court had no jurisdiction to try cases where the offense had already been tried by the tribal council. The court found unanimously for the plaintiff and Crow Dog was therefore released. This case was the first time in history that an Indian was held on trial for the murder of another Indian. The case led to the Major Crimes Act in 1885, which placed some major crimes (initially seven, now 15) under federal jurisdiction if committed by an Indian against another Indian on a reservation or tribal land. This case was the beginning of the plenary power legal doctrine that has been used in Indian case law to limit tribal sovereignty. (Full article...) -
Barry Voight (/vɔɪt/; born 1937) is an American geologist, volcanologist, author, and engineer. After earning his Ph.D. at Columbia University, Voight worked as a professor of geology at several universities, including Pennsylvania State University, where he taught from 1964 until his retirement in 2005. He remains an emeritus professor there and still conducts research, focusing on rock mechanics, plate tectonics, disaster prevention, and geotechnical engineering.
In April 1980, Voight's publications on landslides, avalanches, and other mass movements attracted the attention of Rocky Crandell of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), who asked him to look at a growing bulge on the Mount St. Helens volcano in the state of Washington. Voight foresaw the collapse of the mountain's north flank as well as a powerful eruption. His predictions came true when St. Helens erupted in May 1980; Voight was then hired by the USGS to investigate the debris avalanche that initiated the eruption. After his work at Mount St. Helens brought him international recognition, Voight continued researching and guiding monitoring efforts at several active volcanoes throughout his career, including Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, Mount Merapi in Indonesia, and Soufrière Hills, a volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. For his research, publications, and disaster prevention work as a volcanologist and engineer, Voight has been honored with numerous awards, appointments, and medals. (Full article...) -
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., often referred to as just Brisco or Brisco County, is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on the Fox network starting in the 1993–94 season. Set in the American West of 1893, the series follows its title character, a Harvard-educated lawyer-turned-bounty hunter hired by a group of wealthy industrialists to track and capture outlaw John Bly and his gang. Bruce Campbell plays Brisco, who is joined by a colorful group of supporting characters, including Julius Carry as fellow bounty hunter Lord Bowler and Christian Clemenson as stick-in-the-mud lawyer Socrates Poole.
While ostensibly a Western, the series routinely includes elements of the science fiction and steampunk genres. Humor is a large part of the show; the writers attempted to keep the jokes and situations "just under over-the-top". A large number of episodes involve the Orb, a powerful device from the future. John Astin plays Professor Wickwire, an inventor who assists Brisco with anachronistic technology including diving suits, motorcycles, rockets, and airships. The search for new technology and progressive ideas, what the writers of the show called "The Coming Thing", is a central theme throughout the series. (Full article...) -
The first election for Virginia's 5th congressional district took place on February 2, 1789, for a two-year term to commence on March 4 of that year. In a race that turned on the candidates' positions on the need for amendments (the Bill of Rights) to the recently ratified U.S. Constitution, James Madison defeated James Monroe for a place in the House of Representatives of the First Congress. It is the only congressional election in U.S. history in which two future presidents opposed each other.
The race came about when former governor Patrick Henry and other Anti-Federalists in the Virginia General Assembly, who had opposed the state's ratification of the Constitution, sought to defeat Madison, who had been a strong advocate for ratification, and who wanted to become a member of the new House of Representatives; they had already defeated him in the legislative election to choose Virginia's first U.S. senators. They put forward Monroe, a young but experienced politician who was a war hero wounded at the 1776 Battle of Trenton, as a candidate for the seat. Monroe did not seek the contest, but once drafted campaigned vigorously. Despite bitterly cold weather, the two candidates debated outdoors; traveling after one such meeting, Madison suffered frostbite on his face. (Full article...) -
On 29 September 2006, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, a Boeing 737-800 on a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Manaus, Brazil, to Brasília and Rio de Janeiro, collided mid-air with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet flying on an opposite heading over the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. The winglet of the Legacy sliced off about half of the 737's left wing, causing the 737 to break up and crash into an area of dense jungle, killing all 154 passengers and crew on board. Despite sustaining serious damage to its left wing and tail, the Legacy landed with its seven occupants uninjured.
The accident was investigated by the Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (Portuguese: Centro de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos – CENIPA) and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and a final report was issued in 2008. CENIPA concluded that the accident was caused by air traffic control (ATC) errors, combined with mistakes made by the American pilots on the Legacy, including a failure to recognize that their traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) was not activated, while the NTSB determined that both flight crews acted properly and were placed on a collision course by ATC, deeming the Legacy pilots' disabling of their TCAS system to be only a contributing factor rather than a direct cause. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the Hawaii Civil Liberties Committee was designated as a Communist front by the House Un-American Activities Committee?
- ... that Mary Arthur McElroy was never given formal recognition as First Lady of the United States out of respect for Nell Arthur, the deceased wife of then-president Chester A. Arthur?
- ... that "Thy Strong Word" replaced an anti–Mexican–American War hymn in the Episcopal Church?
- ... that United States Air Force brigadier general E. Daniel Cherry became close friends with the Vietnamese pilot whom he shot down during the Vietnam War?
- ... that TreasuryDirect, a website for purchasing US Treasury securities, originated in 1986 as a computerized service conducted over postal mail?
- ... that Emily Donelson stopped serving as First Lady of the United States due to illness?
- ... that the 2019 book Pacifying the Homeland was compared to an ice-cold shower for individuals acclimatized to mass surveillance in the US due to its pervasiveness in daily life?
- ... that Massachusetts gave the United States its first openly LGBT state legislator to be elected, as well as the first out congressperson and state attorney general?
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Born into a wealthy, established family in Milton, Massachusetts, Bush was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He attended Phillips Academy and served as a pilot in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II before graduating from Yale and moving to West Texas, where he established a successful oil company. Following an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate in 1964, he was elected to represent Texas's 7th congressional district in 1966. President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as the ambassador to the United Nations in 1971 and as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. President Gerald Ford appointed him as the chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China in 1974 and as the director of Central Intelligence in 1976. Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican presidential primaries by Reagan, who then selected Bush as his vice presidential running mate. In the 1988 presidential election, Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis.
Foreign policy drove Bush's presidency as he navigated the final years of the Cold War and played a key role in the reunification of Germany. He presided over the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War, ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in the latter conflict. Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush negotiated and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise by enacting legislation to raise taxes to justify reducing the budget deficit. He championed and signed three pieces of bipartisan legislation in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Immigration Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments. He also appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Bush lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton following an economic recession, his turnaround on his tax promise, and the decreased emphasis of foreign policy in a post–Cold War political climate. (Full article...)
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Photograph credit: Edmonston; restored by Adam CuerdenLillian Ascough (1880–1974) was an American suffragist. She served as the Connecticut chair of the National Woman's Party (NWP) and the vice president of the Michigan branch of the NWP. She was a speaker in the Suffrage Special, an event created by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1916, which toured the "free states" which had already allowed women's suffrage in the United States. This formal photographic portrait of Ascough was taken around 1915 and published in the magazine The Suffragist. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaFranklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States (1853–1857), a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. He alienated anti-slavery groups by supporting and signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act, yet these efforts failed to stem conflict between North and South. The South eventually seceded and the American Civil War began in 1861. Historians and scholars generally rank Pierce as one of the worst and least memorable U.S. presidents. -
Photograph: Unknown; Restoration: Adam CuerdenWilliam H. Seward (1801–1872) was United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as Governor of New York and United States Senator. A determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years, and was generally praised for his work on behalf of the Union as Secretary of State during the American Civil War. His firm stance against foreign intervention in the Civil War helped deter Britain and France from entering the conflict, which might have led to the independence of the Confederate States. His contemporary Carl Schurz described Seward as "one of those spirits who sometimes will go ahead of public opinion instead of tamely following its footprints." -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaThe inauguration of John Tyler as the tenth president of the United States took place on April 6, 1841, in Washington, D.C., following the death of President William Henry Harrison two days earlier. This was the first non-scheduled, extraordinary presidential inauguration to take place in American history. Having received news of Harrison's death, Tyler traveled to Washington from his home in Williamsburg, Virginia by steamboat and train, the fastest means of conveyance then available, taking 21 hours. -
Photo: Harris & Ewing; Restoration: Lise BroerTwo boys enjoy treats during the 1911 Easter egg roll at the White House lawn, the highest-profile event on Easter Monday in the United States. The day after Easter is a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures. The White House Easter egg roll has been held annually since 1814. -
Photo credit: Lewis Wickes Hine; restored by Michel VuijlstekeA 1908 photo of child laborers in a glass factory in Indiana, United States, taken by Lewis Hine for the National Child Labor Committee, which formed after the 1900 census revealed that about 1 in 6 children between the ages of five and ten were gainfully employed. Hine's photos of children working in industrial settings resulted in a wave of popular support for federal child labor regulations put forward by the NCLC. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaTheodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He had previously been the 33rd governor of New York, from 1899 to 1900, and then the 25th vice president of the United States, from March to September 1901. As a leader of the Republican Party, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century. In 1912, he ran for a third term as president. When he could not secure the Republican nomination, he formed his own party, the Progressive or "Bull Moose" Party, which drew enough votes away from the Republican nominee, incumbent President William Howard Taft, to give their Democratic opponent Woodrow Wilson a large victory in the electoral vote. Roosevelt was a distant cousin of the 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the uncle of Franklin's wife Eleanor Roosevelt. His face is depicted on Mount Rushmore, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
This picture is a line engraving of Roosevelt, produced around 1902 by the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) as part of a BEP presentation album of the first 26 presidents. -
Photograph: Dorothea Lange. Restoration: Adam Cuerden.The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. Drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion caused the phenomenon. The drought came in three waves, 1934, 1936, and 1939–1940, but some regions of the high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years.
This photograph, titled Broke, baby sick, and car trouble!, was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1937 and depicts a Missouri migrant family's jalopy stuck near Tracy, California. -
Photo credit: Cody PopeThe Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, it is a successful opportunist and is found throughout North America from coast to coast (introduced to California in 1910), and from Central America and Mexico to southern Canada. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaMillard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, succeeding to the presidency in July 1850 upon the death of the incumbent Zachary Taylor. Born into poverty with little formal education, he became a successful attorney and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1832. Never an advocate of slavery, he felt duty-bound as president to support the Compromise of 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states. He sought election to a full term in 1852, but was passed over by the Whigs in favor of Winfield Scott. This line engraving of Fillmore was produced around 1902 by the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) as part of a BEP presentation album of the first 26 presidents. -
Photograph credit: NASA; restored by CoffeeandcrumbsSally Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American physicist and astronaut. She joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman in space. She was the third woman in space overall, after Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982). Ride had completed eight months of training for her third flight when the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred. She served on the two panels that investigated this accident and the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. -
Photo: Alexander Gardner; Restoration: Lise BroerOn July 7, 1865, at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt (shown left-to-right) were hanged for their roles in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Eight people were convicted for the crime; three others were sentenced to life imprisonment, with the last receiving a six-year sentence. Mary Surratt's son John was able to escape and was never convicted for his role. His mother was the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government. -
Photograph: Jack Weir; restoration: CarolSpearsApollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans, commander Neil Armstrong and LM pilot Buzz Aldrin, on the Moon. On July 21, 1969, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon. This mission quickly captured the public's imagination and became prominent in popular culture. Over 530 million viewers worldwide watched the Moon landing, and it received widespread newspaper coverage. For example, the July 21, 1969, edition of The Washington Post—shown here—used the main headline "'The Eagle Has Landed'—Two Men Walk on the Moon". In subsequent years, the Moon landing has been frequently depicted or referenced in media, including in literature, films, and video games. -
Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew ShivaJohn Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was an American statesman who served as a diplomat, minister and ambassador to foreign nations, and treaty negotiator, United States Senator, Congressman from Massachusetts, and the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. Involved in negotiating the treaties of Ghent, 1818, and Adams–Onís, Adams has been called one of the United States' greatest diplomats and secretaries of state. As president, he sought to modernize the American economy and promote education, paying off much of the national debt despite being stymied by a Congress controlled by opponents and lacking patronage networks. Historians have generally ranked him as an above-average president. -
Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew ShivaAbraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the Civil War, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. Born in Kentucky into a poor family, Lincoln educated himself and worked as a lawyer in Illinois before entering politics. A powerful orator and astute politician, Lincoln used his Gettysburg Address to promote nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. He has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest US presidents, by both scholars and the public.
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Selected culture biography -
Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.
Selected location -
Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for his finding such a haven to settle. After being one of the first cities in the country to industrialize, Providence became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, Providence city proper alone is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning, which has shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing work. The city was once nicknamed the "Beehive of Industry", while today "The Renaissance City" is more common, though as of 2000 census, its poverty rate was still among the ten highest for cities over 100,000.
Selected quote -
Anniversaries for March 28
- 1834 – The United States Senate censures President Andrew Jackson for his actions in defunding the Second Bank of the United States.
- 1862 – In New Mexico, Union forces succeed in stopping the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory in the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The battle began on March 26.
- 1946 – The United States State Department releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
- 1979 – In Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system of a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island accident (pictured) fails, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water causing a nuclear meltdown.
- 1990 – President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards track and field athlete Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
Selected cuisines, dishes and foods -
The cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic states encompasses the cuisines of the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, as well as Washington, D.C. The influences on cuisine in this region of the United States are extremely eclectic, as it has been, and continues to be, a gateway for international culture as well as a gateway for new immigrants. (Full article...)
Selected panorama -
More did you know? -
- ... that Michele S. Jones (pictured) was the first woman in the U.S. Army to attain the rank of command sergeant major before she retired to a military liaison position in the Obama Administration?
- ... that Grant Park Symphony Orchestra began a tradition of Independence Day Eve concerts in Grant Park accompanied by fireworks when the Petrillo Music Shell was relocated in 1978?
- ... that the Action of 9 February 1799 fought between the frigates USS Constellation and L'Insurgente during the Quasi War was the first ever victory for the United States Navy?
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