Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
Jan
06
Jan
20
Jan
25
Feb
09
On February 9, 1971, pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In August of that year, Paige, a pitching legend known for his fastball, showmanship and the longevity of his playing career, which spanned five decades, was inducted. Joe DiMaggio once called Paige “the best and fastest pitcher I’ve ever faced.”
Pitcher Satchel Paige in a St. Louis Browns uniform.
Bettmann Archive
Mar
30
Jun
06
Jun
13
The New York Times begins publishing portions of the 47-volume Pentagon analysis of how the U.S. commitment in Southeast Asia grew over a period of three decades. Daniel Ellsberg, a former Defense Department analyst who had become an antiwar activist, had stolen the documents. After unsuccessfully offering the documents to prominent opponents of the war in the U.S. Senate, Ellsberg gave them to the Times.
Some of the papers from the archive of Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971
Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Jun
30
Jul
15
During a live television and radio broadcast, President Richard Nixon stuns the nation by announcing that he will visit communist China the following year. The statement marked a dramatic turning point in U.S.-China relations, as well as a major shift in American foreign policy.
In a This Day in History video, learn that on July 15, 1971, Richard Nixon stunned the nation by stating that he would visit communist China. Nixon was a product of the Cold War and spent his career bad-mouthing everything red China did or said. But, Nixon wanted a second term and his polls were down; he hoped China would put pressure on their allies, the North Vietnamese, to end the war. Unfortunately, there was no immediate gain from the trip and the Vietnam War went on for another year and a half.
Jul
30
Aug
14
Sep
11
Sep
24
Oct
11
Oct
25
Dec
02
Dec
09
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