Video: 'Ken Burns’ Civil War, ep1 part 2-3' (Feb. 18, 1861, at 29:18)

(Monday, February 18, 1861, approximately 1:00 p.m. local time) — Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as provisional president of the Confederate States of America today on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery before an audience estimated at ten thousand people.
Continue reading Jefferson Davis sworn in as provisional president of the Confederate States of America 160 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 18 1861) →

Video: 'The American Presidential Election of 1800'

(Tuesday, February 17, 1801, during the United States presidential election, 1800) — The U.S. House of Representatives chose incumbent Vice President Thomas Jefferson of Virginia as the third president of the United States today after he and former U.S. Senator Aaron Burr of New York tied in the Electoral College.
Continue reading U.S. House breaks Electoral College tie, elects Thomas Jefferson president of the United States 220 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 17 1801) →

Video: 'Documentary Nixon by Nixon In His Own Words'

(Tuesday, February 16, 1971, unknown time between 7:56 a.m. and 8:58 a.m. EST) — The first recording by a taping system secretly installed by the United States Secret Service, at the request of U.S. President Richard Nixon, was made today at the White House.
Continue reading First recording by secret taping system installed by U.S. President Nixon made this hour 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 16 1971) →

Video: 'Lincoln's Farewell Address to Springfield'

(Monday, February 11, 1861, 8:00 a.m. local time) — With the country on the brink of civil war over the issue of slavery, U.S. President-elect Abraham Lincoln departed his adopted hometown of Springfield, Illinois, today en route to his inauguration in the nation’s capital on Mar. 4, 1861.
Continue reading President-elect Abraham Lincoln bids farewell to adopted hometown of Springfield, Illinois 160 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 11 1861) →

Video: 'The Confederate States of America'

(Friday, February 8, 1861, at around midnight local time) — The Confederate States of America (CSA), an unrecognized breakaway state that fought against the United States of America during the American Civil War, was formed late tonight in the Alabama Capitol at Montgomery when representatives from seven secessionist slave states unanimously ratified a Provisional Constitution.
Continue reading Seven secessionist slave states form Confederate States of America 160 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 8 1861) →

Video: 'Ronald Reagan: Movie Star Turned President | Full Documentary | Biography'

(Monday, February 6, 1911, 4:16 a.m. local time) — Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, was born today in an apartment on the second floor of a commercial building in Tampico, Illinois.
Continue reading U.S. President Ronald Reagan born in Tampico, Illinois 110 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 6 1911) →

Video: 'Texas in the Civil War'

(Friday, February 1, 1861; 12 weeks after the 1860 United States presidential election) — 87 days after Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the presidential election of 1860 on a platform which opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories, Texas became the seventh state to leave the Union today when the the Texas Legislature voted 166-7 to secede.
Continue reading Texas becomes seventh Southern state to secede from the Union 160 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 1 1861) →

Video: 'NASA's First Trained Astronaut in Space'

(Tuesday, January 31, 1961, 11:55 a.m. EST) — A 37-pound male chimpanzee nicknamed “Ham” was rocketed into space today from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard Mercury-Redstone 2 in a test of the Project Mercury capsule that is scheduled to carry a human astronaut into orbit.
Continue reading NASA launches rocket carrying Ham the Chimp into space 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 31 1961) →

Video: 'Dick Cheney - A Heartbeat Away'

(Thursday, January 30, 1941) — Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States who served during the administration of President George W. Bush (2001-2009), was born Richard Bruce Cheney today in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Continue reading U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney born in Lincoln, Nebraska 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 30 1941) →

Video: 'Kansas - 50 States - US Geography'

(Tuesday, January 29, 1861; during ) — Following the succession of six Southern states over the issue of preserving slavery, President James Buchanan signed a bill today officially admitting Kansas, located in the Midwestern United States, as a free state.
Continue reading Kansas enters the Union as a free state 160 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 1861) →