On September 25, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female Supreme Court Justice in the United States when she was sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger. She had been nominated by President Ronald Reagan. She retired in 2006.

History Teacher of the Year Finalists and other state winners have enjoyed local and state press for their achievements. We will continue to highlight their success in the coming months as we celebrate our National History Teacher of the Year, Alysha Butler.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute announced on September 10 that Alysha Butler, a history teacher at McKinley Technological High School in Washington, DC, has been named the 2019 National History Teacher of the Year.

Author and historian Colin Calloway has won the coveted George Washington Prize, including an award of $50,000, for his new book, The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation (Oxford).

On September 4, 1882, the first electrical lighting in New York City signaled a new era of urban illumination. Pearl Street Station, the first central power station in the world, was operated by Thomas Alva Edison and the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York, which would later become Consolidated Edison, and it was from here the switch was flipped.

There is still time to apply for fall courses in the Pace–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History Program.