History

2023

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Learn more about the classic movie The Wizard of Oz using census data and records in August 2023.

Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

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.

January 2023: New York City and the New Year

The annual "Ball Drop" in New York City, NY's Times Square has been a popular attraction for New Year's Eve celebrants for more than a century. In 2023, the city's holiday revelers cheered for more than just the arrival of a new year. The 8.8 million people living in Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, can also toast the 125th anniversary of the consolidation of the city's five boroughs. Use census data to learn more about our nation's largest city and the celebration of the New Year holiday.

February 2023: Valentine's Day

Every February 14, couples throughout the United States—and the world—observe Valentine's Day with the exchange of cards, candy, flowers, and other gifts. Use census data and records to learn more about the holiday and Valentine's Day spending.

March 2023: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Doctors documented the "first" case of the H1N1 influenza pandemic on March 4, 1918, at Camp Funston, Fort Riley, KS. Nicknamed the "Spanish Flu," many scientists and researchers suspect that these and earlier Kansas infections were the first of an influenza pandemic that afflicted 500 million and killed as many as 100 million between 1918 and 1920 worldwide. The 1918 influenza pandemic was one of the greatest pandemics in human history with scenes of mask-clad adults and children, social distancing, and overwhelmed hospitals reminiscent of the more recent COVID-19 pandemic.

April 2023: The 1803 Louisiana Purchase

On April 30, 1803, representatives of the United States and France signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. With the treaty's signing, the United States expanded by more than 828,000 square miles at a cost of $15 million dollars—just 3 cents per acre!

May 2023: The Transcontinental Railroad

On May 10, 1869, Central Pacific Railroad President Leland Stanford used a silver hammer to drive a ceremonial golden rail spike that completed the 1,912-mile-long Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads' tracks at Promontory Summit, UT. The ceremony marked the opening of the United States' first transcontinental railroad. Use census data and records to learn more about the 6-year construction project that opened huge swaths of the United States to settlement and reduced the average travel time between New York City, NY, and San Francisco, CA, from months in 1860 to just 7 days by 1870.

June 2023: 1788 Ratification of the U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788> For 235 years, it has guided our government, protected the rights of all Americans, and inspired democracies around the world. Learn more about the Constitution and its requirement that the United States conduct a census every 10 years using census data and records.

July 2023: 1848 Women's Rights Convention

On July 19, 1848, the American Women's Rights and Suffrage Movements took shape at Seneca Falls, NY, as many of the nation's greatest social activists gathered to discuss issues related to the role of women in American society. The gathering culminated with the signing and publication of the Declaration of Sentiments. The declaration not only criticized the inequality between men and women in the United States, but also served as the framework for the women's rights movement in the decades to come. Learn more about the convention and its participants using census data and records.

August 2023: The Wizard of Oz

The movie The Wizard of Oz premiered on August 11–12, 1939. More than 8 decades later, movie critics, adults, and children still consider it to be one of the greatest movies in film history. Learn more about The Wizard of Oz using census data and records.

September 2023: Philo Farnsworth and the Invention of Television

On September 3, 1928, 22-year-old inventor Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrated his electronic television to reporters at his San Francisco, CA, laboratory. Use census data and records to learn more about Farnsworth, television, and television broadcasting.

October 2023: National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month in the United States. Established as National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week in 1945, Congress renamed and expanded recognition of disabled employees to a month-long observance in 1988. For 35 years in the month of October, Americans have celebrated the contributions of our nations disabled employees while learning how inclusive employment polices benefit both employers and employees each October. Use census data and records to learn more about NDEAM and how the censuses and surveys have collected data about Americans with disabilities.

November 2023: John F. Kennedy

Sixty years ago this month, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by an assassin in Dallas, TX. Kennedy was in Dallas on November 22, 1963, to deliver a speech during a five-city Texas trip. At approximately 12:30, shots rang out as the presidential limousine drove through Dealey Plaza. One hour later, the world mourned the loss of the popular and energetic 35th president of the United States. Learn more about John F. Kennedy using census data and records.

December 2023: The 1773 Boston Tea Party

On December 16, 1773, colonists in Massachusetts boarded three merchant ships and dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. The "Boston Tea Party" was the culmination of simmering anger over revenue-generating taxes levied on the colonists without granting them representation in Parliament. King George retaliated with passage of the Coercive ("Intolerable") Acts—laws so burdensome that the colonists organized the First Continental Congress in September 1774, fired the first shots of the American Revolution in 1775, and declared their independence from the crown in 1776. Learn more about the Boston Tea Party and its participants using census data and records.