History

2018

The content of the U.S. Census Bureau's History Web site changes every month. If you missed a month or have been directed to the home page by an older link, visit the archived home pages below.

Archived pages contain the content, links, and photos featured in past home pages.

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Visit February 2018's archived History home page to learn
more about Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement.

Photo courtesy of the State of Alabama.

January 2018: The California Gold Rush

Construction workers at Sutter's Sawmill discovered gold in California's American River 170 years ago this month. Learn more about the 1848 discovery, the gold rush that followed, and the nation's mining industry using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies.

February 2018: Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913. Her arrest for refusing to surrender her seat aboard a Montgomery, AL, public bus led to a boycott of the city's buses by Black customers. The 13-month boycott ended after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city's segregated buses were unconstitutional. Learn more about Parks and the Civil Rights Movement using census data and records.

March 2018: Women's Suffrage

On March 3, 1913, thousands of woman gathered in Washington, DC, to support passage of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote for American women. Learn more about the 1913 Women's Suffrage Procession that followed using census data and records.

April 2018: William Randolph Hearst

Legendary newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst was born 155 years ago this month on April 29, 1863. Learn more about Hearst and the nation's newspaper industry using census data and records.

May 2018: 1893 Chicago World's Fair

Chicago, IL, hosted one of the greatest world's fairs in history 125 years ago this month. More than 27 million visitors marvelled at the fair's architecture, amusements, and exhibits. Use census data and records to learn about the fair, its planning, and some of its famous inventors and innovations.

June 2018: Lou Gehrig

June marks several significant anniversaries in the life of New York Yankees' first baseman Lou Gehrig. Use census records and data to learn more about Gehrig, who remains one of the most beloved and honored players in sports history nearly 8 decades since his death.

July 2018: The Battle of Gettysburg

On the morning of July 1, 1863, the quiet town of Gettysburg, PA, became the focal point of one of the greatest battles of the American Civil War as Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia clashed with George G. Meade's Union Army of the Potomac. The ensuing 3-day battle would become the bloodiest in U.S. history as the Union sought to block the Confederate's invasion of northern territory. Learn more about the American Civil War and its combatatants using census data and records.

August 2018: USS Nautilus

At 11:15pm on August 3, 1958, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571)—the U.S. Navy's first operational nuclear powered submarine—successfully reached 90 degrees North. In doing so, it completed the first-ever submerged transit of the geographic North Pole. Learn more about the USS Nautilus and other submarines using census data and records.

September 2018: 1938 New England Hurricane

New Englanders had little warning of the fast-moving category 3 hurricane that slammed into the region on September 21, 1938. Nicknamed the "Yankee Clipper," "Long Island Express," and "Great New England Hurricane," the storm carved a path of destruction across Long Island, NY, and New England. Eighty years later, the storm is still the strongest and most deadly hurricane to ever hit New England. Learn more about the hurricane and other storms using census data and records.

October 2018: Ford Model T

On October 1, 1908, Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produced the first Model T—a rugged and affordable automobile that made car ownership possible for middle-class Americans. Between 1908 and 1927, Ford built more than 15 million Link to a non-federal Web site of the trustworthy vehicles. One hundred years since its introduction, the Model T remains one of the best-selling automobiles ever built. Learn more about the Model and auto industry using census data and records.

November 2018: World War I Armistice

At 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, an armistice ended hostilities between the Allied Nations (including Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States) and Germany bringing more than 4 years of global warfare to an end. Fought on land, sea, and air, and involving nations on every continent (including Antarctica), the "war to end all wars" killed and wounded millions, obliterated villages and cities, and left behind a scarred landscape that continues to heal 100 years after the opposing armies fired their last artillery shells. Learn more about the war using census data and records.

December 2018: The Wright Brothers

On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers made history when they piloted their Wright Flyer airplane in the world's first powered and controlled flights across the sand dunes of Dare County, NC's Kill Devil Hills. Learn more about the Wright Brothers and the history of flight using census data and records.