History

2019

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 March 2019's archived History home page to learn more about Albert Einstein
and physics using census data and records.

January 2019: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919

On January 15, 1919, a steel tank holding molasses ruptured sending a 2.3 million gallon, 26 million pound wave of the dark, sticky syrup surging through the North End neighborhood streets of Boston, MA. Learn more about the Boston Molasses Flood and its victims using census data and records.

February 2019: Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement

Due to a lapse in appropriations, we republished the February 2018 homepage featuring Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement.

March 2019: Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein—one of history's most influential physicists—was born 140 years ago this month on March 14, 1879. Over the course of his lifetime, the hundreds of scientific papers, articles, and books Einstein published have become the cornerstone of modern physics and scientific thought and theory. Learn more about Einstein using census data and records.

April 2019: Robert Peary and the Exploration of the North Pole

After a 9-month journey through some of the most severe conditions on Earth, an expedition led by Robert E. Peary claimed it was the first to reach the geographic North Pole on April 6, 1909. His claim would not go unchallenged. Learn more about Robert Peary and the exploration of the Earth's polar regions using census data and records.

May 2019: 1889 Johnstown Flood

After a May 1889 storm dumped nearly 10 inches of rain on Pennsylvania, the South Fork Dam on the state's Little Conemaugh River could no longer hold the rain-swollen waters of Lake Conemaugh. Around 3:00 p.m., on May 31, the earthen barrier failed and sent a massive wave of destruction through the villages of the Conemaugh Valley, including Johnstown, PA. When the water subsided, 2,208 people were dead, making the "Johnstown Flood" the deadliest disaster in U.S. history until the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. Learn more about the Johnstown Flood using census data and records.

June 2019: 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion

On the morning of June 6, 1944, soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and other Allied nations landed on a 50-mile stretch of fortified beaches in Normandy, France, as part of Operation Overlord. After facing withering fire to defeat the Nazi defenders and establish beachheads, approximately 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel and landed in France by day's end. The success of the D-Day invasion established a foothold in France that allowed soldiers and supplies to begin the task of freeing Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control.. Learn more about the Johnstown Flood using census data and records. Learn more about the D-Day invasion and the soldiers who fought and died to liberate Europe using census data and records.

July 2019: Apollo 11 and the First Man on the Moon

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the world paused to watch and listen as America's Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. The historic moment was the climax of a space program that President John F. Kennedy challenged 8 years earlier to, "commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." Learn more about the Moon landing and the people who made it possible using census data and records.

August 2019: Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Fifty years ago this month, more than 400,000 people descended on Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, NY, for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair Link to a non-federal Web site. Held August 15–18, 1969, the festival featured some of the most iconic rock and folk music performers of the era, including Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix. Learn more about "Woodstock" using census data and records.

September 2019: Willie Mays' 600th Home Run

Fifty years ago this month, on September 22, 1969, San Francisco Giants center fielder Willie Mays hit his 600th home run in a game against the San Diego Padres. At the time, only Mays and the legendary "Sultan of Swat" Babe Ruth managed to hit 600 "dingers" during their professional baseball careers. Learn more about Willie Mays and baseball using census data and records.

October 2019: 1929 Stock Market Crash

Ninety years ago this month, the booming economic prosperity and feverish consumerism that exemplified the "Roaring 1920s" came to a screeching halt when the U.S. stock market suffered its greatest collapse in history. Investors lost more than $30 billion as stock prices spiraled downward between October 24–29. The collapse was the beginning of a global economic depression that saw the American stock market lose 89 percent of its value between October 1929 and July 1932, and would not see substantial recovery until the beginning of World War II in 1939. Learn more about the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression that followed using census data and records.

November 2019: Thanksgiving

On November 28, 2019, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving. The way Americans celebrate the holiday has changed since colonists celebrated the first days of thanksgiving in Virginia and Massachusetts in the early 1600s. No longer strictly a holiday celebrating survival and the autumn harvest, Thanksgiving is now a time for families and friends to gather, enjoy a meal together, watch football, participate in charitable events, and begin the holiday shopping season. Learn more about the holiday and how Americans celebrate it using census data and records.

December 2019: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Eighty years ago this year, advertising copywriter Robert L. May published Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as part of a 1939 holiday promotion sponsored by the Montgomery Ward department store headquartered in Chicago, IL. In the decades since its publication, Rudolph has become an iconic holiday character featured in books, music, and television specials, recognized by millions of children (and adults) worldwide. Learn more about Robert L. May and his holiday story using census data and records.