History Today

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 26th.

It’s an event that was overshadowed by the much larger attack that followed, but on this day in 1993, a terrorist bomb exploded in the basement parking garage of New York’s World Trade Center. Although the bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the towers, the explosion killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 25th.

Today, there are nearly 120 people of color serving in the United States Congress, but that was far from the case back on this day in 1870, when Hiram Rhoads Revels was sworn in as the first-ever African American in Congress.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 24th.

As the nation moves on from the third impeachment trial in U.S. history, we look back to this day in 1869, when President Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. president to be impeached.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 23rd.

It’s the subject of one the most iconic photographs in American history--on this day in 1945, a group of U.S. Marines raised the American flag over Mount Suribachi during the bloody Battle of Iwo JIma.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 22nd. Do you believe in miracles? That famous line by sportscaster Al Michaels is what many Americans remember about this day 40 years ago, when the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in the game dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.” In one of the most dramatic upsets in sports history, the seventh-seeded American amateurs beat the four-time Olympic champions, 4-3.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 21st. The Washington Monument turns 135 years old today. On this day in 1855, the Washington , D.C. landmark was dedicated by President Chester Arthur. The 555-foot marble obelisk was the tallest structure in the world when it was completed, and it remains, by law, the tallest building in D.C.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 20th. Today, it costs 55 cents to send a standard piece of first-class mail. That’s a far cry from the 6 cents it cost way back on this day in 1792, when George Washington signed the legislation that created the U.S. postal service. The new law set up 75 regional post offices to serve the country, which at the time had a population of just 4 million people.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 19th. It’s been more than 200 years since his death, but his name is still synonymous with the word "traitor"--on this day in 1777, during the American Revolution, Congress declined to promote Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, instead promoting five of his junior officers. Arnold famously became so bitter at being passed over that he offered to hand over West Point to the British.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 18th. Just weeks after astronomers discovered that Pluto’s icy nitrogen “heart” makes its atmosphere spin backwards, we look back to this day in 1930, when Pluto was first discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on February 17th. Reports that Russia spread fake news in an effort to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election surprised many Americans, but using the media as a political tool is far from a new concept. In fact, on this day in 1947, the U.S. unleashed a new Cold War propaganda tool, when it began broadcasting Voice of America radio to Russia.