Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Colony of Virginia. He would go on to draft the Declaration of Independence, serve as the country’s third president, and shape the early United States through his ideas on liberty, education, and expansion.
On April 10, 1790, President George Washington signed the Patent Act of 1790 into law, creating a formal system to protect new inventions in the young United States. In just a few paragraphs, the new nation set rules that would shape American innovation for generations.
On April 9, 1921, Postmaster General Will H. Hays took an extraordinary step: he ordered the arming of postal workers who handled the nation’s most valuable mail. The order came after a sharp rise in armed robberies, when trains, mail cars, and postal employees had become targets for thieves looking for cash, securities, and registered mail.
On April 4, 1841, President William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia, just one month after his inauguration. His sudden death ended the shortest presidency in US history and raised immediate questions about presidential succession.
On March 31, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), putting thousands of unemployed young men to work almost immediately. The program became one of the earliest and most visible efforts of the New Deal, addressing both economic hardship and environmental need with practical, measurable results.
On March 25, 1931, civil rights leader, journalist, and suffragette Ida B. Wells died at the age of 68. Her life’s work—documenting injustice with facts and confronting violence with fearless reporting—left a detailed record of a nation struggling with race and equality.
On March 16, 1986, Freedom of Information Day was established to celebrate the public’s right to access government records. The date was chosen to honor the birthday of James Madison, a key author of the Constitution who strongly believed that informed citizens are essential to a functioning democracy.
On March 15, 1820, Maine became the 23rd state in the United States. The decision ended nearly two centuries of rule by Massachusetts and recognized the growing population and independence of the northern district.
On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi began a 240-mile march to the sea to protest British control of India’s salt supply. The simple act of picking up a handful of salt would ignite nationwide civil disobedience and draw the world’s attention to India’s struggle for independence.