This Day In History

After a decade of construction, the Panama Canal opened to traffic on August 15, 1914. Dubbed one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the canal helped to significantly cut down on the travel time between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Created amid the economic insecurity of the Great Depression, the law established retirement insurance while also providing federal support for unemployment compensation and assistance to vulnerable Americans.

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, later known as Sir Alfred Hitchcock, was born on August 13, 1899, in Leytonstone, Essex, England. Over the next eight decades, the son of a London greengrocer became the “Master of Suspense,” directing films such as Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, and The Birds.

While searching for fossils in South Dakota, fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson made a colossal discovery on August 12, 1990. Bones protruding from an eroded bluff proved to be part of an exceptionally complete Tyrannosaurus rex, soon known simply as Sue.

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.

On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became America’s 15th state and the first state west of the Appalachian Mountains. Its admission marked a new stage in the nation’s growth, as settlers pushed through mountain passes into a region long valued for its rivers, forests, wildlife, and rich farmland.

On August 16, 1858, the first message was sent via the transatlantic cable. The message read, “Europe and America are united by telegraphy. Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will towards men.”

On August 16, 1896, gold was discovered in the Klondike region of the Yukon in northwestern Canada. Lasting three years, the Klondike Gold Rush was the largest and most dramatic discovery of gold in American history.

On August 16, 1916, the US and Canada signed the first Migratory Bird Treaty to protect the birds that live in both nations. Several programs came out of this agreement that has helped to save hundreds of species of migratory birds.

William George Meany was born on August 16, 1894, in Harlem, New York City. One of the most influential labor leaders in US history, Meany is credited with successfully merging the American Federation of Labor, or AFL, and the Congress of Industrial Labor, or CIO.