Also Within This Year in History:
1911
In 1911, a historic heatwave killed hundreds, possibly thousands, in the Northeastern U.S., while in New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of more than 140 trapped immigrant workers. Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole, the Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and future president Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois.
On this day in 1911, one of the most popular stars of early Hollywood, Mary Pickford, marries fellow actor Owen Moore (1886‑1939). Known as “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Pickford was the…
On this day in 1911, President Ronald Wilson Reagan is born in Tampico, Illinois. Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, served for two terms from 1981 to…
On February 6, future president Ronald Reagan is born in Tampico, Illinois. As the 40th president of the United States, the former movie star was called the “Great Communicator” for…
On March 18, 1911, composer Irving Berlin copyrights “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” the multimillion‑selling smash hit that helped turn American popular music into a major international phenomenon, both culturally and economically.…
In one of the darkest moments of America’s industrial history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns, killing 146 workers, on March 25, 1911. The tragedy led…
In one of the most infamous incidents in America’s industrial history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns down on this day in 1911, killing 146 workers.…
George Maledon, the man who executed at least 60 men for “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker, dies from natural causes in Tennessee. Few men actively seek out the job of hangman…
Six years after the First Moroccan Crisis, during which Kaiser Wilhelm’s sensational appearance in Morocco provoked international outrage and led to a strengthening of the bonds between Britain and France…
In a ceremony presided over by President William Howard Taft, the New York Public Library, the largest marble structure ever constructed in the United States, is dedicated in New York…
Thomas Mann visits the Lido in Venice on this day and is inspired with the idea for his novella Death in Venice. Mann was born in Germany in 1875, the…
On May 30, 1911, Ray Harroun drives his single‑seater Marmon Wasp to victory in the inaugural Indianapolis 500, now one of the world’s most famous motor racing competitions. The Indiana…
On May 30, 1911, the inaugural Indianapolis 500 is run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana. The 200‑lap, two‑and‑a‑half mile race has since become a Memorial Day weekend tradition.…
On June 26, 1911, Mildred Didrikson is born in Port Arthur, Texas. As a child, Mildred earned the nicknamed “Babe,” after Babe Ruth, for her ability to hit a baseball…
On July 5, 1911, the mercury in Nashua, New Hampshire peaks at 106 degrees Fahrenheit, one of many record temperatures that are set in the northeastern United States as a…
On July 21, 1911, at the Mansion House in London, David Lloyd George delivers the customary annual address of the British chancellor of the exchequer. Lloyd George, a radical member…
On July 24, 1911, American history scholar Hiram Bingham gets his first look at the ruins of Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the…
On August 6, 1911, Lucille Desiree Ball, one of America’s most famous redheads and beloved comic actresses, is born near Jamestown, New York. At age 15, Ball went to New…
On August 20, 1911, a dispatcher in the New York Times office sends a blazingly fast telegram around the world via commercial service. Exactly 66 years later, the National Aeronautics…
An amateur painter sets up his easel near Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, only to discover that the masterpiece is missing. Earlier in the day,…
Early in the morning of August 29, 1911, two butchers hear dogs barking in the corral of their slaughterhouse outside Oroville, California. When they go out to check, they encounter…
