Browse important events in history by clicking on each date to see a featured archival New York Times front page and article, as well as a list of other notable events that occurred on that day. Update: Oct. We hope to be able to publish a revamped version on our new site soon.
Readers interested in key dates in history may continue to use it as a resource, but please note that for now we are neither adding new material to reflect current events nor editing to reflect changes in past events. Site Navigation Site Mobile Navigation. In , Japanese Gen. Nogi received from Russian Gen. In , President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state. In , Steven P. In , the United States surgeon general reported that cigarettes cause lung cancer.
In , a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti, killing over , people and destroying much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. In , English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there first.
In , millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N. In , Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. In , in its Roe vs. Wade decision, the Supreme Court legalized abortions, using a trimester approach. In , President Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.
In , the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U. In , India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.
