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First transatlantic telegraph cable completed

Carl Cooley — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:35:23 +0000

On this day in US history, after multiple unsuccessful attempts, the first telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean was completed on August 5, 1858. Cyrus West Field conceived the idea of the telegraph cable in 1854 and secured a charter to lay the well-insulated line across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. By 1958, 2,000 miles of cable had been successfully laid at a depth of almost two miles below the surface. It connected from the US to Great Britain. To test the connection, President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria exchanged pleasantries on a call powered by the transatlantic cable.

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Nautilus sub travels under North Pole

Carl Cooley — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:53:23 +0000

On this day in US history, the US nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplished the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole on August 3, 1958. The first nuclear submarine ever made in the world, it dived at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled over 1,800 miles under the Arctic ice cap, later reaching the top of the world. After surfacing, it steamed on to Iceland, which pioneered a shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe.

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Battle of Bad Axe

Carl Cooley — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:45:25 +0000

This week in Wisconsin history, the final and most brutal engagement of the Black Hawk War occurred on August 2, 1832. Otherwise known as the Massacre at Bad Axe, after being pursued by US forces, Black Hawk’s band of 500 Sauk and Fox tried to cross the Mississippi River. However, they were mowed down by gunmen on a steamboat that had outflanked the Native band attempting to flee. The following day, despite attempts to surrender, 400 more Natives were mercilessly attacked, including women and children attempting to flee across the river. The death toll for the Black Hawk band was around 400-500, while only 5 US service members lost their lives.

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Labor Leader Jimmy Hoffa Reported Missing

Carl Cooley — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:09:51 +0000

On this day in US history, James Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, was reported missing after failing to return home on July 31, 1975. Popularly believed to have been a victim of a mafia hit, evidence of that was never found, and his fate continues to be a mystery. Being a high-ranking member of the, at the time, small Teamsters’ union, he had relationships with high-ranking mobsters and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. After he was released with the restriction of not being able to participate in union activities for 10 years, Hoffa was planning to fight that restriction before he disappeared that afternoon.

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NASA created

Carl Cooley — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:29:45 +0000

On this day in US history, Congress passed legislation officially establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on July 29, 1958. This civilian agency is responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space and has since sponsored expeditions both human and mechanical. Yielding important information that has helped to piece together what we know about our solar system and the universe.

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14th Amendment adopted

Carl Cooley — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:04:05 +0000

On this day in US history, after three-quarters of US states ratified the bill, the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, was passed on July 28, 1868. This bill also included formerly enslaved people, reaffirming the privileges and rights of all citizens. But decades after its adoption, the outcome of the landmark case, Plessy v. Ferguson, allowed the legal segregation of public facilities. This then eventually opened the door to more widespread segregation, to which African Americans suffered decades of debilitating discrimination in the country.

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Phillips Fire of 1894 starts

Carl Cooley — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:09:25 +0000

This week in Wisconsin history, the clear-cutting by the lumber industry left massive debris behind, and on one dry summer in 1894, a huge fire would break out, bigger than all of the brush fires dealt with that summer on July 26, 1894. While fighting one brush fire on the 26th, the fire department had to turn its attention to another near Lake Ten. By the 27th, the strong winds blowing southwest pushed the fire into Phillips, and with most of the structures made of wood, the scene was reminiscent of a war zone. The town was a total loss, but despite the tragedy, the town rebuilt, and about one-third of sandstone or red-brick buildings remain in memory of the tragedy.

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Religious pioneers settle Salt Lake Valley

Carl Cooley — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:22:21 +0000

On this day in US history, after over 17 months, Brigham Young led 148 pioneers into Utah’s Valley of the Great Salt Lake on July 24, 1847. Looking for a place that “nobody wanted,” the settlers would travel hundreds of miles to find a place where they were free to practice their religion and politics. They travelled from modern-day Iowa to where Salt Lake City would eventually be built, travelling on wagons and pushing handcarts the whole way. This would become the origin of the church of Latter-day Saints in Utah and the place they would call their promised land.

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Detroit Riots of 1967 begin

Carl Cooley — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:28:41 +0000

On this day in US history, one of the bloodiest riots in American history started during a period of strife in Detroit on July 23, 1967. A once-affluent city was heavily struggling during this period, with the economy struggling and race relations across the nation at an all-time low. After a raid on an illegal drinking establishment that was hosting returning Vietnam War veterans in one of Detroit’s poorest neighborhoods went awry, a crowd of onlookers was drawn over as the situation deteriorated rapidly. Thousands of people spilled into the street from nearby buildings, throwing rocks and bottles at police who quickly fled the scene. The rioting would continue the rest of the week as the Army and National Guard would be called on to quell the violence.

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The First Battle of Bull Run

Carl Cooley — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:33:31 +0000

On this day in US history, the first major land battle of the Civil War is carried out between the Union under General Irwin McDowell and the Confederate army under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard on July 21, 1861. The Union army came to northern Virginia underprepared, where an army of 34,000 inexperienced soldiers fought around 29,000 militia troops, resulting in a combined 5,000 casualties. The scale of the bloodshed at Bull Run frightened Washington, as they faced an uncertain military strategy to stop the Southern insurrection.

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