History Today

On this day in history: the ratification of the 14th amendment, the beginning of WWI, and an unfortunate collision between a plane and the Empire State Building.

On this day in history: Nixon's impeachment hearings, the first jet-engine airliner, and the end of the Korean War.

On this day in history: the establishment of the US Postal System, founding the FBI, and birthday boy Mick Jagger.

On this day in history: The first "test tube" baby, the first railroad accident, and Benito finito.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on July 24th. Nearly 100 million Americans are expected to head out for a summer vacation this year--and the idea of a summer break is hardly new. In fact, even ancient Inca leaders hit the countryside in the summer months--many of them to Machu Picchu, a city deep in the Peruvian Andes. And on this day in 1911, the ruins of the ancient city were first seen by American archeologist Hiram Bingham.

Hello and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on July 23rd. It’s been a hot month across much of the country, and that makes it a perfect time to indulge in the quintessential summer treat--the ice cream cone. And, according to legend, it was on this day in 1904 when an ice-cream seller put two scoops inside a rolled pastry at the Chicago World’s Fair.

Hello and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on July 22nd. He’s not as famous as Charles Lindbergh or Amelia Earhart, but he probably deserves to be: 86 years ago today, aviator Wiley Post made aviation history when he became the first person ever to fly solo around the world. Making rest stops in Berlin, the Soviet Union, Alaska and Canada, the feat took Post just under 7 days and 19 hours.

Hello and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on July 21st. Just one day after the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s moon walk comes another space milestone--on this day in 2011, NASA’s space shuttle program came to an end when the space shuttle Atlantis landed safely on Earth. Over the course of 30 years, NASA’s five shuttles travelled more than 500 million miles and carried more than 350 people into space.

Hello and welcome to This Day in History brought to you by AARP. Take on today and every day with AARP. Here’s what happened on July 20th. It was one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind--on this day in 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human ever to walk on the moon. The lunar landing came just eight years after President John F.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on July 19th. Emojis have made communicating via picture second nature, but image-based languages are far from new: They can be traced back to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics—a language that used symbols to represent objects and sounds. Hieroglyphics remained untranslated for thousands of years until French soldiers discovered a black slab of ancient writing near the town of Rosetta on this day in 1799.