In 1794, Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin. In 1900, the U.S. Congress voted to put the United States on the gold standard. In 1903, the Hay-Herran Treaty granted the United...

In 1850, Sen. Daniel Webster gave a speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a civil war. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for his invention of the telephone. ...

In 1797, the Bank of England issued the first one- and two-pound banknotes. In 1807, the U.S. Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. In 1855, Alexander II became czar of Russia. ...

In 1565, the city of Rio de Janeiro was founded. In 1692, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba were the first people charged in the Salem Witch Trials. In 1781, the Continental Congress adopted...

In 1525, conquistador Hernan Cortes ordered the execution of Aztec king Cuauhtemoc. In 1784, John Wesley chartered the Methodist Church. In 1885, American Telephone and Telegraph was incorporated...

In 1801, Washington, D.C., was placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. In 1812, Lord Byron gave his first address as a member of the House of Lords. In 1864, the first Northern prisoners...

In 1674, the Treaty of Westminster transferred ownership of New Amsterdam to the English, who renamed it New York. In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr was arrested for treason. In 1847,...