It was Brooklyn-born Shirley Chisholm (1924), who was the first black woman elected to Congress from that borough in 1969. In 1972, she ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president.

The English-speaking American Indian Squanto famous for befriending the Pilgrims at Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21 was a Pawtuxet.

Japan occupied the Aleutian islands Attu, Agattu, and Kiska from 1942 to 1943. The islands lie west of the Alaskan Peninsula.

The firm, Drexel Burnham Lambert, that specialized in using junk bonds to fund 1980s corporate takeovers marked the beginning of a new decade by filing for bankruptcy on February 13, 1990. The company had defaulted on more than $100 million in loans.

Dick Beals, himself only four-and-a-half feet tall, did the voice of the singing animated Alka-Seltzer puppet in over 200 TV commercials from 1954 to 1964. Speedy, who had an Alka-Seltzer tablet for a hat and another for his torso, was designed by Robert Watkins for Wade Advertising of Chicago.

An authoritative variorum edition of Emily Dickinson’s complete poems was not published until Thomas H. Johnson did so in 1955, nearly 70 years after Dickinson’s death. Dickinson (1830-86) died with over 1709 poems unpublished; shortly thereafter (in 1890-91), her friends Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel L. Todd began a tradition of publishing her poetry in…

The American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) reached her fourth year at Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1901, but failed several courses and dropped out. After she moved to Paris, her salon served as a gathering place for artists and writers in the 1920s. The author of such novels as The Moviegoer (1961), Walker Percy received…

John F. Kennedy was approaching his 45th birthday when Marilyn Monroe sang the song to him at a Democratic fund-raiser in Madison Square Garden on March 19, 1962.

The 60-foot-wide wood, steel, and concrete structure known as the boardwalk in Atlantic City is about 4.5 miles long. It continues on another two miles into Ventnor City, south of Atlantic City. The first boardwalk in Atlantic City was built in 1870.

Ohio and California are tied with six each for producing the most Miss America winners. Twenty-three states have produced no Miss America winners at all, even though the Miss America pageant has been crowning beauty queens for over 70 years (since 1921). As of 1993, Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, and Wyoming are among the states…

The 13 original American colonies were: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The first women’s college in the U.S. was the Troy Female Seminary, in Troy, New York, founded by Emma Willard (1787-1870) in 1821. The first coeducational college was Oberlin College, which first accepted female students in 1833.

The Virginia dynasty were four of the first five presidents, all from Virginia: George Washington (served 1789-97) Thomas Jefferson (served 1801-09) James Madison (served 1809-17) James Monroe (served 1817-25) John Adams of Massachusetts (served 1797-1801) was the only one of the first five presidents not from Virginia. His son John Quincy Adams broke the hold…

John Adams (1735-1826), the second president, was the first president defeated for reelection in 1801. Thomas Jefferson defeated him and served two terms, from 1801 to 1809.

President Franklin Roosevelt ordered U.S. banks closed March 6-9, 1933 during The Hundred Days .

Passengers used New York’s original Pennsylvania Station for 53 years, from its opening in 1910 to its demolition in 1963. Designed by McKim, Mead & White, the two-square-block structure was made of granite with a Doric colonnade. It was torn down to make way for the Madison Square Garden sports and office complex.

Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling twice. In their first encounter in 1936, before Louis became heavyweight champion, the German boxer emerged the winner. In 1938, now the world champion, Louis beat Schmeling in a one-round knockout that struck a symbolic blow to Nazi Germany’s claims of national and racial superiority. Louis’s initial loss to Schmeling…

The source of the term “hoosier” for Indiana residents is often said to be Samuel Hoosier, a contractor for the Ohio Falls Canal in Louisville, Ohio, in 1825. Hoosier’s employees, recruited from Indiana, were known as the “Hoosier men” or simply “Hoosiers.” By 1833, the term was being used in local periodicals, for example, in…

Attila is the name for the man described by sixth-century historian Jordanes as “short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head”. It means “Little Father.” Attila was born circa 406 and died in 453.

The two candidates for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, held seven debates. Democrat Douglas was reelected. But Lincoln’s strong performance in the campaign led to his nomination as the Republican candidate for president in 1860.

“Make-Believe Ballroom” was a long-lived program of American popular music and ballroom music on New York radio station WNEW-AM. Begun in 1934 by announcer Martin Block, it ran until WNEW-AM went off the air on December 11, 1992. It was known for popularizing big band, swing, and jazz, and for its distinctive announcers, such as…

The New York Stock and Exchange Board was formally organized in 1817, and the name New York Stock Exchange was adopted in 1863. Since 1953, membership in the exchange has been limited to 1,366. Since 1868, new members have purchased seats (with exchange approval) from existing members.

Sally Hemings was the name of the slave reputed to have been Thomas Jefferson’s mistress. The charge that he had fathered children by her while he was an envoy in Paris came up during the presidential election of 1804, which he won just the same.

The first written constitution in the U.S. was the Fundamental Orders, written for the Connecticut Colony at its founding in 1639. This document is considered the first written constitution not only in the U.S. but the world.

In 1619, a Dutch ship brought the first 20 slaves to the English colony of Virginia. How many slaves were freed after the American Civil War? About 4 million. In total, how many Africans were brought to the United States as slaves? Approximately 15 million.

The Declaration of Independence cited 27 separate grievances against the king of Great Britain, George III. These grievances included refusing his assent to “wholesome” laws, making judges dependent on “his will alone,” and bringing in foreign mercenaries to wage war on the colonies in a way “totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.”

Yes, the U.S. has attacked Canada. The U.S. attempted to conquer Canada, then a British colony, in 1813, during the War of 1812. American forces got as far as burning the city of York (now Toronto) before being turned back. In retribution, the British burned much of Washington, D.C., the following year.

Eight countries are currently known or suspected to have nuclear weapons. They are: China, France, India, Israel, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Native American senator, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, whose term began in 1993, represents Colorado. He is a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Montana.

African-American Sergeant William H. Carney won Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage in the charge of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers on Fort Wagner in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, in July 1863. The charge was unsuccessful, but the regiment’s bravery is commemorated by a monument at the Boston House of Commons. The black…

On October 25, 1854, during the Crimean War, James Thomas Brudenell, Seventh Earl of Cardigan, led the British cavalry against the Russians in the Battle of Balaklava. The charge was disastrous, but it did inspire the admiration of the British public, particularly that of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who wrote the 1855 poem “The Charge of…

The 71-year-old head of the Gambino crime family Paul Castellano was shot dead on December 16, 1985, on 46th Street near Third Avenue in New York City. His successor, John Gotti, reputedly masterminded the killing.

In 1942, about 100,000 Japanese-Americans were moved to ten internment camps in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. The camps were closed in late 1945.

The duties assigned to the vice-president by the Constitution are: To be president of the Senate; to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate when needed; and to replace the president of the U.S. in the event that the latter’s term ends prematurely.

The comedienne made headlines for her performance at the July 25, 1990, game of the San Diego Padres-Cincinnati Reds. Arnold grabbed her crotch in response to boos at her handling of the anthem.