1943 — USS Harmon: The First U.S. Navy Ship Named for an African American
On August 31, 1943, the U.S. Navy commissioned USS Harmon (DE-678) at Bethlehem Steel’s Fore River yard in Quincy, Massachusetts. A Buckley-class destroyer escort, Harmon was the first U.S. Navy ...
1974 — The Ford Family at Camp David: A Quiet Moment After Watergate
On August 31, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford, First Lady Betty Ford, and their children, Steve and Susan, gathered on the grounds of Camp David to feed “Flag,” a deer ...
Free Shipping on all orders $60+ https://heartfelthistory.com/shop/
1881 — Black Hawk and the Colorado Central Railroad
This late-nineteenth-century view looks west up Gregory Gulch in Black Hawk, Colorado, with Colorado Central Railroad tracks visible in the foreground. Set where Gregory Gulch meets North Clear Creek, Black ...
1864 — The Battle of Jonesborough and the Fall of Atlanta
On August 31, 1864, Confederate forces under Lieutenant General William J. Hardee attacked Union troops west of Jonesborough, Georgia, in one of the final battles of the Atlanta Campaign. The ...
Free Shipping on all orders $60+ https://heartfelthistory.com/shop/
1823 — Galusha A. Grow: A Champion of the Homestead Act
Galusha A. Grow was born on August 31, 1823, in Ashford, Connecticut. After moving to Pennsylvania and entering the legal profession, he won election to Congress in 1850. Over the ...
1920 — John Lloyd Wright Patents the Toy That Became Lincoln Logs
On August 31, 1920, architect and inventor John Lloyd Wright received U.S. Patent No. 1,351,086 for “Toy-cabin construction,” a building set made from small, notched pieces designed to resemble logs ...
Free Shipping on all orders $60+ https://heartfelthistory.com/shop/
1776 — Governor William Livingston Takes Office in Revolutionary New Jersey
On August 31, 1776, William Livingston became the first governor of the newly independent State of New Jersey. Chosen by the state legislature under New Jersey’s new 1776 constitution, Livingston ...
1932 — Watching the Total Solar Eclipse
This photograph shows glasses specifically designed to view a total solar eclipse on August 31, 1932. The eclipse’s path of totality crossed parts of Canada and northern New England—passing through ...
Free Shipping on all orders $60+ https://heartfelthistory.com/shop/
1798 — Patrick Lyon and the Bank of Pennsylvania Robbery
During the night of August 31 and the early hours of September 1, 1798, thieves stole $162,821 from the Bank of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall—an extraordinary sum for the ...
1803 — Meriwether Lewis Begins His Downriver Journey
On August 31, 1803, Meriwether Lewis departed Pittsburgh on the Ohio River in the specially built boat intended for the expedition he would lead westward under President Thomas Jefferson’s authority ...
1969 — The Death of Rocky Marciano in a Plane Crash Near Newton, Iowa
On August 31, 1969—one day before his 46th birthday—retired heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano was killed when the Cessna 172 in which he was traveling crashed near Newton, Iowa, during bad ...
