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Seventy-two years ago today Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, opening a second front. The secrecy surrounding "Operation Overlord" is legendary. In a letter from the Gilder Lehrman Collection written on June 6, 1944,...

On June 7, 1892, New Orleans native Homer Plessy purposely violated the Louisiana separate car law in order to bring the issue of segregation to the Supreme Court. Plessy was chosen for this action by the Comité des Citoyens—a ...

Be part of a national public programming initiative to mark the 100th anniversary of the US entry into World War I The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce that beginning in Fall 2016 grants of $1200–$1800 are available to...

Take some time out from the 2016 election to explore our Electing the President timeline and fill up on facts from elections past. Then look for more of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Online Exhibition and Interactive Features . ...

Today marks 112 years since the sinking of the General Slocum , the worst maritime disaster in New York City history. The General Slocum , named after a Civil War general, Henry Warner Slocum, was built in 1891. On June 15, 1904, St....

It comes as no surprise that Hamilton won eleven Tony Awards last night. It was, after all, the most nominated show in Broadway history with sixteen nominations. It fell one short of tying the record of twelve awards won by The...

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964. Title VII of the act banned discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin. The March on Washington and other widespread, grassroots...

When Muhammad Ali died on June 3, 2016, the world mourned. Many recalled his boxing prowess, some his powerful role in the Civil Rights Movement, others his philanthropy. But Ali also made legal history in his lifetime as a plaintiff...

" I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. " The words of the Pledge of Allegiance, adopted by...

On June 28, 1919, one of the most controversial political documents in recent history was signed at the Palace of Versailles. President Wilson, Georges Clemenceau of France, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain, and Vittorio...

On June 27, 1950, President Truman announced that the US would be sending air and naval troops to Korea . The conflict on the other side of the world had begun two days before when North Korea invaded South Korea in an effort to unify...

Desire for a civil service job might seem like an odd reason to commit a capital crime—but it was one of the reasons given by the man who assassinate President James A. Garfield , Charles J. Guiteau. He shot the President on July 2,...

The Battle of the Little Bighorn looms large in American history. Civil War hero and larger-than-life general George Custer and more than two hundred of his men died along Montana’s Little Bighorn River. On June 25 and 26, 1876,...

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1 to July 3, 1863, ended with a victory for Union General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac. The three-day battle was the bloodiest in the war, with...

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. The following day John Adams wrote home from Philadelphia that "the Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am...

The radio journalists at NPR followed some of the 20,000 New York City students who are getting a chance to see the Broadway smash Hamilton thanks to a program of The Rockefeller Foundation and the Gilder Lehrman Institute . A...

Over the past week those nations involved in World War I have been commemorating the devastating Battle of the Somme , which raged over 141 days starting on July 1, 1916, and resulted in more than a million casualties. On the first...

Thirty-two years ago today Walter Mondale made the unprecedented move of selecting a woman as his running mate on the Democratic ticket for the presidency. He chose Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Congress from Queens, New York, and a...

The Potsdam Conference, which began on July 17, 1945, was the third meeting of the " Big Three, " after Tehran and Yalta, to address the waging of WWII. But this time the cast was different, FDR’s death thrusting Harry Truman into the...

No, we’re not referring to the fact the Lin-Manuel Miranda has left the lead in his Broadway smash. On this day in 1804 Alexander Hamilton died from injuries sustained in a duel with Aaron Burr. Find out more about Hamilton ’s life...

We’re excited to team up with Google Cultural Institute on the launch of their American Democracy initiative! The project brings together more than 60 online exhibits from museums, archives, and institutions around the country, and...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to...

Today we say Happy Birthday to Henry Knox, one of the stars of the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Henry grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. When Henry was nine, the family was in serious financial straits. Henry left school to help support...

After the Constitutional Convention adopted the US Constitution in September 1787, the long and contentious road to its ratification began. Each state formed a special convention to vote on ratification. The pressure was on: at a...

From the time of the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, its members, also known as Mormons, faced persecution. In 1844, the church’s founder, Joseph Smith, was murdered in Illinois. Seeking a safer...