Design Patent: On this day in history, 183 years ago, November 9. 1842, the first patent for a design—designated as Patent No. Des. 1—was awarded to printer and type-founder George Bruce for typefaces, typographical ornaments, and decorative borders. (1/4)

The Politics of Immigration: On this day in history, 31 years ago, November 8, 1994, the voters of the State of California overwhelmingly passed Proposition 187, denying undocumented immigrants access to the state’s public services, including public education and healthcare. (1/6)

Last Press Conference: On this day in history, 63 years ago, November 7, 1962, after losing the California Gubernatorial election, Richard Nixon gave a concession speech saying, “You don't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.” (1/4)

DiMaggio Brothers: On this day in history, 87 years ago, November 6, 1938, the three DiMaggio brothers—Vince, Joe, and Dom—played together for the only time during their pro careers at an Alameda Elks Major–Minor Charity All-Star baseball game at Emeryville Park in Emeryville, California. (1/4)

Freedom of the Press: On this day in history, 292 years ago, November 5, 1733, John Peter Zenger published the first issue of “The New York Weekly Journal,” which contained an editorial criticizing the Royal Governor of the New York Colony, William Cosby. (1/6)

Hostage Crisis: On this day in history, 46 years ago, November 4, 1979, members of the “Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line” stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, in retaliation for the United States granting asylum to the deposed Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. (1/5)

Black Bart: On this day in history, 142 years ago, November 3, 1883, the gentleman bandit known as Black Bart committed his final stagecoach robbery on Funk Hill near Copperopolis, California, where he accidentally dropped a handkerchief with a laundry mark that was used to identify him. (1/5)

Ed and Pearl: On this day in history, 56 years ago, November 2, 1969, Ed Sullivan surprised Sunday prime-time television audiences when he kissed Pearl Bailey at the end of her performance on his show. (1/6)

Presidential Sanity: On this day in history, 50 years ago, November 1, 1975, Air Force Major Harold Hering’s military career was terminated by a Board of Inquiry because he asked if there could be assurances that any orders to launch nuclear missiles had been made by a sane President. (1/5)

Royal Response: On this day in history, 249 years ago, October 31, 1776, King George III gave his first official response to the Declaration of Independence in an address to Parliament. (1/6)

Donora Death Fog: On this day in history, 77 years ago, October 30, 1948, the first of twenty deaths was confirmed during the “Death Fog” that had enveloped Donora, Pennsylvania, for four days. (1/5)

Kiel Mutiny: On this day in history, 107 years ago, October 29, 1918, a large number of sailors of the Imperial German Navy refused to embark on what they saw as a final futile suicide mission against the British Grand Fleet. (1/4)

Electromagnetism: On this day in history, 194 years ago, October 28, 1831, Michael Faraday created the first small electrical transformer in his laboratory by winding copper wires around an iron ring and connecting a battery to one wire and a galvanometer to another. (1/4)

Barbed Wire: On this day in history, 152 years ago, October 27, 1873, Joseph Farwell Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, applied for a patent on his “Improvement in Wire-Fences,” also known as barbed wire. (1/6)

The Gift of a Prehistoric Monument: On this day in history, 107 years ago, October 26, 1918, Cecil Herbert Edward Chubb—the last private owner of the Stonehenge Monument—donated Stonehenge to the British government. (1/5)

Donald Duck Weekblad: On this day in history, 73 years ago, October 25, 1952, the first issue of “Donald Duck een Vrokil Weekblad” [a cheerful weekly magazine] was published in the Netherlands. (1/4)

The First Unknown: On this day in history, 104 years ago, October 24, 1921, Sergeant Edward F. Younger was chosen to select which of four unidentified U.S. World I casualties would be buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. (1/5)

State-Sponsored Censorship: On this day in history, 67 years ago, October 23, 1958, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but the Soviet government would not allow him to accept his award. (1/5)

The Met: On this day in history, 142 years ago, October 22, 1883, the Metropolitan Opera—also known as the Met—opened in New York City as an alternative to the established Academy of Music, with a performance of “Faust.” (1/6)

Trump’s not sending us the best and brightest. He’s emptying prisons, sending insurrectionists to us. The first act that these people make, when allowed back into our cities, is to threaten Congressmen. We’re a country that was founded on people that wanted to uphold the law, not break the law.

Old Ironsides: On this day in history, 228 years ago, October 21, 1797, the “U.S.S. Constitution” was launched from Boston Harbor after two previous unsuccessful launches on September 20 and September 22 when its weight had caused it to settle into the ground below the surface. (1/5)

Fosbury Flop: On this day in history, 57 years ago, October 20, 1968, Dick Fosbury won the Olympic gold medal in the high jump, clearing 7 feet 4½ inches, setting a new Olympic record and introducing the world to the Fosbury Flop. (1/4)

Why did the elk cross the driveway? To get to the other side, of course. It had been doing some vocalizing in the forest before wandering across the driveway yesterday evening. October 18, 2025, 7:47 p.m. youtu.be/SlAVZ8pX6HU

Taxation Without Representation Is Tyranny! On this day in history, 260 years ago, October 19, 1765, the Stamp Act Congress (also known as the Continental Congress of 1765) passed the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, documenting the sentiment of “no taxation without representation.” (1/4)

Shoomakers of Boston: On this day in history, 377 years ago, October 18, 1648, the first labor organization in America became official when the Massachusetts Bay Colony granted the charter of incorporation to the “Shoomakers of Boston.” (1/4)

Enforcement Acts: On this day in history, 154 years ago, October 17, 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant suspended habeas corpus to send federal troops into nine counties in South Carolina to suppress the violence being waged by the Ku Klux Klan in violation of the Enforcement Acts of 1870–1871. (1/4)

The Peoria Speech: On this day in history, 171 years ago, October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln’s Peoria Speech—concerning slavery in newly established states—signaled Lincoln’s return to politics after having limited himself to one term in the U.S. House. (1/5)

Tuxedo Debut: On this day in history, 139 years ago, October 15, 1886, Griswold Lorillard and friends showed up to the Autumn Ball in Tuxedo, New York, wearing tailless dress coats, a style that had been popularized in England by Albert Prince of Wales (later to be King Edward VII). (1/4)

Caving in to Racism: On this day in history, 109 years ago, October 14, 1916, the Rutgers University football team benched their star sophomore player, Paul Robeson, because the opposing team, Washington and Lee University, refused to take the field against a Black opponent. (1/5)

Continental Navy: On this day in history, 250 years ago, October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress of the United Colonies authorized the creation of the Continental Navy to fight against the British forces in the Revolutionary War. (1/5)

“And the Banker Never Wears a Mac” On this day in history, 202 years ago, October 12, 1823, the first Mackintosh raincoats (also known as Macs and originally spelled “Macintosh”) were offered for sale at a shop in Glasgow, Scotland. (1/4)

SAVE THE SMITHSONIAN!!!

Inventive Barber: On this day in history, 138 years ago, October 11, 1887, Alexander Miles—the first Black member of the Duluth, Minnesota, Chamber of Commerce—was awarded U.S. Patent No. 371,207 for a mechanism to automatically open and close elevator doors. (1/4)

Mrs. Pankhurst: On this day in history, 122 years ago, October 10, 1903, Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst and daughter Christabel founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Manchester, England, which became the leading militant group fighting for women’s suffrage in England. (1/4)

Astronomical Clock: On this day in history, 615 years ago, October 9, 1410, the first written mention was made of the Prague astronomical clock, the oldest still-functioning clock in the world. In addition to standard time, the clock shows old Bohemian time, star time, and Babylon time. (1/4)

Microwave Oven: On this day in history, 80 years ago, October 8, 1945, Percy LaBaron Spencer filed a patent application for the first microwave oven, although the patent was not granted to him until January 24, 1950. (1/5)

Saving John Lennon: On this day in history, 50 years ago, October 7, 1975, after three years of legal battles, John Lennon’s deportation order was reversed by a Federal Court of Appeals. (1/5)

American Library Association: On this day in history, 149 years ago, October 6, 1876, at the conclusion of the Convention of Librarians held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 103 librarians signed the register to become charter members of the American Library Association (ALA). (1/4)

Enzo’s First Race: On this day in history, 106 years ago, October 5, 1919, Enzo Ferrari entered his first automobile race, the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hillclimb race, and finished in third place. (1/4)

Transatlantic Jet Flight: On this day in history, 67 years ago, October 4, 1958, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) began the first jet-powered passenger flights between London and New York. (1/4)

“Oh, Rob!” On this day in history, 64 years ago, October 3, 1961, the first episode of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” aired on television, introducing two of America’s favorite actors to the viewing public: Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore as Rob and Laura Petrie. (1/4)

Sports Drink: On this day in history, 60 years ago, October 2, 1965, Dr. James Robert Cade from the Medical College at the University of Florida tested a new concoction to help regulate the electrolytes of football players during hot weather. (1/6)

Nuremberg: On this day in history, 79 years ago, October 1, 1946, judgment was rendered against Nazi, Gestapo, and Schutzstaffel (SS) leaders on charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal following the end of World War II. (1/5)

Votes for Women! On this day in history, 107 years ago, September 20, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson addressed Congress to urge passage of the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote. (1/5)

Death of an Inventor: On this day in history, 112 years ago, September 29, 1913, Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine and diesel fuel, disappeared from the steamship “Dresden” while traveling to England, and his body was discovered floating in the water ten days later. (1/4)

The Original Anti-Vaxxers: On this day in history, 140 years ago, September 28, 1885, a crowd of anti-vaccination rioters in Montreal, several thousand strong, wrecked the office of the local Board of Health, and moved on to vandalize the City Hall building and the “Herald” newspaper office. (1/5)

Apparently, someone from the U.N. made Amelia Earhart’s plane come to a screeching halt, and Trump wants to get to the bottom of it.

Tabasco Sauce: On this day in history, 155 years ago, September 27, 1870, Edmund McIlhenny received Letters Patent No. 107,701 for his invention of Tabasco Sauce. (1/5)

License to Practice Medicine: On this day in history, 253 years ago, September 26, 1772, the Assembly of the colonial Province of New Jersey passed “An Act Regulating the Practice of Medicine,” requiring anyone practicing medicine to be examined, approved, and licensed. (1/4)

Transatlantic Service: On this day in history, 69 years ago, September 25, 1956, telephone service was inaugurated on Transatlantic No. 1 (known as TAT-1), the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable that had been laid between Oban, Scotland, and Newfoundland, Canada. (1/3)