Video: 'William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech'

(Thursday, July 9, 1896, 2:00 p.m. local time) — Former Rep. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska delivered his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention at Chicago Coliseum, in which he decried the gold standard, concluding, “you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” Continue reading William Jennings Bryan delivers ‘Cross of Gold’ speech at DNC in Chicago 120 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (July 9 1896) →

Video: 'Weather History: 1896 St. Louis Tornado'

(Wednesday, May 27, 1896, at around 6:15 p.m. local time) — 255 people were killed tonight when a tornado struck St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, causing over $10 million in damage (approximately $2.9 billion in damage adjusted for 1997).

Video: 'Olympic Games, Athens, 1896'

(Easter Monday, April 6, 1896) — The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, were held today in Athens as King George I of Greece and a crowd of 80,000 spectators welcomed 241 athletes from 14 nations to the international competition (which continued through Apr. 15, 1896).

Video: 'Andrea Chenier - Domingo, Benackova, Cappuccilli, Santi (multi subs)'

(Saturday, March 28, 1896) — The opera Andrea Chénier, by Umberto Giordano, based loosely on the life of the French poet, premiered today at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.

Video: 'Giacomo Puccini -- La Bohème -- Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón (New Upload, Full HD 1080p)'

(Saturday, February 1, 1896) — La bohème, an opera in four acts composed by Giacomo Puccini, premiered today in Turin, Italy, at the Teatro Regio, conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.

Video: 'Utah : The Struggle for Statehood, part 1 (of 2)'

(Saturday, January 4, 1896) — Utah today became the 45th state of the United States of America, six years after the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dropped its approval of polygamy. Continue reading Utah admitted as 45th state 120 years ago today (Jan 4 1896) →

(Friday, October 4, 1895) — The first U.S. Open Men’s Golf Championship administered by the United States Golf Association was held today at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island.

Horace Rawlins (pictured above) won the inaugural U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of runner-up Willie Dunn.

Video: 'Alfred Dreyfus Documentary | Full video |' (Dec. 22, 1894, at 8:55)

(Saturday, December 22, 1894; during the Dreyfus Affair) — French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason today in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of Antisemitism (Dreyfus was eventually vindicated).