today in history

FDR sworn in

On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as America’s 32nd president.

U.S. Constitution kicks in

In 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned for lack of a quorum.)

John Candy dies

Actor-comedian John Candy died in Durango, Mexico, at age 43.

Lincoln sworn in for second term

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated for a second term of office; with the end of the Civil War in sight, Lincoln declared: “With malice toward none, with charity for all.”

First woman elected to Congress

In 1917, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the same day President Woodrow Wilson took his oath of office for a second term (it being a Sunday, a private ceremony was held inside the U.S. Capitol; a second, public swearing-in took place the next day).

Beatles popularity

In 1966, John Lennon of The Beatles was quoted in the London Evening Standard as saying, “We’re more popular than Jesus now,” a comment that caused an angry backlash in the United States.

WTC bombing

In 1994, in New York, four extremists were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than a thousand.

Reagan’s arms-for-hostages deal

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had “deteriorated” into an arms-for-hostages deal.

Iran and nukes

In 2022, President Barack Obama, in an address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, said he didn’t want war but that he would not hesitate to attack Iran if that were the only option left to stop it from getting a nuclear weapon.

Putin returns to power

In 2012, Vladimir Putin scored a decisive victory in Russia’s presidential election to return to the Kremlin and extend his hold on power.