In 1911, a historic heatwave killed hundreds, possibly thousands, in the Northeastern U.S., while in New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of more than 140 trapped immigrant workers. Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole, the Titanic was launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and future president Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois.
Feb
06
On February 6, future president Ronald Reagan is born in Tampico, Illinois.
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Mar
25
In one of the darkest moments of America’s industrial history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns, killing 146 workers, on March 25, 1911. The tragedy led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of factory workers.
Fire hoses spray water on the upper floors of the Asch Building (housing the Triangle Shirtwaist Company) on Washington and Greene Streets, during the fire in New York City, March 25, 1911. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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May
30
Jul
24
On July 24, 1911, American history scholar Hiram Bingham gets his first look at the ruins of Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
Ruins of Inca city on Machu Picchu. | Location: Urubamba Province, Peru. (Photo by Jacques Haillot/Sygma via Getty Images)
Sygma via Getty Images
Aug
06
Aug
20
On August 20, 1911, a dispatcher in the New York Times office sends a blazingly fast telegram around the world via commercial service. Exactly 66 years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sends a different kind of message—a phonograph record containing information about Earth for extraterrestrial beings—shooting into space aboard the unmanned spacecraft Voyager II.
In a This Day in History video, host Russ Mitchell takes us through the history of August 20th. On this day in 1953, the Soviet Union publically admitted it had tested a hydrogen bomb. On this day in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a $1 billion anti-poverty bill. On this day in 1980, Reinhold Messner became the first solo climber to scale Mt. Everest. Also on this day in 1911, the New York Times sent a commercial cablegram around the world in 16 and a half minutes. And also on this day in 1977, Voyager II carried a message into space.
Sep
07
Nov
01
Dec
14
On December 14, 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first explorer to reach the South Pole, beating his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott.
1911: Norwegian explorer Captain Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, inspecting ice fields near a glacier in the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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