This Day In History

On September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison began providing electricity to a portion of New York City, an event often considered the start of the electrical age.

Marguerite Higgins Hall was born on September 3, 1920, in Hong Kong, China. A war correspondent for World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, she was the first woman awarded a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.

On September 2, 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt used a phrase at the Minnesota State Fair that would become closely associated with his presidency: “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” The address, delivered less than two weeks before he entered the White House, outlined his belief that national power should support restrained but firm diplomacy.

More than 70 years after the Titanic sank, a joint American-French expedition located its wreck on the North Atlantic floor on September 1, 1985. The discovery ended decades of failed searches and revealed that the ship still rested nearly 12,500 feet below the surface.

On August 16, 1777, American troops won the Battle of Bennington—even though most of the fighting took place across the border near Walloomsac, New York. The victory denied British General John Burgoyne badly needed supplies and cost his army hundreds of men at a critical point in the Saratoga campaign.

On July 26, 1788, New York ratified the US Constitution, becoming America’s 11th state. It has grown to be America’s fourth most populous state, with more than 20 million residents.

On July 6, 1777, British forces re-took Fort Ticonderoga, two years after Americans had captured it in a surprise attack. The victory seemed important at first, but it soon became one step in a campaign that ended in disaster for Britain at Saratoga.

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. One of America’s founding documents, it explained why the 13 colonies were at war with Great Britain and that they declared themselves to be independent sovereign states no longer under British rule.

After decades of serving the poor in the harshest conditions, Mother Teresa passed away on September 5, 1997. Known for her work with the poor, the sick, and the dying, she devoted her life to those who were suffering. Her faith made her a global symbol of charity, and her legacy continues to inspire people of all faiths and backgrounds.

On September 5, 1781, French forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of the Virginia Capes. The eventual siege of Yorktown was a success due to the joint efforts of the French fleet and the French and American troops on land.

On September 5, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War. It earned him a Nobel Prize and began a long-standing tree-giving tradition between the US and Japan.

On September 5, 1882, the first Labor Day parade in the United States was held in New York City. A little over a decade later, Labor Day became a Federal holiday.