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The Dead Rabbits Riot
A two-day civil disturbance in New York City evolving from what was originally a small-scale street fight between members of the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys into a citywide gang war -
The Ku Klux Klan is Established
An American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catholics, as well as immigrants, leftists, homosexuals, Muslims, abortion providers, and atheists. -
John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil
The success of this business empire made Rockefeller one of the world's first billionaires and a celebrated philanthropist. He garnered both admirers and critics during his lifetime and after his death. -
Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
While in Boston, Bell became very interested in the possibility of transmitting speech over wires. Samuel F.B. Morse’s invention of the telegraph in 1843 had made nearly instantaneous communication possible between two distant points. The drawback of the telegraph, however, was that it still required hand-delivery of messages between telegraph stations and recipients, and only one message could be transmitted at a time. Bell wanted to improve on this by creating a “harmonic telegraph." -
The Great Oklahoma Land Race
An estimated 50,000 people were lined up at the start, seeking to gain a piece of the available two million acres (8,100 km2). The Unassigned Lands were considered some of the best unoccupied public land in the United States. -
Ellis Island Opens to Process Immigrants
Seven hundred immigrants passed through Ellis Island that day, and nearly 450,000 followed over the course of that first year. -
The Wizard of Oz (Book) is Published
A children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their home by a tornado. -
J.P. Morgan Founds U.S. Steel
At one time, U.S. Steel was the largest steel producer and largest corporation in the world. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion making it the world's first billion-dollar corporation. -
Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States
Roosevelt ticket won a landslide victory based on a platform of victory, peace, and prosperity. Roosevelt assumed the presidency at age 42, and remains the youngest person to become president of the United States. -
Ford Motor Company is Founded
Ford is the first American-based auto manufacturer to make a century's worth of its archival assets available to the public online. -
Ida Tarbell Publishes Her Article About Standard Oil
Her work was a sensation and the installments became a two-volume book entitled, The History of the Standard Oil Company, published in 1904. Tarbell meticulously documented the aggressive techniques Standard Oil employed to outmaneuver and, where necessary, roll over whoever got in its way. -
The 16th Amendment is Passed
the 16th amendment established Congress's right to impose a Federal income tax. -
Angel Island Opens to Process Immigrants
This hastily built immigration station was opened on the northeastern edge of Angel Island, ready to receive its first guests. The first stop on disembarking at the pier on Angel Island was the Administration Building. -
The 17th Amendment is Passed
The 17th Amendment modified Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators. Prior to its passage, senators were chosen by state legislatures. -
The Empire State Building Opens
President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., and on came the lights in the world's tallest skyscraper. Before that, the Chrysler Building briefly held the record at 1046 feet.