Timeline Washington DC
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Washington DC is about 1/6 the size of Hong Kong.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, Par p.27)
1754 Aug 2, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, French engineer who designed the layout of Washington, D.C., was born.
(HN, 8/2/98)
1787-1788 The Thomas Mallon historical novel "Two Moons," published in 2000, was set in Washington DC at this time.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, BR p.6)
1788 Dec 23, Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government; about two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia.
(AP, 12/23/97)
1789 Jan 23, Georgetown University was established by Jesuits in present-day Washington, D.C., as the 1st US Catholic college.
(AP, 1/23/98)(MC, 1/23/02)
1790 Jul 16, The District of Columbia was established as the seat of the United States government.
(AP, 7/16/97)
1790 Jul 26, US Congress passed Alexander Hamilton’s Assumption plan making it responsible for state debts. Virginia had withdrawn its opposition in return for having the nation’s new capital located on its borders.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Report_on_the_Public_Credit)(Econ, 12/17/11, p.132)
1791 Mar 29, Pres. George Washington and French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant examined the site along the Potomac River that would become the US capital. Maryland and Virginia had ceded land to the federal government to form the District of Columbia. Chosen as the permanent site for the capital of the United States by Congress in 1790, President Washington was given the power by Congress to select the exact site—an area ten-miles square, made up of land given by Virginia and Maryland. Washington became the official federal capital in 1800. In 2008 Fergus Bordewich authored “Washington: The Making of the American Capital."
(HNQ, 8/13/00)(HN, 8/2/98)(WSJ, 8/8/08, p.A13)
1791 Apr 15, Surveyor General Andrew Ellicott consecrated the southern tip of the triangular District of Columbia at Jones Point.
(WSJ, 7/25/00, p.A20)
1792 Apr 14, Pres. George Washington appointed David Rittenhouse, the foremost scientist of America, the first director of the US Mint at a salary of $2000 per annum. Rittenhouse was then in feeble health and lived at the northwest corner of Seventh and Arch Streets, then one of the high places of Old Philadelphia, where he had an observatory and where he later died and was first buried.
(http://tinyurl.com/per3q6f)
1792 Jul 31, The foundation-stone was laid for the US Mint by David Rittenhouse, Esq. The property was paid for and deeded to the United States of America for a consideration of $4266.67 on July 18, 1792. The money for the Mint was the first money appropriated by Congress for a building to be used for a public purpose.
(http://tinyurl.com/per3q6f)
1792 Oct 13, The cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.
(AP, 10/13/97)(HN, 10/13/98)
1793 Sep 18, President George Washington laid the foundation stone for the U.S. Capitol on Jenkins Hill.
(AP, 9/18/97)(SFC, 7/18/98, p.A15)(HN, 9/18/98)
1800 Jun 4, The White House was completed and President & Mrs. John Adams moved in. [see Nov 1]
(MC, 6/4/02)
1800 Nov 1, John and Abigail Adams moved into "the President’s House" in Washington DC. It became known as the White House during the Roosevelt administration.
(SFEC, 5/7/00, p.T8)(MC, 11/1/01)
1800 Nov 17, The Sixth Congress (2nd session) convened for the first time in Washington, DC, in the partially completed Capitol building. Previously, the federal capital had briefly been in other cities, including New York, Philadelphia, and Annapolis, Maryland. George Washington- a surveyor by profession- had been assigned to find a site for a capital city somewhere along the upper Potomac River, which flows between Maryland and Virginia. Apparently expecting to become president, Washington sited the capital at the southernmost possible point, the closest commute from Mount Vernon, despite the fact that this placed the city in a swamp called Foggy Bottom.
(HN, 11/17/98)(AP, 11/17/07)
1800 Dec 12, Washington DC was established as the capital of US.
(MC, 12/12/01)
1801 Feb 27, The District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress.
(AP, 2/27/98)
1801 Mar 4, Thomas Jefferson was the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 3/4/98)
1802 May 3, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city, with the mayor appointed by the president and the council elected by property owners.
(AP, 5/3/97)
1814 Aug 24, 5,000 British troops under the command of General Robert Ross marched into Washington, D.C., after defeating an American force at Bladensburg, Maryland. It was in retaliation for the American burning of the parliament building in York (Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada. Meeting no resistance from the disorganized American forces, the British burned the White House, the Capitol and almost every public building in the city before a downpour extinguished the fires. President James Madison and his wife fled from the advancing enemy, but not before Dolly Madison saved the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. This wood engraving of Washington in flames was printed in London weeks after the event to celebrate the British victory.
(AP, 8/24/97)(HNPD, 8/24/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bladensburg)
1814 Aug 25, British forces destroyed the Library of Congress, containing some 3,000 books.
(MC, 8/25/02)
1815 Jan 30, The burned Library of Congress was reestablished with Jefferson's 6,500 volumes.
(MC, 1/30/02)
1815 Feb, Congress appropriated funds for the restoration of the White House and hired James Hoban, the original designer and builder, to do the work.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)
1817 Oct, Pres. and Mrs. James Monroe moved back into the restored White House.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)
1818 Jan 1, An official reopening of the White House took place after being repaired from burning by British during War of 1812.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)(http://tinyurl.com/7uewdhv)
1829 Mar 4, An unruly crowd mobbed the White House during the inaugural reception for President Jackson, the 7th US President. The event was later depicted by artist Louis S. Glanzman in his painting “Andrew Jackson’s Inauguration" (1970).
(AP, 3/4/98)(WSJ, 1/17/08, p.W5)
1833 The Washington Monument Association was formed to build a monument to honor George Washington.
(ON, 3/00, p.9)
1835 Jan 31, Richard Lawrence misfired at President Andrew Jackson (aka 'Old Hickory') at the White House. Lawrence fired 2 pistols at Pres. Andrew Jackson during funeral services for Rep. Warren Davis. Jackson wasn’t hit and Lawrence, who thought he was the king of England and that Jackson owed him money, was found to be insane.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)(HN, 1/31/99)(SFC, 2/5/00, p.B3)
1838 Maryland’s Jesuits sold 272 slaves to pay off debts for Georgetown Univ. located in Washington DC. In 2016 the school introduced a set of measures that included an initiative offering preferential admission status to descendants of those held in slavery by the university.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University)
1839 Feb 20, Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia.
(AP, 2/20/98)
1839 Construction began on the Gen’l. Post Office Building. It was completed in 1847 under architect Robert Mills and later became known as the Tariff Building. In 1998 it was leased by the Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group for conversion into a 172-room luxury hotel.
(SFC, 4/14/98, p.B2)(SFC, 5/20/02, p.F10)
1842 The 14-room Anderson Cottage was built. It was used as a home by Pres. Lincoln for 3 summers from 1862-1864.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.F10)
1844 May 1, Samuel Morse (1791-1872) sent the 1st telegraphic message as a demonstration between Washington, DC, and Baltimore [see Jan 6, 1838]. The line officially opened on May 24, 1844.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Morse)
1844 May 24, Samuel F.B. Morse, before a crowd of dignitaries in the chambers of the Supreme Court, tapped out the message, "What hath God wrought?" to his partner in Baltimore, Alfred Vail. Congress had appropriated $30,000 for the experimental line built by Ezra Cornell between Washington and Baltimore. American portrait artist Samuel F.B. Morse developed the technology for electrical telegraphy in the 1830s, the first instantaneous form of communication. Using a key to hold open an electrical circuit for longer or shorter periods, an operator would tap out a message in a code composed of dots and dashes. Public demonstrations of the equipment were made in February 1838, but it was necessary for Morse to secure financial backing to build the first telegraph line to carry the signal over distance. In 1843, Congress appropriated the funds for a 37-mile line between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. After underground telegraph wires proved unsuccessful, Morse switched to pole wires.
(AP, 5/24/97)(HN, 5/24/98)(HNPD, 2/6/99)(HNQ, 5/27/00)
1846 Aug 10, President James Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution. The US Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution, named after English scientist James Smithson (1765-1836), whose bequest of $500,000 made it possible. The Smithsonian Institute was born and Joseph Henry became its first secretary.
(SFEC, 8/25/96, p.T6)(AP, 8/10/07)
1847 May 1, The cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institute was laid in Washington, DC. The building was designed by James Renwick Jr.
(ON, 2/06, p.6)
1848 Jul 4, The Cornerstone of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. was laid by President Polk. Each state of the union was invited to donate a memorial stone. The white marble obelisk, which is 555 feet tall and 55 fee square at the base, was not completed until 1884. The public was admitted to the monument on October 9, 1888. Architect Robert Mills (1781-1855) designed the monument.
(ON, 3/00, p.9)(WSJ, 2/16/08, p.W18)
1849 Dec 29, Gas light was installed in the White House.
(HN, 12/29/98)
1850 Apr, During the debate on the Compromise of 1850, Senator Henry Foote, a unionist and supporter of the compromise, drew a pistol on Senator Thomas Hart Benton, an opponent of the deal. Other senators intervened before Foote could fire.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1850 Sep 20, The slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished as a provision of Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850. Because each state had its own slavery code when the District of Columbia was founded in 1800, Washington had adopted Maryland's laws. Although the 1850 legislation made the slave trade illegal, slavery itself was still legal. Nevertheless, Washington became a haven for free blacks. By 1860, free blacks outnumbered slaves almost four-to-one. President Abraham Lincoln put an end to Washington's slavery altogether in 1862, freeing about 2,989 African Americans who were then slaves according to the slavery code.
(HNPD, 9/20/98)(HN, 9/20/98)
1850 The Willard family acquired a 4-story hotel in Washington DC and turned it into the 100-room Willard Hotel at 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. In 1901 it was replaced by an opulent 389-room Beaux-Arts building. In 1968 it was closed and scheduled for demolition. In 1986 it re-opened following a $73 million restoration.
(SFC, 1/5/06, p.E4)
1851 Dec 24, Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes.
(AP, 12/24/97)
1853 Jan 8, 1st US bronze equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson was unveiled in Wash. DC. [see Mar 8]
(MC, 1/8/02)
1853 Mar 8, The first bronze statue of Andrew Jackson was unveiled in Washington, D.C. [see Jan 8]
(HN, 3/8/98)
1854 Mar, A slab of marble, donated by Pope Pius IX, was stolen from the Washington Monument. It had once belonged to the Temple of Concord in Rome. Members of the Know-Nothing Party, an anti-Catholic political movement, reportedly heaved it into the Potomac River.
(ON, 3/00, p.9)(Econ, 7/25/15, p.25)
1854 Nov 6, The king of American march music, John Philip Sousa, was born in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/6/97)
1855 Feb 22, The Know-Nothing Party seized control of the Washington Monument Association and kept control for 3 years.
(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1856 Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, a Republican abolitionist from Mass. Sumner was beaten unconscious and was unable to resume duties for 3 years. Brooks resigned from his seat but was re-elected.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1858 The original board of the Washington Monument regained control after the Know-Nothing Party disbanded due to a split between pro- and anti-slavery factions.
(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1859 Feb 19, Daniel E. Sickles, NY congressman, was acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. This was the 1st time this defense was successfully used. Sickles had shot and killed Philip Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key, author of "Star Spangled Banner." He shot Lee, the DC district attorney, in Lafayette Square for having an affair with his wife. Sickles pleaded temporary insanity and the sanctity of a man’s home and beat the murder rap.
(WSJ, 3/29/02, p.W10)(MC, 2/19/02)
1959 Northern and Southern leaders socialized together for the last time at the Napier Ball in the Willard Hotel before the start of the US Civil War.
(SFC, 1/5/06, p.E4)
1860 Apr 25, The first Japanese ambassador to the US, Niimi Buzennokami, and his 74-man staff arrived in Washington to present their credentials to Pres. James Buchanan.
(www.trivia-library.com/b/world-history-1860.htm)
1861 Feb 4, Winfield Scott, US general-in-chief, decided to relieve Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee as commander of federal forces in Texas and bring him to Washington DC where Lee could take command of forces guarding DC.
(ON, 12/05, p.11)
1861 Mar 4, The US Government Printing Office, created by Congressional Joint Resolution 25 of June 23, 1860, began operations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Government_Printing_Office)
1861 Apr 18, The Kansas Frontier Guards drilled and set up camp in the East Room of the White House with the mission to protect President Lincoln from a feared Rebel attack on Washington. The collection of Kansans in Washington, many office seekers and politicians, were organized and led by the state's first senator, James Henry Lane, a friend of the president and former leader of the Free State movement in Kansas. With Virginia's secession from the Union on April 17, rumors spread of an impending rebel strike on Washington. Lane organized the force of 50 men and offered their service to the War Department, arriving in the White House in the evening of April 18. As additional Union troops entered the city, the Frontier Guard was dismissed from the White House on April 19. The unofficial unit was assigned various positions in the city during the following week and, in a ceremony attended by the president, was disbanded on April 25.
(HNQ, 1/7/99)
1861 Aug 23, Union intelligence chief Allan Pinkerton placed Rose O’Neal Greenhow (1813/1814-1864) under house arrest for working as a southern spy working in Washington DC. She was sent to the Old Capitol Prison and then was banished to Richmond, Va., in May, 1963. She had supplied Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard with a warning that Union General Irvin McDowell was planning an attack on Manassas in July 1861. Greenhow, a 44-year-old widow with four daughters, was recruited in 1861 to be the operating head of the Confederacy’s first spy ring. A Washington socialite with many friends in high government circles, Rose was perfectly placed to gather intelligence about Federal troop strengths and movements. She drowned in a shipwreck on September 30, 1864.
(ON, 12/10, p.10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_O%27Neal_Greenhow)
1861 Oct 23, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases.
(HN, 10/23/98)
1861-1865 The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NHMH) was founded in Washington DC to advance medical care during the Civil War.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T10)
1862 Mar 6, Pres. Lincoln proposed to Congress a revised plan of compensated emancipation for slave-owners in the District of Columbia and the border states.
(ON, 6/10, p.1)
1862 Apr 3, A bill was passed to abolish slavery in Washington, D.C. [see Apr 16]
(HN, 4/3/98)
1862 Apr 13, In the Washington area volunteers led by Sarah J. Evans paid homage to the graves of Civil War soldiers. Villagers in Waterloo, NY, held their 1st Memorial Day service on May 5, 1866. In 1966 Pres. Johnson gave Waterloo, NY, the distinction of holding the 1st Memorial Day.
(SFC, 5/26/03, p.A2)
1862 Apr 16, President Lincoln signed a bill, passed on April 3, ending slavery in the District of Columbia.
(HN, 4/16/98)(AP, 4/16/08)
1862 Jul 29, Confederate spy Belle Boyd (1844-1900) was arrested and confined at Old Capital Prison in Washington, DC.
(AH, 6/03, p.14)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Boyd)
1862 Aug 29, Confederate spy Belle Boyd was released from Old Capital Prison in Washington, DC.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Boyd)
1862 Nov 17, Union General Burnside marched north out of Washington, D.C. to begin the Fredericksburg Campaign.
(HN, 11/17/98)
1862 The Washington DC bordello of Mary Ann Hall at 349 Maryland Ave. was rated at the top of a list of 450 brothels catalogued by the office of the federal provost marshal. The city had an estimated 5,000 prostitutes, 18 of whom resided at the 3-story brick Hall house.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.A24)
1863 Jul 2, Mrs. Lincoln was thrown from her carriage and spent weeks recovering at the Anderson Cottage. The seat assembly may have been sabotaged.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.F10)
1863 Dec 1, Belle Boyd, a Confederate spy, was released from prison in Washington.
(HN, 12/1/98)
1864 Jul 2, Statuary Hall in US Capitol was established.
(SC, 7/2/02)
1864 Jul 11, Confederate General Jubal Early's army arrived in Silver Spring, Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and began to probe the Union line. Confederate forces led by Gen. Jubal Early began an invasion of Washington, D.C., turning back the next day.
(HT, 3/97, p.66)(AP, 7/11/97)(HN, 7/11/98)
1864 Jul 12, President Abraham Lincoln became the first standing president to witness a battle as Union forces repelled Jubal Early's army on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.
(HN, 7/12/98)
1864 Jul 13, Gen Jubal Early retreated from the outskirts of Washington back to Shenandoah Valley.
(MC, 7/13/02)
1865 Mar 4, President Lincoln was inaugurated for his 2nd term as President. It was held at the Patent Office, the site of a military hospital. Four companies of African-American troops and lodges of African-American Masons and African-American Odd-Fellows joined the procession to the Capitol.
(WSJ, 2/12/04, p.D12)(SSFC, 1/20/13, Par p.4)
1865 Mar 6, President Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Ball was held.
(MC, 3/6/02)
1865 Apr 14, On the evening of Good Friday, just after 10 p.m., Pres. Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington DC. Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth burst into the presidential box and shot Lincoln behind the ear. Booth shouted out “sic semper tyrannis" (thus always to tyrants), Virginia’s state motto, after shooting Pres. Lincoln. He leaped to the stage, breaking his left leg on impact, and escaped through a side door. Lincoln was carried to a nearby house where he remained unconscious until his death at 7:22 the following morning. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had kept vigil at Lincoln's bedside, said, "Now he belongs to the ages." As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
(V.D.-H.K.p.277)(AP, 4/14/97)(AP, 4/14/98)(HNPD, 4/14/00)(WSJ, 10/13/06, p.W13)
1865 Apr 14, A 2nd assassin stabbed the Sec. of State 5 times. George Atzerodt, a 3rd assassin for the vice president, got cold feet.
(SSFC, 4/8/01, Par p.12)(WSJ, 2/2/05, p.B1)
1865 Apr 15, President Lincoln died, several hours after he was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson, Vice-President under Lincoln, became the 17th President (1865-1869) of the US upon the assassination. The first Mourning Stamp was issued after his assassination, a 15-cent black commemorative. In 1999 Allen C. Guelzo authored "Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President," an intellectual biography. In 2002 William Lee Miller authored "Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography." In 2004 Ronald C. White Jr. authored “The Eloquent President." In 2005 Doris Kearns Goodwin authored “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln."
(SFEC, 5/31/98, Z1 p.8)(WSJ, 12/29/99, p.A16)(WSJ, 2/8/02, p.W9)(WSJ, 1/20/05, p.D9)(http://condor.stcloudstate.edu/~brixr01/NYTAPR151865.html)(SSFC, 11/27/05, p.M3)
1865 Apr 21, Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left Washington.
(HN, 4/21/98)
1865 May 23, The American flag was flown at full staff over White House for the 1st time since Lincoln was shot. Union Army's Grand Review began in Washington DC.
(MC, 5/23/02)
1865 Jun 30, Eight alleged conspirators in assassination of Lincoln were found guilty after kangaroo court-martial and brutal treatment by military officers.
(MC, 6/30/02)
1865 Jul 5, The US Secret Service began operating under the Treasury Department. The Secret Service Division began in Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency. Chief William P. Wood was sworn in by Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service)
1865 Jul 7, The trap doors of the scaffold in the yard of Washington’s Old Penitentiary were sprung, and Mary Surratt, Lewis Paine, David Herold and George Atzerodt dropped to their deaths. The four had been convicted of "treasonable conspiracy" in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and had learned that they were to be hanged only a day before their execution. Shortly after 1 p.m. the prisoners were led onto the scaffold and prepared for execution. The props supporting the platform were knocked away at about 2 p.m. Assassin John Wilkes Booth had been killed on April 26, 12 days after Lincoln’s assassination. Other convicted conspirators—Edman Spangler, Dr. Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold and Michael O’Laughlin—were imprisoned.
(AP, 7/7/97)(HNPD, 7/7/98)
1866 Jun 18, Both Houses of the US Congress passed the 14th Amendment. The Radical Republicans were satisfied that they had secured civil rights for blacks, but were disappointed that the amendment would not also secure political rights for blacks; in particular, the right to vote. Secretary of State William H. Seward issued an unconditional certificate of ratification, dated July 28, 1868, declaring the Fourteenth Amendment to have been duly ratified by the requisite three-fourths of the states.
(http://tinyurl.com/77terl3)
1867 Jan 8, Legislation gave suffrage to DC blacks, despite Pres. Johnson's veto.
(MC, 1/8/02)
1867 Mar 2, Howard University, Washington DC, was incorporated. General Oliver Otis Howard, Union Civil War commander, co-founded Howard Univ.
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov20.html)(ON, 4/07, p.8)
1867 Mar 29, Congress approved Lincoln Memorial.
(MC, 3/29/02)
1867 Sep 25, Congress created the 1st all black university, Howard Univ. in Wash DC.
(MC, 9/25/01)
1870 Jun 9, Washington: Pres Grant met with Sioux chief Red Cloud.
(MC, 6/9/02)
1873 Mar 4, Pres. Ulysses S. Grant accepted the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Salmon Chase, for his 2nd term. At the inauguration ceremony 150 canaries, whose chirping was to amuse guests, froze to death in their cages.
(SFC, 1/20/09, p.A7)(www.bartleby.com/124/pres34.html)
1874 Secret Service headquarters returned to Washington, D.C. after 4 years in NYC.
(http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/history.shtml)
1876 President Ulysses S. Grant authorized the funds to complete the construction of the Washington Monument, but without the ornate building and classical statue.
(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1877 Dec 6, The Washington Post published its 1st edition. It was founded by independent-minded Democrat Stilson Hutchins.
(www.washpostco.com/history-history-1875.htm)
1879 Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes had the first White House telephone installed.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.D1)
1881 May 17, Frederick Douglass was appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C.
(HN, 5/17/98)
1884 Mar 13, US Congress adopted Eastern Standard Time for the District of Columbia.
(AP, 3/13/07)
1884 Oct 13, Greenwich was established as the universal time meridian of longitude. 41 delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C. for the International Meridian Conference. This conference selected the Greenwich Meridian as the official Prime Meridian due to its popularity. However, France abstained from the vote and French maps continued to use the Paris Meridian for several decades.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Meridian)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_13)
1884 Dec 6, The Washington Monument was completed by Army engineers 101 years after George Washington himself approved the location halfway between the proposed sites of the Capitol and the White House. Construction did not begin on the 555-foot Egyptian obelisk until July 4, 1848, when a private citizens' group, the Washington National Monument Society, raised enough money to begin the project. The original design called for the familiar obelisk surrounded by a large building with a statue of Washington driving a Roman chariot on top. Construction was halted in 1854 when the money ran out and for 22 years the monument stood embarrassingly unfinished, looking, as Mark Twain put it, like "a factory chimney with the top broken off." In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant authorized the funds to complete the construction--but without the ornate building and classical statue. When the final capstone and 9-inch aluminum pyramid were set in place in 1884, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world.
(AP, 12/6/97)(HNPD, 12/6/98)(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1885 Feb 21, The Washington Monument was dedicated by Pres. Chester A. Arthur.
(HN, 2/21/98)(AP, 2/21/98)(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1885 The National Aquarium first opened to visitors in Washington DC. On Sep 30, 2013, it closed its operations at the US Dept. of Commerce building due to renovations.
(SFC, 9/30/13, p.A4)
1887 Jun 7, Monotype type-casting machine was patented by Tolbert Lanston in Wash., DC.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1887 Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, architect, oversaw the completion of his Pension Building. The Pension Bureau oversaw the benefits of the nation’s ex-soldiers.
(AH, 10/01, HT p.28)
1887 The American Graphaphone Co. was founded in Washington DC. They made a sound producing machine that was peddle operated and based on work by Alexander Bell that used a cardboard cylinder coated with a waxy material to hold sounds.
(SFC,11/19/97, Z1 p.7)
1888 Jan 27, National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC. It 1st magazine was published Oct 1, 1888. In 2004 Robert M. Poole authored “Explorers House: National Geographic and the World it Made."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Society)(Econ, 10/16/04, p.81)
1888 Oct 9, The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills, was completed and the public was first admitted. Steam powered elevators carried visitors to the top in 12 minutes. It underwent a $1.5 million renovation in 1998. In 1903 Frederick L. Harvey authored "History of the Washington National Monument and Washington National Monument Association." In 1995 Craig and Katherine Doherty authored "The Washington Monument."
(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A3)(ON, 3/00, p.10)(HN, 10/9/00)
1890 Feb, Charles E. Kincaid, correspondent for the Louisville Times, shot former Representative William Taulbee, a democrat from Kentucky, at the Capital during an argument over a scandal involving the lawmaker. Taulbee died ten days later.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1890 Apr 14, The First International Conference of American States met in Washington, where delegates agreed to form the International Union of American Republics, a forerunner of the Organization of American States.
(AP, 4/14/08)
1890 Aug 8, Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) organized. [see Oct 11]
(MC, 8/8/02)
1890 Oct 11, The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was founded in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 10/11/97)
1893 Sep 9, Frances Cleveland, wife of President Cleveland, gave birth to a daughter, Esther, in the White House. It was the first time a president's child was born in the executive mansion.
(AP, 9/9/97)
1894 Apr 29, The Commonweal of Christ, called Coxey's Army, arrived in Wash, DC, 500 strong to protest unemployment; Coxey was arrested for trespassing at Capitol.
(MC, 4/29/02)
1895 Feb 11, Georgetown became part of Wash, DC.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1895 Feb 20, Abolitionist Frederick Douglass died in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 2/20/98)
1895 Dec 17, Anti-Saloon League of America was formed in Washington, DC.
(MC, 12/17/01)
1895 Charles Crittenton, a businessman and philanthropist, and Dr. Kate Waller Barrett founded the Florence Crittenton mission for young women in Washington, DC. It was named in memory of Crittenton’s daughter. The Florence Crittenton Mission sought to support and empower unwed mothers and provide for the health of their infant children.
(www.fcaknox.org/cms/History/41.html)
1896 Jul 21, Mary Church Terrell founded the National Association of Colored Women in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 7/21/98)
1897 Feb 17, The US National Congress of Mothers was founded in Washington, D.C. It later became the National congress of Parents and Teachers known as the PTA (Parent Teachers Association).
(USAT, 2/14/97, p.13D)(SFC, 2/22/96, p.A20)(AP, 2/17/98)
1897 Apr 27, Grant's Tomb was dedicated.
(MC, 4/27/02)
1897 American Telephone & Telegraph Co. began to use wooden poles when it put up a communication line from Washington DC to Norfolk, Va.
(WSJ, 3/2/00, p.A1)
1899 Apr 29, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (d.1975), jazz composer and musician was born in Washington D.C. A major influence in jazz, especially the big band sound, Ellington orchestrated over 1,000 pieces of music during his prolific career. Although some tunes most associated with Duke Ellington and ‘His Famous Orchestra‘ were written by others (Billy Strayhorn wrote "Take the A Train"), Ellington capitalized on his outstanding ensemble by writing pieces emphasizing the talents of individual performers such as Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Blanton. In addition to big band pieces, he also wrote for film, ballet and opera.
(HN, 4/4/98)(SFEC, 2/21/99, DB p.32)(AP, 4/29/99)(HNQ, 11/10/00)
1901 Jan 28, Byron Bancroft Johnson announced that the American League would play the 1901 baseball season as a major league and would not renew its membership in the National Agreement. The new league would include Baltimore and Washington, DC, recently abandoned by the National League. The league would also invade 4 cities where National League teams existed: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. The 8 charter teams included: the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Americans, Chicago White Stockings, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics, and Washington Senators.
(ON, 6/09, p.11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_League)
1901 Oct 12, Theodore Roosevelt renamed the "Executive Mansion," to “The White House."
(HNQ, 6/28/00)(MC, 10/12/01)
1901 Oct 28, Race riots, sparked by Booker T. Washington's visit to the White House, killed 34.
(HN, 10/28/98)
1901 Nov 27, The Army War College was established in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/27/97)
1901 A statue of Albert Pike, Confederate brigadier general, was unveiled at 3rd and D Streets NW. It was erected by the Masons to commemorate Pike's work for Freemasonry. He is the only Confederate officer to have a statue in Washington, D.C. The conduct of Indian troops under his command at the Battle of Pea Ridge eventually led to his forced resignation
(HNQ, 11/12/98)
1901 President Theodore Roosevelt officially named the Executive Mansion the White House.
(HNQ, 6/28/00)
1902 Jan 28, The Carnegie Institute was established in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 1/28/98)
1902 Feb 22, A fistfight broke out in the US Senate. Senator Benjamin Tillman, a white supremacist, suffered a bloody nose for accusing his fellow South Carolina Senator John McLaurin of bias on the Philippine tariff issue.
(HN, 2/22/98)(Econ, 6/30/12, p.35)
1903 Feb 21, The cornerstone laid for US army war college in Washington, DC.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1906 Feb 17, Alice Lee Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible eldest daughter, married Congressman Nicholas Longworth of Ohio in an elaborate White House ceremony. Heedless of social convention, Alice's behavior routinely shocked her family and friends. Once the president, when confronted with another of Alice's escapades, remarked, "I can do one of two things, I can run the country or control Alice. I cannot do both." Nevertheless, the world public was captivated with the first daughter, who seemed to embody the ideal Gay Nineties woman. In spite of its promising beginning, Alice's 25-year marriage to Longworth was not a happy one, but Alice reigned as the grande dame of Washington, D.C. society for another 50 years.
(HNPD, 2/16/99)
1906 Mar 17, President Theodore Roosevelt first likened crusading journalists to a man with "the muckrake in his hand" in a speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington, DC, as he criticized what he saw as the excesses of investigative journalism.
(AP, 3/17/06)(AP, 3/17/08)
1907 May 1, Kate Smith (d.1986), singer, was born in Washington, DC.
(AP, 5/1/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Smith)
1907 Sep 29, The foundation stone was laid for Washington National Cathedral, which wasn't fully completed until 1990.
(AP, 9/29/07)
1907 Oct 27, Union Station in Washington, D.C., opened.
(AP, 10/27/07)
1903 Dec 8, Samuel P. Langley’s man-carrying Great Aerodrome collapsed right after takeoff from a houseboat on the Potomac River.
(www.nasm.si.edu/research/arch/findaids/langley/langley_sec_6.html)
1909 Mar 8, Hinton Rowan Helper (b.1829) of North Carolina, writer and former US consul in Buenos Aires (1861-1866), blocked the door of his Washington, DC., rooming house, turned on the gas and asphyxiated himself.
(SFC, 6/20/15, p.C2)
1909 May 1, Walter Reed Hospital opened in Washington DC as an 80-bed Army medical center. It closed in 2011 and operations were moved to facilities in Maryland and Virginia.
(SFC, 8/26/05, p.A13)(SFC, 7/28/11, p.A4)
1909 Jun 1, Pres. William Howard Taft touched a key in Washington, DC, sending a signal to Seattle, opening the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Expo at the Seattle World’s Fair, as well as a signal to NYC initialing the New York to Seattle Automobile Race.
(AH, 6/03, p.18)
1912 Mar 27, The first cherry blossom trees, a gift from Japan, were planted in Washington, D.C. First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial. The event was held in celebration of a gift, by the Japanese government, of 3,020 trees to the US government for planting along Washington's Potomac River.
(HN, 3/27/98)
1912 Apr 22, At the urging of Pres. Taft the Chamber of Commerce of the USA was established at a Washington hotel by a gathering of 700 delegates from 44 states. The represented 324 voluntary organizations.
(Econ, 4/21/12, p.77)
1912 Services began in Bethlehem Chapel of the unfinished National Cathedral in Washington DC, fulfilling the vision of DC planner Pierre L’Enfant, who had called for a church for national purposes. Construction had begun in 1907 and continued for 83 years.
(AH, 4/07, p.31)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_National_Cathedral)
1913 Mar 3, Ida B. Wells-Barnett demonstrated for female suffrage in Washington DC.
(SC, 3/3/02)
1913 May 14, Walter Johnson (1887-1946), Washington Senators baseball ace, ended his record-breaking streak of 56 scoreless innings against the St. Louis Browns. Johnson’s scoreless inning streak began on April 10, 1913, and lasted 55 and 2/3 innings pitched. He threw six shutouts in a row before finally being scored on by the Browns. The Big Trains streak of 55 2/3 scoreless innings surpassed the Philadelphia Athletics' Jack Coombs record of 53 scoreless innings achieved in 1910. It would take 55 years before Johnson's streak was broken by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Don Drysdale.
(www.nationalsdailynews.com/columnists/archive.cfm?blog=mark&tag=The%20Big%20Train)
1914 Houses of prostitution were banned.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.A24)
1915 Feb 12, The cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C., a year to the day after groundbreaking.
(AP, 2/12/08)
1915 Jul, A homemade bomb exploded in the Senate Reception Room. It was placed by Erich Muenter, a former Harvard professor, who was upset by the private sales of US munitions to the allies in WW I.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1916 Anton Dilger (1884-1918), an American educated as a surgeon in Germany, set up a basement laboratory in Washington DC for cultivating anthrax bacteria and Pseudomonas mallei to infect horses and cattle destined to supply Allied armies. German saboteurs disseminated the bacteria. Dilger later moved to Mexico to help goad Mexico into attacking the US. He died of the Spanish flu in Madrid. In 2007 Robert Koenig authored “The Fourth Horseman: One Man’s Mission to Wage the Great War in America."
(SSFC, 1/14/07, p.M2)
1918 May 14, Sunday baseball became legal in Wash, DC.
(MC, 5/14/02)
1918 May 15, The U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Army began regularly scheduled airmail service between Washington and New York through Philadelphia.
(AP, 5/15/97)(HNPD, 6/15/99)(HNQ, 4/24/01)
1918 Oct 22, The cities of Baltimore and Washington run out of coffins during the "Spanish Influenza" epidemic.
(HN, 10/22/00)
1919 Jun 2, There were coordinated bombings in Washington, DC, and 6 other cities. Militant followers of anarchist Luigi Galleani were blamed. A campaign this month involved 8 bombs that killed several people including an anarchist.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_United_States_anarchist_bombings)(Econ, 11/6/10, p.74)
1919 Jul 7, The U.S. Army’s First Transcontinental Motor Train left Washington, D.C., bound for San Francisco. The 62-day journey crossed 3,250 miles. In 2002 Peter Davies authored "American Road," an account of the trip.
(HN, 3/7/01)(WSJ, 7/19/02, p.W9)
1919 Jul 19-1919 Jul 22, In Washington DC, white mobs — many made up of members of the military — rampaged over the weekend, beating any black they could find after false rumors of a white woman being assaulted by black men spread.
(AP, 7/23/19)
1919 Jul 24, A race riot in Washington, DC, left 6 killed and 100 wounded.
(MC, 7/24/02)
1919 Sep 17, The US saluted Gen. John J. Pershing and soldiers returning from WWI in a parade up Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington DC.
(AH, 10/04, p.14)
1921-1924 Woodrow Wilson, who left office in 1921, lived at 2340 S. St. NW, Washington DC, until his death in 1924. His house, built in 1915, is now open to the public.
(HNQ, 9/12/00)
1922 Feb 8, President Harding had a radio installed in the White House.
(AP, 2/8/99)
1922 Mar 23, 1st airplane landed at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1922 May 30, The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., by Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln. The Memorial has 48 sculptured festoons above the columns representing the number of states at the time of dedication. The 36 Doric columns in the Lincoln Memorial represent the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death in 1865. The limestone and marble edifice, which is situated at the western end of the Mall, was designed by Henry Bacon of North Carolina in the style of a Greek temple. Daniel Chester French co-designed the memorial with Bacon.
(HNQ, 2/12/00)(WSJ, 5/24/08, p.W12)(AP, 5/30/08)
1922 Jun 27, George Walker, composer (In Praise of Lillies), was born in Washington, DC.
(SC, 6/27/02)
1922 Aug 12, The home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. was dedicated as a memorial.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1922 Oct 3, The 1st facsimile photo (fax) was sent over city telephone lines in Washington, DC.
(MC, 10/3/01)
1922 The second largest equestrian statue in the world, located in Washington, D.C., is of General and later President Ulysses S. Grant. The statue of Grant, sculpted by Henry Merwin Shrady and dedicated in 1922, stands at head of the reflecting pool in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The only equestrian statue larger is of Victor Emmanuel in Italy.
(HNQ, 11/21/98)
1923 The Freer Gallery in Washington was established as the nation’s national museum of Asian art. The center of the collection was amassed by Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), a self-made railroad magnate living in Detroit.
(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A20)(WSJ, 11/6/98, p.W10)(WSJ, 12/14/06, p.D6)
1923 The Shriners, the fraternal Ancient Order of the Mystic Shrine, made a pilgrimage to Washington DC.
(WSJ, 8/11/00, p.W6)
1924 Feb 3, The 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, died in Washington at age 68.
(AP, 2/3/97)
1924 Feb 22, Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.
(AP, 2/22/08)
1924 Apr 23, The U.S. Senate passed a Soldiers Bonus Bill, but deferred payments to some 4 million veterans to 1945. Pres. Coolidge vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode him.
(HN, 4/23/99)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1925 Aug 8, The first national congress of the Ku Klux Klan opened. 200,000 members marched in Washington, DC.
(HN, 8/8/98)(MC, 8/8/02)
1925-1926 Edward Christopher Williams (1871-1929), black playwright, teacher and librarian, published "When Washington Was in Vogue," a serialized novel in The Messenger, a socialist magazine.
(WSJ, 1/23/04, p.W5)
1927 Apr 7, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was on hand for the first inter-city (DC to Manhattan) transmission by telephone of video imagery. Hoover’s image and voice were transmitted across telephone lines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1927_in_television)(AH, 4/07, p.14)
1927 Nov 17, A tornado hit Washington DC.
(MC, 11/17/01)
1927 The Washington Airport opened in DC next to Hoover field, which had opened a year earlier. The two merged in 1930 to form the Washington-Hoover Airport.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport)
1928 Feb 28, Smokey the Bear was created.
(MC, 2/28/02)
1929 Mar 23, The 1st telephone installed in White House.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1930 Jun 24, The 1st radar detection of planes was made at Anacostia, DC.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1930-1950 The NKVD and KGB infiltration in Washington during this period was documented in the 1998 book "The Haunted Wood" by Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev.
(WSJ, 1/5/98, p.A20)
1932 May 29, World War I veterans began arriving in Washington DC to demand cash bonuses they weren’t scheduled to receive for another 13 years. 17,000 veterans, calling themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force, marched on Washington demanding cash for their bonus certificates. They were led by Walter Waters, a former sergeant from Portland, Ore.
(TMC, 1994, p.1932)(AP, 5/29/97)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1932 Jun 7, Over 7,000 war veterans marched on Washington, D.C. demanding their bonuses for service in WW I.
(HN, 6/7/98)
1932 Jun 14, Representative Edward Eslick died on the floor of the House of Representatives while pleading for the passage of the bonus bill for US veterans.
(HN, 6/14/98)
1932 Jun 17, The U.S. Senate defeated a cash-now bonus bill as some 10,000 veterans massed around the Capitol.
(HN, 6/17/98)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1932 Jul 28, Under orders from Pres. Hoover shacks built in the shadow of the nation’s Capitol by World War I veteran demonstrators were burned. In 1924 Congress had enacted a law that provided compensation to veterans—those entitled to more than $50 would receive certificates maturing in 1945. However, because of the Depression, Congress proposed in 1932 that the certificates be redeemable immediately, as a bonus. Veterans groups began to gather in Washington, D.C., to march for their cause. When the bill was defeated, the veterans (nicknamed the Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF), "Bonus Army") refused to leave. Hoover resorted to using U.S. troops to force them to evacuate. One veteran was killed and 50 veterans and police were injured in the melee. In May 1933, newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt also opposed the bill, but he issued an executive order allowing 25,000 veterans to enroll in the Citizens’ Conservation Corps in lieu of getting bonuses. In 1971 Roger Daniels authored “The Bonus March." In 1994 Donald J. Lisio authored “The President and Protest."
(AP, 7/28/97)(HNPD, 7/28/98)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1932 Dec, Marlin R.M. Kemmerer drew a revolver in the Capital House gallery. Rep. Melvin Maas, a republican from Minn., convinced the man to drop the gun.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1933 Agnes and Eugene Meyer purchased the Washington Post at a bankruptcy auction.
(USAT, 2/13/97, p.5D)(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A6)
1934 Apr 21, Moe Berg, Senators catcher (and later US spy), played an AL record 117th consecutive, errorless game.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1935 Feb 22, All plane flights over the White House were barred because they disturbed President Roosevelt's sleep.
(HN, 2/22/98)
1935 Oct 7, The US Supreme court held its 1st session in its new building designed by Cass Gilbert. It was built on the site of an old Civil War prison. A new marble frieze at the Supreme Court included an image of Mohammed. In 1997 a Muslim group complained because Islamic tradition forbids images of the prophet.
(WSJ, 3/13/97, p.A1)(www.supremecourthistory.org)(WSJ, 8/27/03, p.B4)
1936 Mar 6, Marion S. Barry, (Mayor-D-Wash DC), was born.
(MC, 3/6/02)
c1937 The painting "Dangers of the Mail" was created by Frank Albert Mechau of Colorado for the display in the Ariel Rios building of the Federal Triangle complex. The painting depicted the slaughter of Western settlers by native Indians and was later claimed as racist.
(SFC, 12/4/00, p.A3)
1938 Dec 15, Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial took place in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 12/15/97)
1939 Apr 2, Marvin P. Gaye Jr, singer (Sexual Healing), was born in Wash, DC.
(MC, 4/2/02)
1939 Apr 9, Singer Marian Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after she was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
(AP, 4/9/97)
1939 Oct 17, Frank Capra's comedy-drama "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" premiered in the nation's capital.
(AP, 10/17/99)
1939 Nov 15, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/15/97)
1940 In Washington DC the Dumbarton Oaks mansion was donated to Harvard Univ.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T10)
1940 Britain’s PM Winston Churchill sent a handful of young British officers to Washington, DC, to ingratiate themselves on the social scene and advance the British cause through good manners. They included Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming and David Ogilvy. In 2008 Jennet Conant authored “The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington.
(WSJ, 9/11/08, p.A13)
1941 Mar 17, The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 3/17/97)(HN, 3/17/98)
1941 Jun 16, The new Washington National Airport opened southwest of DC. In 1945, Congress passed a law that established the airport was legally within Virginia but under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In 1998 it was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport)
1941 Oct 5, Former US Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (b.1856), the first Jewish member of the nation's highest court (1916-39), died in Washington at age 84. In 2009 Melvin Urofsky authored “Louis D. Brandeis: A Life." In 2016 Jeffrey Rosen authored “Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet."
(AP, 10/5/99)(Econ, 9/26/09, p.97)(Econ, 5/14/16, p.24)
1941 Dec, David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), Israeli leader, traveled to Washington to speak with Pres. F.D. Roosevelt regarding a Jewish state. He waited for 10 weeks at the Ambassador Hotel but was refused a meeting.
(http://tinyurl.com/kkvdh)(Econ, 8/5/06, p.28)
1942 Jun 21, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met in Washington, DC.
(MC, 6/21/02)
1943 Apr 13, President Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial. It was designed by John Russell Pope.
(AP, 4/13/97)(HN, 4/13/98)(WSJ, 9/21/00, p.A26)
1943 Jul 21, Edward Herrmann, actor (Day of the Dolphin, Reds), was born in Wash., DC.
(MC, 7/21/02)
1944 Jun 20, The US Congress chartered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
(MC, 6/20/02)
1944 Aug 21, The US, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened the Dumbarton Oaks conference in Washington, D.C. It laid the foundation for the establishment of the UN.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T10)(AP, 8/21/07)
1945 With the war over 16 million GIs began reentry to civilian life. Some 406,000 Americans died in WW II. In 1987 a national war memorial was proposed and in 1993 Congress approved funding to build it on the Mall in Washington DC. www.wwiimemorial.com
(TMC, 1994, p.1945)(SFEC, 5/30/99, Par p.16)
1946 Aug 20, Connie Chung (Yu-Hwa) journalist: CBS Evening News, was born in Washington, DC.
(Internet)
1946 Dec 2, The Protocol to the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) was signed was signed in Washington, DC. The International Whaling Commission (IWC), formed in 1948, prohibited the hunting of gray whales worldwide when their numbers were down to the thousands. Scientific studies and the commercial reality of fewer whales led to the implementation of bans on hunting many whale species such as the humpback whale in 1963 followed in 1965 by a hunting ban on the blue whale (the largest creature known to have ever existed). The IWC adopted a moratorium on whaling in 1982. Although the IWC attempted to ban all commercial whaling in 1986, some countries refused to agree.
(SFEM, 5/7/00, p.9)(www.iwcoffice.org/commission/convention.htm)(Econ, 5/26/07, p.65)
1947 Jul, Senator John Bricker, a republican from Ohio, was shot at twice as he entered the Senate subway. William L. Kaiser, a former Capital police officer, missed 2 times. He had lost money when an Ohio building and loan firm was liquidated.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1947 Oct 20, Hollywood came under scrutiny as the House Un-American Activities Committee re-convened in Washington and opened hearings into alleged Communist influence and infiltration within the motion picture industry.
(SFEC, 5/18/97, DB p.64)(AP, 10/20/97)
1948 Jul 28, Georgia Engel, actress (Georgette-Mary Tyler Moore Show), was born in Wash DC.
(SC, 7/28/02)
1948 Sep 10, Mildred Gillars, accused of being Nazi wartime radio broadcaster "Axis Sally," was indicted in Washington, D.C., on treason charges. She was later convicted, and served 12 years in prison.
(AP, 9/10/04)
1950 Aug 27, Charles Fleischer, comedian (Roger Rabbit), was born in Wash, DC.
(www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/188514)
1950 Nov 1, Two members of a Puerto Rican nationalist movement tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington to assassinate President Truman. The attempt failed, and one of the pair was killed.
(AP, 11/1/97)(HN, 11/1/98)
1950 A rally in Washington DC was organized to protest racial injustice. The rally led to the formation of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights by Arnold Aronson, A. Philip Randolph, and Roy Wilkins.
(SFC, 2/20/98, p.A23)
1951 May 24, Racial segregation in Washington D.C. restaurants was ruled illegal.
(HN, 5/24/98)
1953 Jan 14, In Washington DC the Pennsylvania Railroad's Federal, the overnight train from Boston, crashed into the Union Station. Remarkably, no one was killed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_%28Washington,_D.C.%29)
1953 Apr 17, Mickey Mantle hit a home run in Washington's Griffith Stadium off the Senator's Chuck Stobbs that was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as measuring 565 feet. The distance was later said to have been padded.
(WSJ, 7/9/03, p.A1)
1953 The Washington National Cathedral installed stained-glass windows that paid tribute to Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army. The Confederate flags depicted in the windows were scheduled for removal in 2016.
(SFC, 6/10/16, p.A10)
1954 Mar 1, Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five congressmen. In 1998 the granddaughter of one of the nationalists published a family memoir.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)(AP, 3/1/98)(NPR, 2/28/98)
1954 Sep 7-8, Integration of public schools began in Washington DC and Baltimore, Md.
(HN, 9/7/98)(www.courtinfo.ca.gov/presscenter/timeline.htm)
1954 The US Supreme Court in Berman v Parker approved a slum clearance plan of the government of Washington DC over the objections of a local department store owner.
(Econ, 2/19/05, p.32)
1954 A World War II memorial to US Marines was dedicated next to Arlington National Cemetery. It was based on the Iwo Jima flag raising by 6 Marines, which was captured by AP photographer Joseph Rosenthal. The photo inspired the sculpture by Felix de Weldon (1907-2003).
(AP, 2/23/98)(SFC, 9/21/00, p.C6)(SFC, 6/14/03, p.A21)
1955 Herbert Haft (1920-2004), pharmacist, opened his 1st Dart Drugs in Washington, DC. Over the next 30 years it grew to a chain of 77 stores and then expanded creating Trak Auto, Crown Books, Shoppers Food Warehouse and Total Beverage. In 1997 Dart accepted $50 million in exchange for leaving the business.
(SFC, 9/3/04, p.B6)
1956 June 9, In Washington, DC, President Eisenhower underwent surgery for an intestinal blockage. The operation was a success and doctors assured the nation that the president will make a full recovery.
(NYT, 6/9/1956, p.1)
1957 Aug 15, The musical "West Side Story," composed by Leonard Bernstein and based on a concept by Jerome Robbins, first opened in Washington D.C. The story was by Arthur Laurents and the lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim.
(SFEM, 5/23/99, p.18)
1957 Oct 17, Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the White House.
(MC, 10/17/01)
1958 Jun, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, of African American and American Indian ancestry, traveled from Caroline County, Va., to marry in Washington, DC. Upon returning home they were arrested for violating the state’s 1924 Racial Integrity Act. Their one year sentenced was suspended on condition that they leave the state. The case was appealed in 1963. In 1967 The US Supreme Court under Earl Warren ruled unanimously in their favor.
(SFC, 2/14/12, p.E4)
1959 Jul 4, A 49-star flag was raised for the first time at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in honor of Alaska which had become the 49th state in the Union on July 7, 1958.
(IB, Internet, 12/7/98)
1959 Apr 14, The Taft Memorial Bell Tower was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 4/14/98)
1960 The Washington Senators, a baseball team in the American League, moved from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota at the end of 1960 and became the Minnesota Twins. The next year, an expansion team, also called the Washington Senators, came to the nation’s capital. After the 1971 season, those Senators moved to Texas and became the Texas Rangers. In the 30 years since then, Washington, D.C., has not had the Senators or any other Major League baseball team.
(HNQ, 6/29/01)
1961 Mar 29, The 23rd amendment, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president, was ratified.
(HN, 3/29/98)
1961 May 4, A group of 13 CORE civil rights activists, dubbed "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C., for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on buses and in bus terminals.
(AP, 5/4/97)(HN, 5/4/98)(MC, 5/4/02)
1961 Erving Goffman wrote "Asylums," which asserted that the abnormal behavior of psychiatric patients was mostly a consequence of hospitalization. It was based on a year of working incognito at St. Elizabeths in Washington, DC.
(WSJ, 7/18/97, p.A14)(Econ, 7/11/15, SR p.7)
1962 Feb 16, Todd Gitlin (b.1943), Harvard activist, helped organize a national anti-war rally in Washington, DC. Some 8,000 students turned up. Boston SANE & the fledgling SDS organized the first anti-nuclear march.
(www.peacebuttons.info/new/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february16)(Econ, 2/18/12, p.15)
1962 Apr 9, JFK threw out the 1st ball at Washington's new DC Stadium.
(MC, 4/9/02)
1962 Jun, In 2012 Mimi Alford (69), a grandmother and retired church administrator said she began a relationship with Pres. John F. Kennedy while she was a 19-year-old intern in the White House press office. According to a New York Post, which obtained a copy of the memoir, the affair began in the summer of 1962, on the fourth day of Alford's internship, when they had an encounter in the White House swimming pool. That night, Alford says, she lost her virginity to the president in First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's bedroom. The affair was first revealed in 2003, when Kennedy biographer Robert Dallek wrote in "An Unfinished Life" about an unnamed intern who allegedly had a relationship with the late president. Alford’s "Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath" was released on Feb 8, 2012.
(http://tinyurl.com/7shp9j3)
1962 Nov 17, Washington's Dulles International Airport was dedicated by President Kennedy.
(AP, 11/17/97)
1963 Aug 3, Phil Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, committed suicide. His wife, Katharine Graham (1917-2001), took over as publisher. She published her autobiography in 1997: "Personal History."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Graham)(SFEC, 2/9/97, BR p.1)
1963 Aug 28, The civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom drew 200-250,000 demonstrators and was the occasion for King’s "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was organized by Bayard Rustin (1912-1987). In 1997 a biography of Rustin by Jervis Anderson was published: "Bayard Rustin: The Troubles I’ve Seen." The 1997 play "Civil Sex" by Brian Freeman was based on Rustin’s life. Rev. Thomas Kilgore Jr. (d.1998 at 84) helped organize the march on Washington. Martin Luther King led marches on Washington and Selma, Alabama. His chief lieutenant was Andrew Young who in 1996 wrote: "An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America."
(WSJ, 11/6/96, p.A21)(SFEC, 1/26/97 BR, p.4)(WSJ, 1/30/97, p.A14)(AP, 8/28/97)(SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)(HN, 8/28/98)
1963 Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet co-founded the DC-based liberal Institute for Policy Studies think tank.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Policy_Studies)(SFC, 12/28/17, p.D5)
1964 Feb 11, The Beatles 1st live appearance in US was in the Washington, DC Coliseum.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1964 Nov 24, Residents of Wash DC were permitted to vote for the 1st time since 1800.
(MC, 11/24/01)
1965 Apr 17, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held its 1st anti-Vietnam war protest rally in Washington DC. Daniel Ellsburg helped Patricia Marx tape the event for public radio.
(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.M1)
1965 Nov 27, 15-25,000 demonstrated in Wash DC against the war in Vietnam.
(MC, 11/27/01)
1965 Blues Alley, a Georgetown legend, began business and in 1998 was the oldest continuously operating jazz supper club.
(BS, 5/3/98, p.7R)
1966 Oct 29, The National Organization for Women was formally organized during a conference in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 10/29/07)
1966 Apr 9, The statue of Winston Churchill was dedicated at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 4/9/99)
1967 May 20, A 2-day Spring Mobilization Conference opened in Washington D.C. The gathering of 700 antiwar activists was called to evaluate the antiwar demonstrations that had taken place on April 15, 1967 in New York City and San Francisco. The conference set another antiwar action for the fall of 1967 and created an administrative committee to plan it. That committee was the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mobilization_Committee_to_End_the_War_in_Vietnam)
1967 Sep 28, Walter E. Washington (d.2003) took office as the first mayor of the District of Columbia. He had been appointed mayor-commissioner by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson and won by election in 1974.
(AP, 9/28/97)(SFC, 11/1/03, p.A20)
1967 Oct 21, Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters marched in Washington, D.C. 35,000 people assembled outside the Pentagon to protest the war in Vietnam.
(TMC, 1994, p.1967)(AP, 10/21/97)
1967 The Watergate (Swissotel Washington) commercial and residential complex was built.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.C1)
1968 Mar 2, The Poor Peoples' March on Washington, envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a means of dramatizing the plight of the poor of all races, got under way.
{USA, Black History}
(www.project1968.com/in-the-news-may-2-1968.html)
1968 Mar 19, Howard University students in Washington DC staged rallies, protests and a 5-day sit-in, laying siege to the administration building, shutting down the university in protest over its ROTC program, and demanding a more Afrocentric curriculum.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968)
1968 Mar 23, Reverend Walter Fauntroy became the 1st non-voting congressional delegate from Washington DC, since Reconstruction.
(www.thehistorymakers.com/timeline/index.asp?string=1968)
1968 Apr 4, Five days of race riots erupted in Washington, D.C. following assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil unrest affected at least 110 U.S. cities; Washington, along with Chicago and Baltimore, were among the most affected.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Washington,_D.C._riots)
1968 Apr 29, Dr. Ralph Abernathy led The Poor People's Campaign in Washington D.C., less than a month after the assassination of King. It concluded on June 23. The campaign was for reforms in welfare, employment and housing policies. Abernathy was the successor to Rev. Martin Luther King as head of the Southern Christian Leadership conference.
(HNQ, 1/19/99)
1968 May 12, "March of Poor" under Rev. Abernathy reached Washington, DC.
(MC, 5/12/02)
1968 Apr 2, The influential science-fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey," produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, had its world premiere in Washington.
(AP, 4/2/08)
1968 Jun 19, Some 50,000 marched on Washington, DC, to support the Poor People's Campaign. Rev. Jesse Jackson preached “I Am Somebody" at Resurrection City, a tent city set up in front of the White House. In 1971 he turned the speech into a poem for Sesame Street.
(http://cheyannescampsite.blogspot.com/2008_06_15_archive.html)(SFC, 7/5/96, BR, p.6)(HN, 6/19/98)
1968 Jun 24, "Resurrection City," a shantytown constructed as part of the Poor People's March on Washington, D.C., was closed by authorities.
(AP, 6/24/97)
1968 The Library of Congress finished its Machine Readable Cataloguing (Marc) pilot project, which was under the direction of Henriette D. Avram (1919-2006). In 1969 bibliographic records were sent on magnetic tape to libraries around the country. In 1971 Marc became the national standard fro electronic cataloguing.
(SFC, 5/4/06, p.B7)
1969 Oct 15, Peace demonstrators staged activities across the country, including a candlelight march around the White House, as part of a moratorium against the Vietnam War.
(AP, 10/15/97)
1969 Nov 15, A quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., against the Vietnam War.
(AP, 11/15/97)(HN, 11/15/98)
1969 Dec 21, Vince Lombardi (1913-1970), head coach of the Washington Redskins, coached his last football game and lost.
(www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/was/1969.htm)
1970 Mar, Several dozen leading US journalists met in Washington and formed the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The meeting was spearheaded by CBS journalist Murray Fromson (1929-2018) and New York Times reporter J. Anthony Lukas.
(SFC, 6/14/18, p.D2)
1970 Sep 1, Dr. Hugh Scott of Washington, D.C., became the first African-American superintendent of schools in a major U.S. city.
(HN, 9/1/99)
1970 Sep 3, Vince Lombardi (57), one of Fordham University‘s stalwart linemen known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite" during his college days, succumbed to cancer in Washington, D.C. He had recently coached the Washington Redskins to their first winning season in 14 years. Lombardi had previously coached the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls. He went to the Washington Redskins in 1969 as head coach, general manager, and part owner. The team wound up with a 7-5-2 record for the season. In 1999 David Maraniss authored "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi."
(AP, 9/3/97)(WSJ, 10/7/99, p.A28)
1970 Sep 22, President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill giving the District of Columbia representation in the U.S. Congress. Pres Nixon requested 1,000 new FBI agents for college campuses.
(HN, 9/22/98)(http://tinyurl.com/5qrct8)
1971 Mar 1, The Weather Underground bombed the US Capitol building claiming it to be in protest of US involvement in Laos. The bomb exploded in a Capitol restroom 30 minutes after a telephone warning. Some $200,000 in damage was caused with no injuries.
(HNQ, 7/30/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol)(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1971 Apr 23, In the final event of Operation Dewey Canyon III, nearly 1,000 Vietnam War veterans threw their combat ribbons, helmets, and uniforms on the Capitol steps.
(www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryapril.htm)
1971 May 3, Anti-war protesters calling themselves the Mayday Tribe began four days of demonstrations in Washington aimed at shutting down the nation's capital. 13,000 anti-war protesters were arrested in 3 days.
(AP, 5/3/97)(MC, 5/3/02)
1971 Jul 4, A July 4th concert on the West Lawn of the White House was held and began an annual tradition.
(SSFC, 6/30/02, Par p.30)
1971 Sep 8, The Kennedy Center, begun in 1964, officially opened in Washington, DC. A performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass was held there three days earlier. The $71 million structure was designed by Edward Durell. The cultural center was promoted at Kennedy’s request by Roger L. Stevens (1910-1998). Congress had designated it a national monument to Pres. Kennedy following his assassination.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts)(SFC, 8/27/01, p.E4)
1971 Sep 20, The American League Ok'd the Washington Senator move to Arlington, where they became the Texas Rangers.
(WSJ, 4/7/99, p.B1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Washington_Senators_season)
1971 Sep 30, The Washington Senators baseball team played their last game before leaving DC for Texas.
(WSJ, 4/7/99, p.B1)(www.sportsecyclopedia.com/al/wastex/senators61.html)
1972 Mar 1, Kathy Boudin and Bernardine Dohrn, members of the Weathermen, set explosives in the 1st-floor ladies room of the US Capitol building. [See Oct 20, 1981]
(WSJ, 11/26/03, p.A1)(http://hnn.us/articles/1155.html)
1972 Apr 16, The Republic of China presented to Pandas to the US National Zoo: Hsing-Hsing (d.1999) and Ling-Ling. Ling-Ling died Sep 30, 1992.
(SFC, 4/16/97, p.C14)(HN, 4/16/98)
1972 May 28, Operatives working for the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP) burglarized the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Washington, DC, Watergate office complex.
(http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum)
1972 Jun 17, President Nixon's eventual downfall began when five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate hotel at 1:52 a.m. Carl Schloffler (1945-1996), undercover police officer, made the arrest. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy ran the break-in from a nearby hotel room. Within hours of the bust Liddy attempted to shred all related documents. After the arrests of the burglars, White House Counsel John Dean took custody of evidence and money from the White House safe of E. Howard Hunt, Jr., who had been supervising the burglaries, and later destroyed some of the evidence before it could be found by investigators The five burglars, led by former CIA agent James McCord Jr. (1924-2019), were soon linked to Nixon's Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP) and, as suspicion grew, Nixon conspired to obstruct an FBI investigation of the incident. Nixon's conversations about the obstruction and subsequent cover-up had been tape-recorded as part of a secret tape-recording system revealed to investigators by Nixon's schedule keeper. Jeb Magruder later wrote "An American Life." The book has been described as the most accurate description of what happened. Stanley I. Kutler later authored "The Wars of Watergate." Liddy later asserted that John Dean was really after a brochure of call-girl pictures kept by DNC secretary Ida Wells that included a picture of Dean’s girlfriend, Maureen Biner.
(SFC, 4/13/96, p.A-2)(TMC, 1994, p.1972)(SFC, 7/16/96, p.A14)(SFC, 2/1/99, p.A3) (HNPD, 6/17/99)(SFC, 2/4/00, p.D9)(SFC, 1/31/01, p.A2)(SSFC, 4/21/19, p.C9)
1972 Jun 19, Two days after the botched Watergate break-in, FBI official W. Mark Felt secretly assured Bob Woodward that The Washington Post could safely make a connection between the burglars and a former CIA agent linked to the White House, E. Howard Hunt. Woodward’s secret source for information became known as Deep Throat, and Felt’s name was not made public until 2005. In 2006 Mark Felt and John O’Connor authored “A G-Man’s Life: The FBI, Being “Deep Throat," and the Struggle for Honor in Washington."
(http://tinyurl.com/cva26)(SSFC, 5/21/06, p.M3)
1972 Jun 20, Pres. Nixon recorded on tape information relating to the Jun 16 Watergate break-in. Sections of the tape were later erased, allegedly accidentally by sec. Rose Mary Woods. A panel of experts examined the tape to see if the 18-minute gap was intentional. Richard H. Bolt (d.2002 at 90), acoustic expert at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, later said that if it was an accident than it was committed at least 5 time in the 18 minutes.
(SFC, 2/4/02, p.B5)
1972 Oct 11, There was an attempted prison escape at the Washington DC jail. In 1975 Appellants Frank Gorham, Jr., and Otis D. Wilkerson were indicted, along with co-defendants Meltonia Fields and Linda Ewing, on counts of conspiracy, introducing contraband into a penal institution, armed kidnapping, and armed robbery, and both appellants were indicted individually on counts of attempted escape and escape from custody. The charges grew out of appellants' abortive attempt to escape from the D.C. jail on October 11, 1972, and their successful escape two weeks later.
(http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/523/523.F2d.1088.74-1613.74-1611.html)
1972 Oct 26, The Washington Post first disclosed that Attorney General of the United States, John Mitchell, personally controlled a secret fund to finance intelligence operations against Democrats during the Nixon administration. The money financed spying and sabotaging Democratic primary campaigns in 1972 and included activity such as forgery of correspondence, release of false leaks to the press and seizure of confidential campaign files.
(www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a102672macgregorfund)
1972 Nov 9, The "Trail of Broken Treaties" caravan, an Indian protest, ended in vandalism and chaos at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. The story is told in the 1996 book "Like A Hurricane, The Indian Movement From Alcatraz to Wounded Knee" by Paul Chaat Smith and Robert Allen Warrior.
(SFEC, 1/5/97, BR p.8)(http://siouxme.com/lodge/treaties.html)
1972 Katharine Graham (1917-2001) became the CEO of the Washington Post company and the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
(Econ., 4/18/15, SR p.7)
1973 Jan 8, The trial of Watergate burglars began in Washington, DC. In 2006 Andreas Killen authored “1973 Nervous Breakdown: Watergate, Warhol and the Birth of Post-Sixties America."
(www.watergate.info/chronology/1973.shtml)(SSFC, 4/16/06, p.M3)
1973 Jan 15, Four of six remaining Watergate defendants pleaded guilty.
(HN, 1/15/99)
1973 Jan 30, A jury found Watergate defendants Liddy & McCord guilty on all counts.
(www.watergate.info/chronology/1973.shtml)
1973 Feb 16, The Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy think tank, was founded in Washington, DC, by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner, and Joseph Coors.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation)(SFC, 12/28/17, p.D5)
1973 Mar 21, Dean told Nixon: "There is a cancer growing on the Presidency."
(http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/amia-l/2000/01/msg00043.html)
1973 Dec 24, The US Congress passed the Home rule Act, which allowed residents of Washington DC to elect a mayor. Walter Washington was elected in 1974.
(WSJ, 10/28/03, p.A1)(Econ, 9/16/06, p.41)(www.abfa.com/ogc/hrtall.htm)
1973 The Washington DC Eastern Market was started in a pair of buildings abandoned by the transportation dept.
(BS, 5/3/98, p.7R)
1973 The reorganized Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority took over D.C. Transit. The Washington, Virginia and Maryland Coach Company, the AB&W Transit Company, and the WMA Transit Company), whose assets were sold to WMATA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metropolitan_Area_Transit_Authority)
1974 Feb 17, Henry Kulbaski (d.2007), White House Secret Service agent, ordered service agents to shoot down a stolen helicopter that was flying around the White House. Robert K. Preston (b.1954), a US Army private, suffered superficial pellet wounds and was taken into custody.
(SSFC, 7/15/07, p.B7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Preston)
1974 Feb 22, Samuel Joseph Byck (1930–1974), an unemployed former tire salesman, attempted to hijack a plane flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport. He intended to crash into the White House in hopes of killing US President Richard M. Nixon. Byck killed pilot Fred Jones and a aviation officer George Neal Ramsburg before he was shot and wounded by gunfire through the door of a Delta DC-9 airplane. Byck then shot himself in the head.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Byck)
1974 Mar 1, A grand jury in Washington, DC, concluded that President Nixon was indeed involved in the Watergate cover-up. 7 people, including former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, former Attorney General John Mitchell and former assistant Attorney General Robert Mardian, were indicted on charges of conspiring to obstruct justice in connection with the Watergate break-in. They were convicted the following January, although Mardian's conviction was later reversed. In 2005 Vanity Fair Magazine revealed that W. Mark Felt (91), former FBI official, was the Watergate whistleblower Deep Throat, who helped bring down Pres. Nixon.
(HN, 3/1/98)(AP, 3/1/99)(AP, 6/1/05)
1974 Jul 9, Earl Warren (83), former California governor and US Chief Justice (1953-68) died in Washington D.C. In 1997 Ed Cray authored the Warren biography "Chief Justice."
(AP, 7/9/99)(SFC, 2/28/01, p.A18)
1974 Sep 20, Gail A. Cobb (24), a member of the Metropolitan Police Force of Washington, D.C., became the first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty. Cobb was murdered by a robbery suspect in an underground garage in downtown Washington.
(http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1231,q,538639.asp)
1974 Nov 5, Walter Washington (1915-2003) was elected mayor of Washington DC, the 1st black mayor there in 104 years. He had been appointed mayor-commissioner in 1967.
(WSJ, 10/28/03, p.A1)(www.narpac.org/ITXDCHIS.HTM)
1974 The Hirshborn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington opened.
(SFC, 12/30/99, p.E1)
1975 May 25, The Golden Gate Warriors won the NBA title in a 4-game sweep over the Washington Bullets.
(SFC, 4/26/10, p.A8)(www.nba.com/history/finals/19741975.html)
1976 Mar 27, In Washington DC the first 4.6 miles of track for the Washington Metro was completed. The Gallery Place metro station opened. Harry Weese (d.1998) Associates of Chicago did the design work. By 2012 Metrorail had 106.3 miles of track.
(SFC, 11/4/98, p.C7)(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metro)
1976 Sep 21, Chilean exile Orlando Letelier, one time foreign minister to Chilean President Salvador Allende, was killed when a bomb exploded in his car in Washington D.C. He was assassinated by order from Chile by Gen’l. Manuel Contreras, head of the secret police known as DINA. Ronni Moffitt (24), an American colleague of Letelier, was also killed. Contreras was convicted of the order in 1993 and sentenced to a 7-year prison term. In 2000 Gen. Pinochet was linked to the killing. In 2015 declassified US documents relating to the assassination reportedly pointed to Pinochet's role in ordering the murder.
(SFC, 6/27/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/99, p.C3)(SFEC, 5/28/00, p.A7)(AP, 9/21/01)(Reuters, 10/8/15)
1976 Nov 9, Smokey the Bear (26) died at the Washington DC National Zoo.
(www.capitanlibrary.org/research/smokey-bear.htm)
1976 The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.A5)
1977 Mar 7, Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin met with Pres. Carter in Washington.
(www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/campdavid25/campdavid25_photos.phtml)
1977 Mar 9, About a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The siege ended two days later.
(AP, 3/9/98)
1977 Mar 11, More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims were freed after ambassadors from three Islamic nations joined the negotiations.
(AP, 3/11/98)
1977 Jun 6, The Washington Post reported that the US had developed a neutron bomb.
(http://piurl.com/5B)
1977 Jul 23, A jury in Washington, D.C., convicted 12 Hanafi Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.
(AP, 7/23/98)
1979 Mar 19, The U.S. House of Representatives began televising its day-to-day business. Brian Lamb launched C-Span, a TV public service broadcasting medium that focused on public affairs without comment or analysis. He came up with the idea while working the Washington bureau chief for Cablevision magazine.
(AP, 3/19/97)(SSFC, 3/27/05, Par p.14)(Econ, 3/24/12, p.34)
1978 Jul 9, Nearly 100,000 demonstrators marched on Wash DC for ERA.
(www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/history.html)
1979 Mar 3, Mustafa Barzani (b.1903), Iranian Kurd leader (KDP), died in Washington, DC. He was succeeded by his son Massoud.
(SFC, 9/4/96, A7)(WSJ, 12/20/02, p.A14)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barzani)
1979 May 7, An estimated 125,000 people rallied against nuclear power in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 5/7/04, p.F2)
1979 Oct 7, Pope John Paul II concluded a week-long tour of the United States with a Mass on the Mall in Washington, DC.
(AP, 10/7/99)
1979 Oct 14, In Washington, DC, some 100,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and supporters marched in celebration of gay pride and demanded equal rights for homosexuals under the law.
(SFC, 10/15/04, p.F13)
1979-1985 Victor Cherkashin served as the KGB chief at the Soviet embassy in Washington. In 2004 he authored “Spy Handler: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames."
(WSJ, 12/30/04, p.D8)
1979-1999 Meg Greenfield (d.1999) served as the editorial-page editor of the Washington Post. In 2001 her book "Washington" was published.
(WSJ, 5/3/01, p.A16)
1980 Nov 17, WHHM Television in Washington, D.C. became the first African American public-broadcasting television station.
(HN, 11/17/98)
1981 Mar 2, Howard Stern began broadcasting on WWDC in Washington DC.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1981 Mar 30, John W. Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded Pres. Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. Press Sec. James Brady took a bullet as did Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty.
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.2)(HN, 3/30/02)(AP, 3/30/08)
1981 Apr 13, Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about an 8-year-old heroin addict named "Jimmy." Cooke relinquished the prize two days later, admitting she had fabricated the story.
(AP, 4/13/00)(www.museumofhoaxes.com/day/04_17_2001.html)
1981 Apr 15, Janet Cooke said her Pulitzer award 8-year-old heroin addict story was a lie. The Washington Post relinquished the Pulitzer Prize over the fabricated story.
(www.museumofhoaxes.com/day/04_17_2001.html)
1981 Jun 23, The body of Catherine Schilling (21), a Georgetown law student, was found raped and murdered in Rock Creek Park. She was shot in the head five times after taking a shortcut home through the park after working late at her job as a paralegal at a DC law firm. In September 1982, a D.C. jury convicted Donald Eugene Gates of killing and raping Schilling. In 2009 Gates (58) was released from prison based on DNA evidence.
(http://tinyurl.com/y8smuur)(SFC, 12/15/09, p.A9)
1981 Aug, Oliver North (b.1943) was assigned to White House duty as Chief Middle East arms-sales adviser to Secretary of Defense Casper W. Weinberger. He was fired on November 25, 1986, for selling arms to Iran, and diverting Iran arms sales proceeds to the contras.
(www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm)
1981 Bill Strauss (1947-2007), Elaina Newport and Jim Aidala founded Capitol Steps, a singing, satirical troupe in Washington DC. By 2007 the group had recorded 29 albums including “Sixteen Scandals" (1997).
(SFC, 12/26/07, p.B4)
1981 Joseph Rivers (d.1989) founded the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) in Washington DC to improve the quality of life of young people who had been in foster care.
(SFEC,12/14/97, Par p.14)
1981 Metal detectors were installed at the White House.
(SFC, 11/28/98, p.E4)
1982 Jan 13, An Air Florida 737 crashed into the capital's 14th Street Bridge after takeoff and fell into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.
(AP, 1/13/98)
1982 Mar 26, Ground was broken in Washington D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin of Yale. It was dedicated Nov 13.
(NG, May 1985, p.554, 557)(AP, 3/26/97)(HN, 3/25/98)
1982 Nov 10, The newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/10/97)
1982 Nov 13, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund had chosen Maya Ying Lin's design. Lin was an architecture student at Yale University when she submitted her proposal for the memorial, to be built in Washington D.C.'s Constitution Gardens as a tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War. In her proposal, shown above, Lin described "a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth," which would include the names of all the military personnel who had died or remained missing. According to Lin, "these names, seemingly infinite in number, [would] convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole.
(AP, 11/13/97)(HNPD, 11/13/98)
1982 Nov 16, A replica of the original 1854 "Pope’s Stone," donated by the Vatican, was dedicated at the Washington Monument. The original from Pope Pius IX, arrived in October 1853. It was taken by force in 1854 by unknown men. The common idea is that the men were part of a group called the Know-Nothings.
(www.nps.gov/archive/wamo/memstone_564.htm)
1982 Dec 8, A man demanding an end to nuclear weapons held the Washington Monument hostage, threatening to blow it up with explosives he claimed were inside a van. After a 10-hour standoff, Norman D. Mayer was shot dead by police; it turned out there were no explosives.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mayer)(AP, 12/8/07)
1982 Dec 9, The Washington, D.C., police shot and killed Norman Mayer (b.1916), an American anti-nuclear weapons activist, 10 hours after he threatened to blow up the Washington Monument. Police found he had no explosives.
(HN, 12/8/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mayer)
1982 The Washington Times was founded by Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, to be a conservative alternative to the larger Washington Post. The Times is widely perceived as maintaining a right-leaning editorial stance. By 2002, the Unification Church had spent about $1.7 billion in subsidies for the Times.
(SFC, 12/9/09, p.A6)(http://tinyurl.com/y9r9xd7)
1983 Nov 7, A bomb exploded on the 2nd floor of the Capitol, causing heavy damage but no injuries. A caller said the bomb was an action against US aggression in Grenada and Lebanon.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_United_States_Senate_bombing)
1984 Nov 9, The Vietnam Veterans statue, “Three Soldiers" by Frederick Hart (d.1999 at 56), was unveiled in Washington DC on Veterans Day.
(http://www.440.com/twtd/archives/nov09.html)(SFC, 8/18/99, p.C4)
1986 Jun 23, Tip O'Neill refused to let Reagan address the House.
(http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_106/TECH_V106_S0437_P003.txt)
1987 May 3, The Miami Herald said its reporters had observed a young woman, later identified as Donna Rice, spending "Friday night and most of Saturday" at a Washington, D.C., townhouse belonging to Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart.
(AP, 5/3/97)(SFEC, 12/19/99, p.C12)
1987 May 26, Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (b.1913), physician and philanthropist, died. He donated a large collection of Asian art housed in the National Museum Sackler Gallery, which adjoins the Freer in Washington DC.
(WSJ, 11/6/98, p.W10)(www.britannica.com/eb/article-9001219)
1987 Oct 11, Some 200,000 homosexual rights activists marched through Washington DC to demand protection from discrimination and more federal money for AIDS research and treatment. The AIDS Memorial Quilt had its inaugural presentation. In 2000 Cleve Jones and Jeff Dawson authored "Stitching a Revolution, The making of an AIDS Activist."
(AP, 10/11/97)(SFEC, 6/18/00, BR p.5)
1987 Nov 12, Heavy snow closed schools from DC to Maine.
(http://weather.intellicast.com/Almanac/Northeast/November/)
1987 The National Museum of Women in the Arts was founded in Washington DC. It was the idea of Wilhelmina Holladay. In 1997 a new $1 million wing was added.
(SFEC,11/9/97, p.A12)
1987 The Carlyle Group was founded in Washington DC. It had interests with military contractors and ties to elite DC circles.
(SFC, 3/27/03, p.B1)
1988 Jan 16, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was fired as a CBS Sports commentator one day after telling a TV station in Washington, D.C., that, during the era of slavery, blacks had been bred to produce stronger offspring. He was fired because he claimed blacks were superior to whites in athletics, and he traced it back to how blacks were bred. To make matters worse, he also said "if blacks take over coaching like everybody wants them to, there is not going to be anything left for the white people."
(AP, 1/16/98)(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/almanac/video/1988/)
1988 Mar 6, The board of trustees at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a liberal arts college for the deaf, selected Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing woman, to be school president. Outraged students shut down the campus, forcing the selection of a deaf president, I. King Jordan, instead.
(AP, 3/6/08)
1988 Mar 13, Yielding to student protests, the board of trustees of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a liberal arts college for the hearing-impaired, chose I. King Jordan to become the school's first deaf president, replacing Elisabeth Ann Zinser, a hearing woman.
(AP, 3/13/98)
1988 Aug 4, US Congress voted $20,000 to each Japanese-American interned during WW II.
(MC, 8/4/02)
1988 Nov 9, John N. Mitchell (b.1913), former Attorney General under Pres. Nixon, died in Washington. He was a major figure in the Watergate scandal and served 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama (1977-1979) for his role in the scandal. In 2008 James Rosen authored “The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate."
(AP, 1/19/98)(AP, 11/9/02)(WSJ, 5/24/08, p.W8)
1988 McDonald's opened its 10,000th restaurant in a suburb of DC.
(WSJ, 5/13/99, p.B13)
1989 May 31, US House Speaker Jim Wright, dogged by questions about his ethics, announced he would resign. Thomas Foley succeeded him.
(AP, 5/31/99)
1989 May 31, Charles A. Hufnagel (b.1917), artificial heart valve pioneer, died at his home in Washington, DC.
(http://tinyurl.com/f5wdx)
1989 May, In Washington DC a 7-year-old boy was raped, stabbed and castrated by a repeat sex offender. The event gave rise to the nation’s first civil commitment law for sex offenders.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.A8)
1989 Jun 6, In Washington, DC, Thomas Foley was elected the 49th speaker of the House of Representatives.
(AP, 6/6/99)
1989 Aug 2, The House of Representatives voted against including abortion curbs in a spending bill for the District of Columbia.
(AP, 8/2/99)
1989 Nov 12, Abortion rights advocates rallied in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/12/99)
1989 The Save Outdoor Sculpture (SOS), organization was founded as a non-profit and largely volunteer organization. It is housed in Washington at the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property (NIC). The SOS has 15,000 works entered into its Inventory of American Sculpture.
(Smith., 4/1995, p.140)(http://tinyurl.com/hrt5r)
1990 Jan 18, In an FBI sting, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession. Barry was arrested while smoking crack cocaine and fondling a woman who was not his wife. He was later convicted of a misdemeanor.
(AP, 1/18/00)(SFC, 11/24/14, p.A6)
1990 Apr 28, Anti-abortion demonstrators marched in Washington D.C.; authorities put the number of protesters at 200,000, but organizers claimed a turnout of about 700,000.
(AP, 4/28/00)
1990 Jun 19, Opening statements were presented in the drug and perjury trial of Washington DC Mayor Marion S. Barry Junior. Barry was later convicted of a single count of misdemeanor drug possession, and sentenced to six months in prison.
(AP, 6/19/00)
1990 Jun 28, Jurors in the drug and perjury trial of Washington DC Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr. viewed a videotape showing Barry smoking crack cocaine during an FBI hotel-room sting operation. Barry was later convicted of a single count of misdemeanor drug possession.
(AP, 6/28/00)
1990 Aug 10, Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry was convicted of a single misdemeanor drug charge and acquitted on another; the judge declared a mistrial on 12 other counts.
(AP, 8/10/00)
1990 John Williamson (b.1937) wrote an article that pinned down the features of the “Washington Consensus." It described a framework for policy in emerging countries that was accepted by most mainstream practitioners in the field.
(Econ, 10/7/06, p.63)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus)
1990 In Washington DC the Rev. George A. Stallings Jr. and his breakaway African-American Catholic Congregation, which encouraged the ordination of women and the use of birth control and abortion, were excommunicated for breaking ties with the Vatican.
(AP, 5/5/06)
1991 Jan 2, Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first black woman to head a city of Washington's size and prominence.
(AP, 1/2/98)
1991 Sep 28, The quotable former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in prison for possession of crack (a crystalline form of cocaine).
(http://tinyurl.com/ky3hv)
1991 Oct 26, Former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry arrived at a federal correctional institution in Petersburg, Va., to begin serving a six-month sentence for cocaine possession.
(AP, 10/26/01)
1991 The Int’l. Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL) was formed by Jody Williams and fellow activists during a Thanksgiving dinner. The organization won the 1997 Nobel Peace.
(SFC, 10/11/97, p.A9)
1991 The number of murders in Washington, DC, peaked at 482 this year.
(Econ, 1/14/17, p.75)
1992 Jan 26, The Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI, defeating the Buffalo Bills 37-24.
(AP, 1/26/02)
1992 Apr 23, Marion Berry, former mayor of Wash DC, was let out of prison.
(www.washtimes.com/metro/20040613-111808-1902r.htm)
1992 Jun, Latrena Denise Pixley, annoyed with the wailing of her 6-week-old 3rd child, smothered her with a blanket and tossed her in the trash.
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.8)
1992 The Shakespeare Theater moved to 7th and E streets from its longtime Capital Hill site.
(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)
1992 The TEC-9 semiautomatic pistol made by Navegar was renamed the TEC-DC9 after DC adopted a law making gun manufacturers liable for gun deaths.
(SFEC, 5/2/99, p.A11)
1993 Apr 25, Hundreds of thousands of gay rights activists and their supporters marched in Washington, D.C., demanding equal rights and freedom from discrimination.
(AP, 4/25/98)
1994 Jul 15, Israel and Jordan agreed to talks in Wash., DC, on July 25th.
(MC, 7/15/02)
1994 Sep 12, A stolen, single-engine Cessna crashed into the South Lawn of the White House, coming to rest against the executive mansion; the pilot, Frank Corder, was killed.
(AP, 9/12/99)
1994 Oct, The Clintons inaugurated a sculpture garden at the White House.
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1994 Nov 22, A gunman opened fire inside the District of Columbia's police headquarters; the ensuing gun battle left two FBI agents, a city detective and the gunman dead.
(AP, 11/22/99)
1994 Nov 22, Serb fighters in northwest Bosnia set villages ablaze in response to a retaliatory air strike by NATO.
(AP, 11/22/99)
1994 Dec 17, Six shots were fired at the White House by an unidentified gunman.
(AP, 12/17/99)
1994 WritersCorps began as an AmeriCorps program, thus the name, in San Francisco, the Bronx, and DC.
(SFC, 10/20/10, p.C2)(http://tinyurl.com/256lvpv)
1994 The US allowed the PLO to open a mission in Washington, a move that required Pres. Bill Clinton to waive a law that said the Palestinians couldn't have an office.
(AP, 9/10/18)
1995 Jun 25, Warren E. Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States (1969-86), died in Washington, D.C., of congestive heart failure at age 87.
(AP, 6/25/97)
1995 Jul 27, The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington by President Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam.
(AP, 7/27/98)
1995 Oct 16, A vast throng of black men gathered in Washington D.C. for the "Million Man March," "A Day of Atonement," led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Over 800,000 black men attended.
(AP, 10/16/97)(HN, 10/16/98)(MC, 10/16/01)
1995 Oct 28, An 18-wheel truck plunged over an embankment outside Washington DC and spilled 100 gallons of sulfuric acid onto I-95. The driver, Tom Billings, had fallen asleep.
(WSJ, 5/6/96, p.B-1)
1995 The Weekly Standard, a Washington DC opinion magazine, began operations. In 2005 it published a 1-year sampling of its work.
(WSJ, 9/2/05, p.W10)
1996 Jul 1, Placido Domingo became artistic director of Washington National Opera (f.1956).
(www.dc-opera.org/aboutcompany/placidodomingo.asp)
1997 Apr 6, Jack Kent Cooke (84), owner of the Washington Redskins, died. Settlement of his will took 7 years and cost $64 million in professional fees.
(AP, 4/6/98)(WSJ, 7/9/04, p.A1)
1997 Apr 30, President Clinton reopened the newly renovated Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 4/30/98)
1997 May 8, In Washington DC Jacqueline Thompson (32) gave birth to sextuplets. One was stillborn. No fertility drugs were used but both she and her husband Linden had a family history of multiple births.
(SFEC,11/23/97, p.A7)
1997 Jul 6, Mary Mahoney (25), Emory Evans (25) and Aaron Goodrich (18) were murdered in an apparent botched robbery at Starbuck's coffee shop in the Georgetown neighborhood. In 1999 Carl Derek Havord Cooper (29) was charged with the murders.
(SFC, 3/6/99, p.A3)
1997 Nov 25, Police Chief Larry D. Soulsby resigned just hours before a police lieutenant roommate was charged with extorting money from married men who frequented gay bars. The chief and his lieutenant shared a cut-rate luxury apartment obtained under false premises.
(SFC,11/26/97, p.A3)
1997 Dec 4, In Washington DC Eric Butera (31) was robbed and beaten to death while assisting police in an undercover investigation of a triple murder. In 1999 a court ruled that the DC police dept. and 4 officers pay Butera's mother $98 million in damages.
(SFC, 10/21/99, p.A3)
1997 The MCI Center, a sports arena for the NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals, was completed for $260 million.
(SFC, 5/21/01, p.A3)
1998 Jan, The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) was formed with headquarters in Washington, DC, as an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Chemical_Safety_and_Hazard_Investigation_Board)
1998 Feb 5, Democratic fundraiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie pleaded innocent in Washington to charges he'd raised illegal donations to buy influence in high places. Trie pleaded guilty in May 1999 to a felony count and a misdemeanor and was sentenced later that year to four months' home detention and three years' probation.
(AP, 2/5/03)
1998 Apr 27, A Pentagon panel said remains of the Vietnam veteran in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery should be exhumed to determine whether they belonged to Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, as his family believed. The remains were later positively identified as Blassie's.
(AP, 4/27/03)
1998 May 5, The $816 million, 3.1 million-sq.-ft. Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Washington DC was dedicated.
(USAT, 5/6/98, p.3A)
1998 May 15, Latia Robinson (7) took control of a Honda Accord after her father passed out and drove him safely to a hospital at the beginning of rush hour.
(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A6)
1998 Jul 24, A gunman burst past a metal detector at the US Capital and killed 2 policemen, officers Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, and wounded a visitor. Russell Eugene Weston Jr. (41) was captured after being shot.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 25, The US Capitol was reopened, a day after a gunman killed two police officers; a wounded suspect, Russell E. Weston Junior, was charged with murder. Weston was later found unfit to stand trial because of paranoid schizophrenia. Weston refused to take any medications voluntarily. In May 2001, a federal judge authorized doctors to treat Weston involuntarily. A panel from a federal appeals court ruled in July 2001 that Weston could be forced to take the drugs which he was forced to do for 120 days. He remains incarcerated in a psychiatric center in the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.
(AP, 7/25/99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Capitol_shooting_incident_(1998)#The_suspect)
1998 Oct 1, Gordon and Betty Moore, announced a $35 million contribution to Conservation Int’l., an environmental group for biodiversity. The funds would be used for a new Washington DC Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. Moore was a co-founder and former chairman of Intel Corp. He donated $12.5 million to Cambridge Univ. for the most advanced science and technology library in Europe.
(SFC, 10/2/98, p.B6,D1)
1998 Oct 7, Robert McDonough (76) donated $30 million to Georgetown Univ. He made his fortune in the temporary employment business.
(SFC, 10/8/98, p.A3)
1998 Nov, A measure on medical marijuana was voted upon. Congress held up the ballot count until Sep 1999, when results showed a 69% approval.
(WSJ, 9/21/99, p.B8)
1998 The Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport)
1999 Jan 2, Anthony A. Williams was inaugurated as mayor of Washington DC and given authority to run the daily operations of the city.
(SFC, 12/21/98, p.A2)(Econ, 3/4/06, p.31)
1999 Apr 13, The beaver "Big Daddy" was relocated. He was the 3rd of a family that was removed for snacking on the Japanese cherry trees in the capital.
(SFC, 4/14/99, p.A3)
1999 Apr, A 32-foot sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein, "Brushstroke Group," was to be erected in front of the Corcoran Gallery at 17th St. and New York Ave.
(SFC, 3/8/99, p.A8)
1999 May 22, The 6-acre National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden at 7th Ave and Constitution was opened to the public.
(WSJ, 5/21/99, p.W2)
1999 Jun 5, Some 3,000 protestors demonstrated outside the Pentagon against the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia.
(SFEC, 6/6/99, p.A4)
1999 Jun 5, In Washington DC Nancy Richards-Akers, a popular romance novelist, was shot and killed by her husband in front of their 2 children. Jeremy R. Akers then killed himself.
(SFC, 6/7/99, p.A2)
1999 Jun, Cheryl L. Johnson (1950-2007), a nurse at the Univ. of Michigan, and Susan Bianchi-Sand were among the co-founders of the United American Nurses union (UAN). During the week of June 17-20, ANA's House of Delegates (HOD) voted in Washington, DC, to create the United American Nurses (UAN), a labor entity within ANA that will further strengthen its labor activities.
(WSJ, 11/10/07, p.A8)(http://tinyurl.com/2tvqo9)
1999 Nov 28, In Washington DC Hsing Hsing (28) the giant panda died.
(SFC, 11/29/99, p.A2)
1999 Jemal’s Chinatown, a 100,000 square-foot complex of adjoining low-rise Victorian style buildings, was scheduled for completion. Ethnic restaurants and specialty shops were to be featured.
(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)
1999 George Washington Univ. purchased the Howard Johnson Hotel on Virginia Ave. for student housing.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.C5)
1999 The Weston A. Price Foundation was established in Washington DC to promote traditional foods such as grass-fed beef and unpasteurized milk.
(WSJ, 9/11/03, p.A1)
2000 Feb 22, Over 200 truckers gathered in Washington DC to protest high diesel prices.
(SFC, 2/23/00, p.A3)
2000 Feb 29, Doris Haddock (90), known as "Granny D." completed a 3,200 mile trek to Washington DC from California to urge Congress to enact reforms. Haddock (d.2010) had began walking on Jan 1, 1999, and arrived in DC to draw attention to the need for campaign finance reform.
(SFC, 2/29/00, p.A3)(AP, 8/3/19)
2000 Feb, The three most common first names for U.S. presidents have been James, John and William. Six presidents have been named James: Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan and Garfield, Carter. Four Johns (Adams, Quincy Adams, Tyler and Kennedy) and four Williams (McKinley, Harrison, Taft, Clinton) have occupied the White House.
(HNQ, 2/21/00)
2000 Mar 20, Some 2,000 farmers, ranchers and rural businessmen converged on Washington to lobby for an overhaul of farm programs and to strengthen antitrust enforcement on agribusiness.
(WSJ, 3/21/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 9, Some 10-30 thousand protesters began gathering in Washington DC for the meeting of the WTO. They planned to target the World Bank and the IMF. The World Bank’s 181 members accessed some $30 billion annually in loans through 5 institutions: The Int’l. Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Int’l. Development Assoc. (IDA), the Int’l. Finance Corp. (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the Int’l. Center for settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
(SFEC, 4/9/00, p.A12)
2000 Apr 15, An estimated 600 people were arrested in Washington DC prior to the meeting of the IMF and World Bank.
(SFEC, 4/16/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 16, In Washington DC police blocked some 10,000 protesters from disrupting the meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. Finance ministers and central bankers issued a statement that pledged to seek greater debt relief for the poorest countries and to reform the IMF to prevent future financial crises.
(SFC, 4/17/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 17, The IMF and World Bank ministers in Washington DC ended their meetings and pledged to speed debt relief to poor countries and to increase support for fighting AIDS. Police blocked all protestor attempts to disrupt the meetings.
(SFC, 4/18/00, p.A1)(AP, 4/17/01)
2000 Apr 24, In Washington DC a shootout at the National Zoo left 7 children wounded. A 16-year-old high school student, Antoine B. Jones, the son of a convicted enforcer, was later arrested. Jones later agreed to plead guilty to 7 felonies.
(WSJ, 4/25/00, p.A1)(SFC, 4/26/00, p.A3)(SFC, 4/27/00, p.A4)(SFC, 10/26/00, p.a12)
2000 Apr 29, Some 1000 gay and lesbian couples proclaimed their love at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the events leading to the 4th annual Millennium March the next day.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.A13)
2000 Jun 3, Some 69,000 runners took part in the Komen Race for the Cure, sponsored by the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
(SFEC, 6/4/00, p.A2)
2000 Sep 13, The contest for a Martin Luther King memorial on the national Mall was won by the ROMA Design Group of SF.
(SFC, 9/14/00, p.A3)
2000 Sep 21, Final approval of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall was expected. The neoclassical design was by Friedrich St. Florian.
(WSJ, 9/21/00, p.A26)
2000 Sep 28, A gay, deaf student at Gallaudet Univ. was beaten to death. Thomas Minch (18) was later arrested for the death of Eric Franklin Plunkett (19). Minch was released within 24 hours. In 2002 Joseph M. Mesa Jr. was convicted of killing and robbing 2 Gallaudet classmates. [See Feb 3, 2001]
(SFC, 10/4/00, p.A2)(SFC, 10/5/00, p.A2)(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A9)
2000 Oct 16, Louis Farrakhan planned a one million family march in Washington to seek spiritual strength and political empowerment. Thousands gathered in the National Mall to celebrate the American family.
(SFC, 10/14/00, p.A3)(SFC, 10/17/00, p.A3)
2000 Afghan cab drivers in Washington DC began meeting to discuss the poetry of Abdul Qadir Bedil (1644-1721), Afghanistan Sufi poet, in a program called “An Evening of Sufism." In 2004 original members broke off and formed the group “An Evening With the Dervishes."
(WSJ, 7/10/06, p.A1)(http://devoted.to/bedil)
2001 Jan 20, George Bush , the 1st president with an MBA, was inaugurated as the nation’s 43rd president in Washington DC. The "compassionate conservative" vowed to lead "through civility, courage, compassion and character."
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 20, Some 25,000 protesters gathered in Washington DC for the inauguration of Pres. Bush along with some 7,000 police.
(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.A4)
2001 Feb 3, Benjamin Varner, a freshman at Gallaudet Univ., was found dead with his throat slashed and face mutilated. Police later arrested Joseph Mesa Jr. (20), a freshman student from Guam, for the murder of Varner and Eric Plunkett in Sep, 2000. [see Sep 28, 2000]
(SSFC, 2/4/01, p.A10)(SFC, 2/6/01, p.A6)(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A7)
2001 Feb 20, Robert Philip Hanssen (56), senior FBI agent, was arrested for spying. He had allegedly passed information to the Russians for 15 years. It was believed that he had betrayed the construction of a tunnel under the Soviet Embassy in Washington.
(SFC, 2/21/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A6)
2001 Mar 18, An accident that injured 17 shut down several heavily traveled highways around Washington DC for several hours. The Virginia crash involved a Quebec tour bus, a truck and two cars.
(AP, 3/19/02)
2001 Mar 22, The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, designed by Leo Daly, opened near the Basilica of the National Shrine.
(SSFC, 3/11/01, Par p.19)
2001 Apr 30, Chandra Levy (24), an intern from Modesto, Ca., was last seen at a health club near her apartment in Washington, DC. On July 5 the aunt of Chandra Levy reported that her niece told her of a relationship with US Rep. Gary Condit before she disappeared. Levy’s remains were found May 22, 2002, in Rock Creek Park, Washington DC. In 2009 Ingmar Guandique (27), a Salvadoran immigrant already serving a 10-year sentence for attacking 2 women in the same park, was charged in her murder. In 2010 Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz authored “Finding Chandra: The True Washington Murder Mystery." In Nov 22, 2010, a jury found Guandique guilty of 2 counts of 1st degree murder. On Feb 11, 2011, Guandique was sentenced to 60 years in prison. In 2015 Guandique was granted a new trial. In 2016 the DC US Attorney’s office said it has moved to dismiss the case against Guandique.
(SFC, 5/18/01, p.A3)(SFC, 7/6/01, p.A1)(AP, 4/30/02)(SFC, 5/23/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/23/09, p.A4)(SSFC, 5/9/10, p.F1)(SFC, 11/23/10, p.A12)(SFC, 2/12/11, p.A6)(SFC, 7/29/16, p.A6)
2001 May 28, Pres. Bush signed a bill ordering the construction of a WW II memorial on the capital Mall.
(SFC, 5/29/01, p.A3)
2001 Jul 17, Katharine Graham, Pulitzer Prize winner and publisher of the Washington Post, died at age 84 in Boise, Idaho.
(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A6)
2001 Sep 11, 9:38 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 carrying 64 people, crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. It was enroute from Washington DC to LA.
9:40 a.m. The FAA grounded all domestic flights and ordered all airborne craft to land immediately.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.A6,10,12)(WSJ, 9/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 29, Some 7,000 people marched for peace in Washington DC while an estimated 7-10 thousand marched in San Francisco. They marched to mourn terrorist victims, and to urge the nation to heal poverty and injustice that fuels global violence instead of focusing on military revenge.
(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A3)
2001 Sep 29-30, The annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF was scheduled to take place in Washington DC. The meeting was reduced to 2-days due to expected anti-globalization protests. The meeting was cancelled following the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
(SFC, 8/14/01, p.A3)(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A3)
2001 Oct 4, Reagan National Airport re-opened.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.A15)
2001 Oct 5, Bob Stevens (63), photo editor for the Sun tabloid, died of anthrax. Anthrax spores were later found on his computer keyboard in Lantana. This was the 1st of a series of cases in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Washington. In 2011 his widow settled a $2.5 million lawsuit against the US government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2001_anthrax_attacks)(SFC, 12/30/01, p.D7)(AP, 10/5/02)(SFC, 10/31/11, p.A5)(SFC, 11/30/11, p.A13)
2001 Oct 7, Herbert L. Block (b.1910), Washington Post cartoonist, died at age 91. He authored "Herblock: A Cartoonist’s Life" in 1993.
(SFC, 10/8/01, p.A20)
2001 Oct 16, A wing of the US Senate building was closed following confirmation that a letter to Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., carried anthrax. It was later found that the anthrax contained the additive bentonite to enhance suspension in air.
(SFC, 10/17/01, p.A1)(SFC, 10/25/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 20, Traces of anthrax were found in a US House of Representatives mail room. This became the 3rd Capital Hill building infected.
(SSFC, 10/21/01, p.A3)
2001 Oct 21, Thomas L. Morris Jr. (55), a DC postal worker diagnosed with the deadly inhalation form of anthrax, died. Officials began testing thousands of postal employees.
(SFC, 10/23/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/24/01, p.A1)(AP, 10/22/06)
2001 Oct 22, DC postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen (47), died from anthrax. .
(SFC, 10/23/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 23, Traces of anthrax were found at an off-site facility that handled mail for the White House.
(SFC, 10/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 10, Traces of anthrax were reported in offices of the Hart and Longworth government buildings.
(SSFC, 11/11/01, p.A7)
2002 Apr 19, Protesters gathered in Washington DC and rallied against US policies in Latin America ahead of weekend meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
(SFC, 4/20/02, p.A3)
2002 Jul 26, The new Malrite international spy museum opened.
(SFC, 7/17/02, p.A3)
2002 Jul 29, The Capitol Limited Amtrak train derailed outside Washington DC and over 100 people were injured.
(SFC, 7/30/02, p.A4)(AP, 7/29/03)
2002 Aug 30, In Washington, DC, some 35,000 gathered for the 39th annual meeting of the Islamic Society of North America.
(SFC, 8/31/02, p.A1)
2002 Sep 27, In Washington DC some 1,500-2,000 activists protested the start of the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF. About 650 were arrested.
(SFC, 9/28/02, p.A3)
2002 Sep 28, In Washington DC the World Bank and IMF agreed to speed efforts to develop a new "sovereign bankruptcy" procedure for countries in debt crises. Thousands demonstrated, but only 5 arrests were reported.
(SSFC, 9/29/02, p.A1,9)
2002 Oct 2, James Martin (55) was shot to death by a sniper in Wheaton, Md. He was the 1st to die at the hands of a local serial killer. The next day, five people in the Washington D.C. area were shot dead, setting off a frantic manhunt. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were later arrested for 10 killings and three woundings; Muhammad has been sentenced to death, Malvo to life in prison.
(NW, 10/21/02, p.28)(AP, 10/2/07)
2002 Oct 3, Police hunted for a "skilled shooter" who murdered five random victims over 16 hours with a high-powered rifle in Montgomery County, Maryland, just a short distance from Washington DC. A 6th victim was killed in DC. James Buchanon (39), Premkumar Walekar (54), Sarah Ramos (34), Lori Ann Lewis Rivera (25) and Pascal Charlot (72) became the 2nd to 6th victims.
(SFC, 10/4/02, p.A3)(SFC, 10/5/02, p.A3)(SSFC, 10/12/02, p.A4)(NW, 10/21/02, p.28)
2003 Feb 26, In Washington DC war protesters tied up phones, fax machines and computers as part of a "virtual march."
(SFC, 2/27/03, A14)
2003 Mar 19, Tobacco farmer Dwight Ware Watson, who'd claimed to be carrying bombs in a tractor and trailer that he'd driven into a pond on Washington's National Mall, surrendered after disrupting traffic for two days; there were no explosives.
(AP, 3/19/04)
2003 Nov 17, John Allen Muhammad was convicted of two counts of capital murder and masterminding the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington DC region.
(SFC, 11/18/03, p.A1)(AP, 11/17/08)
2003 Nov 19, The 2-year-old Transportation Security Administration (TSA) held a banquet at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC that cost $461,745 for some 600 honorees and as many guests.
(SFC, 10/15/04, p.A7)
2003 The $650 Million Washington Convention Center was scheduled to open.
(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)
2003 Street Sense, a Washington DC newspaper for the homeless, was founded by Ted Henson (23) and Laura Thompson Osuri (26). It followed the general business plane of the North American Street Newspaper Association, a trade group focused on homelessness.
(WSJ, 6/30/06, p.A1)
2004 Jan, Pres. George W. Bush signed the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, the first school-voucher scheme directly subsidized by the federal government.
(http://tinyurl.com/y9xy7vs3)(Econ, 5/6/17, p.29)
2004 Feb 2, A white power containing Ricin, a deadly poison, was discovered in a mail room near the office of US Senate majority leader Bill Frist.
(SFC, 2/3/04, p.A3)
2004 Mar 9, John Allen Muhammad (43) was sentenced to death in Manassas, Va., for his 2002 murder rampage in the Washington DC area.
(SFC, 3/10/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 29, A national monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who served during World War II opened to the public in Washington DC. Official dedication was set for May 29.
(AP, 4/29/04)(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A3)
2004 Jan 2, Independence Air, formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, began operations at Dulles Airport. The DC based carrier shut down Jan 5, 2006.
(SFC, 1/3/06, p.E1)
2004 Jun 9-10, The body of Ronald Reagan arrived in Washington to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda before the 40th president's funeral. Thousands viewed the flag-draped casket of Pres. Reagan in the Capitol Rotunda of Washington DC.
(SFC, 6/10/04, A15)(AP, 6/9/05)
2004 Jul 16, PNC Financial, based in Pennsylvania, agreed to by Riggs National of Washington DC for $779 million. Riggs was fined $25 million in May for violating money laundering regulations.
(Econ, 7/24/04, p.69)
2004 Oct 24, Cardinal James A. Hickey (84), former archbishop of Washington, D.C., died.
(AP, 10/24/05)
2004 Nov 10, A gas station in Washington DC became the first in North America to have a hydrogen dispensing pump.
(AP, 11/10/04)
2004 Burt Solomon authored “The Washington Century: Three Families and the Shaping of the Nation’s Capital."
(WSJ, 11/18/04, p.D8)
2004 A US government found that some $700 million from Equatorial Guinea was held at Washington's Riggs Bank, making the country the bank's biggest customer. Riggs was fined millions of dollars in money-laundering fines. Nothing was done against Equatorial Guinea’s Pres. Obiang. Human rights groups have accused Obiang of using the oil wealth to make his family fabulously rich while most of his countrymen live in squalor.
(AP, 11/3/09)
2005 Jan 20, The inauguration ceremony for Pres. Bush was held in Washington DC. The event was expected to cost $40 million the administration asked DC to use 11.9 million of its federal homeland security funds to help pay costs.
(SFC, 1/20/05, p.A12)
2005 Feb 1, The Washington DC City Council approved a bill that requires transporters of ultra hazardous materials to skirt a 2.2 mile radius around the Capital building.
(WSJ, 2/2/05, p.A4)
2005 Apr 14, Pres. Bush threw out the 1st pitch at RFK Stadium as the Nationals brought baseball back to the capital. Washington, DC, had last hosted a major-league game in September, 1971.
(WSJ, 4/15/05, p.A1)
2005 Sep 23, G7 finance ministers and central bankers concluded a meeting in Washington and agreed to meet again in December in London and bid farewell to Chairman Alan Greenspan.
(AFP, 9/24/05)
2005 Sep 24, The 184-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank opened their annual meetings in Washington DC. They were ready to act on a breakthrough deal that would forgive more than $40 billion owed by the poorest nations.
(AP, 9/24/05)
2005 Oct 15, Thousands gathered in DC at the National Mall for the Millions More Movement to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
(AP, 10/15/05)
2005 Nov 18, In Washington DC Michael Scanlon (35) was charged with conspiring with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to bribe government officials and bilk millions of dollars from Indian tribes. In March, 2002, Ohio Rep. Robert Ney agreed to back legislative language to benefit the Tigua tribe of El Paso, Texas, a client of Abramoff and Scanlon.
(SFC, 11/19/05, p.A3)
2005 Donald A. Ritchie authored “Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corp."
(WSJ, 4/12/05, p.D8)
2006 Jan 2, Independence Air, formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, said it will shut down on Jan 5. The DC based carrier only began operations Jun 16, 2004.
(SFC, 1/3/06, p.E1)
2006 Jan 8, In Washington DC David E. Rosenbaum (63), a recently retired journalist for the NY Times, died from injuries suffered in a robbery on Jan 6. Michael Hamlin (24) and Percy Jordan Jr. (42) were soon arrested and charged with felony murder. Both men were convicted of murder. In 2007 Hamlin was sentenced to 26 years in prison after he pleaded guilty and testified against his cousin.
(SFC, 1/14/06, p.A3)(SFC, 10/25/06, p.A3)(SFC, 1/4/07, p.A3)
2006 Apr 28, Five member of US Congress were willingly arrested and led away from the Sudanese Embassy in plastic handcuffs after protesting the Sudanese government's alleged role in atrocities in the Darfur region.
(AP, 4/28/06)
2006 Apr 30, Some 100,000 rallied in Washington DC, SF and other US cities to urge the Bush administration to take decisive action to stop the genocide in Darfur.
(SFC, 5/1/06, p.A1)
2006 Apr, In Washington DC a smoking ban passed in 2005 took effect for restaurants and offices.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.A3)
2006 May 16, Seven African-American members of the US Congress were arrested at the Embassy of Sudan, where they were protesting atrocities in that country's Darfur region.
(AP, 5/17/06)
2006 Jun 20, A Washington DC jury found former Bush administration official David Safavian guilty of covering up his dealings with Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff. Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the underlying conviction was thrown out by an appeals court in 2008. In Dec, 2008, Safavian was convicted of obstructing justice and lying. In Oct 2009 he was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.
(AP, 6/20/06)(SFC, 10/17/09, p.A6)
2006 Jun 26, Flooding shut down much of central Washington DC.
(WSJ, 6/27/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 27, Washington DC was scheduled to begin a campaign to screen every resident (14-84) for the AIDS virus. DC was experiencing the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the US.
(SSFC, 6/25/06, p.A8)
2006 Jul 9, In Washington DC Alan Senitt (27), a British volunteer for the potential presidential campaign of former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, was killed in the Georgetown neighborhood by robbers who slashed his throat and tried to rape his female companion. Within three hours of the attack, police arrested and charged two men, and two other suspects surrendered a few hours later. On May 21, 2007, Christopher Piper and Jeffery Rice pleaded guilty to robbing and killing Alan, and committing other robberies in the city. They were sentenced August 24, 2007, to 37 and 52 years respectively in prison.
(AP, 7/10/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Senitt)
2006 Oct 29, Gallaudet Univ. of Washington DC, the premier US school for the deaf, voted to terminate the appointment of incoming president Jane Fernandes following a month of protests by students and faculty.
(SFC, 10/30/06, p.A3)
2006 Nov 4, Katherine Jefferts Schori (52) took office at Washington National Cathedral as the 1st woman to lead the US Episcopal Church and the 1st female to head an Anglican province. The former bishop of Nevada was elected at the Episcopal convention in June.
(SSFC, 11/5/06, p.A9)
2006 Nov 13, Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Washington DC for a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr.
(SFC, 11/14/06, p.A1)
2007 Jan 1, In Washington DC a smoking ban passed in 2005 was extended to bars and nightclubs. The ban for smoking in restaurants and offices had taken effect in April 2006.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.A3)
2007 Jan 2, US markets and federal agencies closed in respect for funeral rites for former Pres. Gerald Ford. Ford’s body was flown to Michigan for burial following services in the National Cathedral.
(WSJ, 1/2/06, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/3/06, p.A1)
2007 Jan 4, The 110th Congress convened with Democrats in control of both the House and Senate for the first time in a dozen years. "Today we make history. Today we change the direction of our country," exulted Rep. Nancy Pelosi, poised to become the first woman speaker in history.
(AP, 1/4/07)
2007 Jan 4, The US Federal Trade Commission fined the marketers of four weight loss pills $25 million for making false advertising claims ranging from rapid weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer.
(AP, 1/4/07)
2007 Jan 17, Art Buchwald (81), columnist and author, died. For over four decades he chronicled the life and times of Washington DC with an infectious wit and endeared himself to many with his never-say-die battle with failing kidneys.
(AP, 1/18/07)
2007 Jan 27, In Washington DC tens of thousands converged on the National Mall to oppose Pres. Bush’s plan for a troop increase in Iraq. Thousands marched in San Francisco.
(SSFC, 1/28/07, p.A15)
2007 Mar 1, Deborah Palfrey (1956-2008) of Vallejo, Ca., was indicted in Washington DC for running a $2 million prostitution ring. She threatened to sell detailed phone records of her clients to pay for her defense. At least 132 women were employed by her firm in the Washington area from 1993-2006. On April 15, 2008, Palfrey was convicted of racketeering and other charges.
(SFC, 3/3/07, p.B1)(SFC, 4/16/08, p.A2)
2007 Mar 1, Paul Joyal (53), a US expert on Russian intelligence, was hit several times as he returned home in Washington DC. The shooting came four days after Joyal alleged in a major television network interview that the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin was involved in the radiation poisoning of a former KGB agent in London.
(AFP, 3/3/07)
2007 Mar 9, A US appeals court overturned a District of Columbia handgun ban.
(WSJ, 3/10/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 25, A Washington DC judge rejected a lawsuit by Roy Pearson, who sought $54 million for a pair of pants lost by the Custom Cleaners dry cleaning firm in 2005. Pearson’s claim had been reduced from $67 million.
(SFC, 6/26/07, p.A3)
2007 Jul 9, US Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that he was on the list of phone records just released by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the alleged “D.C. Madam."
(SFC, 7/11/07, p.A6)
2007 Jul 18, NYC and New Jersey claimed $170.2 million in anti-terrorism funds, LA and Long Beach, Ca., claimed $72.6 million, DC claimed $61.7 million, Chicago got $47.3 million, the SF Bay Area got $34.1 million and Houston got $25 million.
(SFC, 7/19/07, p.B3)
2007 Sep 15, Several thousand anti-war demonstrators marched through downtown Washington, DC, clashing with police at the foot of the Capitol steps where more than 190 protesters were arrested.
(AP, 9/16/07)
2007 Oct 1, The Shakespeare Theater Company opened the new Sidney Harman Hall, a 775-seat theater in downtown Washington, DC.
(Econ, 10/6/07, p.34)
2007 Oct 19, A team of students from Germany's Technische Universitat Darmstadt won a weeklong competition on the Washington DC National Mall for the best, most efficient, and well-designed and -engineered solar home.
(AP, 10/19/07)
2007 Nov 7, Prosecutors said 2 mid-level DC government employees used phony paperwork to collect more than $16 million from illegal tax refunds, avoiding detection for at least three years while issuing more than 40 checks cashed by friends and family members in on the scam. The total stolen was later raised to some $30 million. Harriet Walters, the alleged ringleader of the scam, authorized checks to such fake companies as Bilkemor LLC. In 2008 Walters (51) pleaded guilty to stealing some $48 million. 9 others pleaded guilty in the scam. Walters faced 15-18 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution.
(Econ, 11/24/07, p.36)(http://tinyurl.com/2o7sj5)(WSJ, 9/17/08, p.A19)
2007 Nov 9, In Washington, DC, Michael Mukasey, a retired federal judge, was sworn in as the 81st US Attorney General.
(SFC, 11/10/07, p.A3)
2007 Nov 26, A new report said the US District of Columbia has the highest rate of AIDS of any city in the country. An estimated one in 20 residents had HIV and one in 50 had AIDS.
(SFC, 11/27/07, p.A3)
2007 Dec 17, A US judge ruled that the White House visitor logs are public, a blow to Pres. Bush, who didn’t want to disclose visits by religious conservatives.
(WSJ, 12/18/07, p.A1)
2008 Jan 9, In Washington, DC, the bodies of 4 girls, ages 5-17) were found by federal marshals delivering eviction papers. They had been dead for about seven months. Banita Jacks (34) was later convicted of killing her 4 daughters and in Dec 2009 was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
(SFC, 12/19/09, p.A5)(http://tinyurl.com/ya5qebf)
2008 Feb 12, Barack Obama won 75% of the vote in Washington DC, nearly two-thirds in Virginia and approximately 60% in Maryland. McCain's victory in Virginia was a relatively close one, the result of an outpouring of religious conservatives who backed Mike Huckabee.
(AP, 2/13/08)
2008 Apr 28, In Washington truck drivers honked horns, waved placards and shouted through bullhorns at the Capitol to protest rising fuel prices they say are hurting their livelihood.
(AP, 4/29/08)
2008 May 1, Deborah Palfrey (b.1956), a woman from Vallejo, Ca., known as the “D.C. Madam," was found hanged at her mother’s home in Tarpon Springs, Fl. She had been convicted on April 15 of racketeering and other charges related to a prostitution ring, whose clients included high profile government officials.
(SFC, 5/2/08, p.A13)
2008 Jun 13, Tim Russert (58), NBC News's Washington bureau chief, collapsed and died of a heart attack in his Washington newsroom.
(AP, 6/14/08)
2008 Sep 10, An internal government report said US Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington, who oversaw oil drilling on federal lands, had sex and used illegal drugs with workers at energy companies where they were conducting official business.
(AP, 9/11/08)
2008 Oct 27, A Washington DC jury found Alaska’s Sen. Stevens guilty on seven counts of trying to hide more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Stevens, who first entered the Senate in 1968, faced Alaska's voters in upcoming elections as a convicted felon. On April 1, 2009, the US Justice Dept. dropped charges against Stevens, saying prosecutors’ mistakes forced the move.
(AP, 10/28/08)(WSJ, 4/2/09, p.A1)
2008 Nov 6, The leaders of GM, Ford and Chrysler came to Capital Hill along with the president of the UAW to discuss billions of dollars in financial help for the struggling car industry.
(SFC, 11/7/08, p.C3)
2008 Nov 18, The chief executives of Detroit’s Big Three automakers appeared before the US Senate Banking Committee along with the head of the UAW union to plea for financial aid under the current economic crises.
(WSJ, 11/19/08, p.A1)
2008 Dec 2, The new Washington, DC, Capitol Visitor Center opened to the public. The 580,000 square-foot structure ended up costing $621 million, over twice the budgeted amount.
(Econ, 12/20/08, p.53)(www.aoc.gov/cvc/)
2008 Dec 31, SF ended the year with 98 homicides. In Milwaukee, Wisc., the total number of homicides dropped 32%, from 105 in 2007 to 71 in 2008, the lowest number since 1985. Detroit had 344 slayings, a 13% drop from the 396 in 2007; Philadelphia's 332 killings were a 15% drop from the 392 in 2007; and the 234 homicides in Baltimore were 17% less than the 392 the year before. Cleveland recorded 102 homicides in 2008, down from a 13-year high of 134 in 2007. Homicides in New York rose 5.2%, to 522 from 496 the year before. Slayings in Los Angeles were down to 376 in 2008 compared to 400 the prior year. Preliminary data in Chicago showed 508 homicides were reported in 2008, the first time the city had more than 500 murders since 2003 and about 15% more than the 442 homicides reported in 2007. Washington, D.C., ended 2008 with 186 homicides, up from 181 in 2007.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.1)(AP, 1/3/09)
2009 Jan 17, President-elect Barack Obama rolled into the capital city after pledging to help bring the nation "a new Declaration of Independence" and promising to rise to the stern challenges of the times. He kicked off a four-day inaugural celebration with a daylong rail trip, retracing the path Abraham Lincoln took in 1861.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 20, In Washington DC some 2 million people packed the National Mall to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as America's 44th and first black president. “The Question we ask today is not whether government is too big or too small, but whether it works." Obama's new administration ordered all federal agencies and departments to stop any pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff, halting last-minute Bush orders.
(AP, 1/20/09)(Reuters, 1/20/09)(SFC, 1/21/09, p.A8)
2009 Jan 21, President Barack Obama's first public act in office was to institute new limits on lobbyists in his White House and to freeze the salaries of high-paid aides, in a nod to the country's economic turmoil. A judge quickly granted President Barack Obama's request to suspend the war crimes trial at Guantanamo of a young Canadian in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists. Obama took the oath of office again with Chief Justice John Roberts to correct the previous day’s initial flub in wording.
(AP, 1/21/09)
2009 Mar 25, Conservation International, a Washington D.C.-based conservation group, announced the discovery of over 50 new animal species in a remote, mountainous region of Papua New Guinea. The group spent the past several months analyzing more than 600 animal species found during its expedition to the South Pacific island nation in July and August.
(AP, 3/25/09)
2009 Apr 15, In Washington, DC, the FBI arrested Walter Kendall Myers (72) and his wife, Gwendolyn (71), for spying. For three decades, Myers and his wife had shuffled secrets to their Cuban contacts. Kendall Myers first worked for the State Department as a lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute and later as a European analyst in the department's intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, from 2000 until his retirement in October 2007. On Nov 20 Myers and his wife pleaded guilty to serving as covert agents since 1979. Myers agreed to serve life in prison and his wife agreed to serve 6-7½ years.
(AP, 6/6/09)(SFC, 11/21/09, p.A4)
2009 Apr 27, Five members of the US Congress were arrested while protesting the expulsion of aid groups from Darfur in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC. The included Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, John Lewis of Georgia, Donna Edwards of Maryland and Lynn Woolsey of California.
(AP, 4/27/09)
2009 May 5, The District of Columbia Council gave final approval to legislation that recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The law became effective on July 7.
(SFC, 5/6/09, p.A5)(SFC, 7/8/09, p.A4)
2009 Jun 10, James von Brunn (88), identified as a white supremacist, shot and killed Guard Stephen T. Johns (39), who prevented his entrance into the US Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Washington, DC. Security engaged the gunman as soon as he stepped inside the crowded museum and began shooting. Brunn was shot in the face by other guards and was later charged with first-degree murder. He died on Jan 6, 2010, while awaiting trial in North Carolina.
(AP, 6/11/09)(SFC, 7/30/09, p.A5)(SFC, 1/6/10, p.A4)
2009 Jun 22, A Washington DC Metrorail transit system train plowed into another stopped train, killing at least seven people and injuring scores of others. It was part of an aging fleet that federal officials had sought to phase out because of safety concerns.
(AP, 6/23/09)
2009 Jun 29, Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, became the 186th member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The ceremony was held in Washington, DC, because the US government is the repository for the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement that created the post-World War II international financial system.
(AP, 6/30/09)
2009 Jul 4, Attacks began on more than two dozen Internet sites in the United States and South Korea and some were disabled by hackers. South Korea's spy agency later said the attacks were possibly linked to North Korea. Some of the affected US government Web sites, such as the Treasury Department, Federal Trade Commission and Secret Service, were still reporting problems days after it started during the July 4 holiday.
(Reuters, 7/8/09)(AP, 7/8/09)
2009 Aug 18, Robert Novak (78), political columnist, died in Washington DC after a battle with brain cancer that was diagnosed in July 2008. He was a conservative, pugilistic debater and proud owner of the "Prince of Darkness" moniker, which he used in his 2007 memoir: "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington." A column of his in 2003 outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent.
(AP, 8/18/09)
2009 Sep 21, Bob Woodward released an exclusive 66-page report from Gen. Stanley McChrystal to President Barack Obama about Afghanistan policy, the first major national security leak and a sure sign that the celebrated Washington Post reporter has penetrated yet another administration. The report was presented to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on August 30 and was being reviewed by the White House, with McChrystal widely expected to make a formal request to increase the 62,000-strong US force.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090922/pl_politico/27414)(AFP, 9/22/09)
2009 Oct 11, Thousands of gay and lesbian activists marched from the White House to the Capitol, demanding that President Barack Obama keep his promises to allow gays to serve openly in the military and allow same-sex marriages.
(AP, 10/11/09)
2009 Nov 20, The Manhattan Declaration, signed by about 150 prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars, was released at a press conference in Washington, DC. A number of Christian leaders, known for their public witness on behalf of justice, human rights, and the common good, had come together in shaping the declaration. It was born out of an urgent concern about growing efforts to marginalize the Christian voice in the public square, to redefine marriage, and to move away from the biblical view of the sanctity of life. In December 2010 Apple removed it as an iPhone App.
(www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-movement/movement.aspx)(SFC, 12/7/10, p.A18)
2009 Nov 24, President Barack Obama showered praise on India and PM Manmohan Singh in an elaborate welcoming ceremony, declaring it was only fitting the Indian leader should be the first state visitor of his administration. Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, met Pres. Obama in the receiving line of the state dinner for PM Singh. A "deeply concerned and embarrassed" Secret Service later acknowledged that its officers never checked whether the two were on the guest list before letting them onto the White House grounds.
(AP, 11/24/09)(AP, 11/28/09)
2009 Dec 16, It was reported that nearly 40 people have been arrested in Virginia this week on charges of dealing heroin and prescription narcotics in the suburbs of Washington, DC.
(SFC, 12/15/09, p.A9)
2010 Jan 6, Gilbert Arenas, a Washington DC Wizards basketball guard, was suspended indefinitely without pay by NBA commissioner David Stern, for carrying guns into the Wizards' locker room. With each game he misses, Arenas will lose about $147,200 of the $16.2 million he will earn in the second season of a six-year, $111 million contract. The punishment came on his 28th birthday.
(AP, 1/7/10)
2010 Feb 6, A blizzard battered the US Mid-Atlantic region, with emergency crews struggling to keep pace with the heavy, wet snow that has piled up on roadways, toppled trees and left thousands without electricity. A record 2 1/2 feet or more was predicted for Washington.
(AP, 2/6/10)
2010 Feb 8, The US federal government was shuttered while the Mid-Atlantic region dug out from as much as three feet of snow that left tens of thousands without power and blocked trains, planes and cars, with another storm looming.
(AP, 2/8/10)
2010 Feb 9, US Federal government offices were closed for a second straight day and utility workers struggled to restore power knocked out by a weekend blizzard.
(AP, 2/9/10)
2010 Feb, RT America, a TV channel based in Washington, D.C., was launched as part of the RT network, a global multilingual television news network based in Moscow, Russia, and funded by the Russian government.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_America)
2010 Mar 2, The Washington DC council voted to censure ex-mayor Marion Barry over a report accusing him of helping award a $15,000 city contract to a woman with whom he had a sexual relationship.
(SFC, 3/3/10, p.A6)
2010 Mar 9, In Washington, DC, same sex couple began to marry as the district became the 6th place in the US to conduct same sex marriages.
(SFC, 3/10/10, p.A10)
2010 Mar 30, A gunman sprayed bullets from a moving vehicle into a crowd in southeastern Washington, killing four and wounding at least five others, before leading police on a chase into neighboring Maryland. Three people were arrested in the drive-by shooting.
(AP, 3/31/10)
2010 Apr 15, In Washington, DC, several thousand Tea Party protesters marked tax day with a rally in Freedom Plaza capping a national protest tour that began in Nevada.
(SFC, 4/16/10, p.A12)
2010 Apr 20, Dorothy Height (98), a longtime leader of the US civil rights movement and the chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women, died in Washington, DC.
(Reuters, 4/20/10)
2010 Jul 12, Shahram Amiri, a missing Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran claims was abducted by the US, took refuge at the Pakistani embassy in Washington and asked to return to his homeland. Amiri (32) disappeared while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June 2009.
(AP, 7/13/10)
2010 Jul 25, In Washington DC a storm downed electrical lines and left 4 people dead.
(SFC, 7/27/10, p.A5)
2010 Aug 28, From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial conservative commentator Glenn Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed to a vast, predominantly white crowd on the National Mall to help restore traditional American values and honor Martin Luther King's message.
(AP, 8/28/10)
2010 Sep 27, Sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security, Cyber Storm III kicked off for a 3-day series of simulated events designed to exploit holes in the nation's cybersecurity system. It was Washington's first chance to test the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, which was set up last fall to act as a hub for coordinating cybersecurity.
(http://tinyurl.com/24jewsu)
2011 Jan 5, Claiming power beneath the Capitol dome, resurgent Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives as the 112th Congress convened in an era of economic uncertainty. Dozens of tea party-backed lawmakers took office in both houses.
(AP, 1/6/11)
2011 Jan 27, A thick blanket of snow covered the Northeast, as the fifth major storm of the winter set snowfall records. The storm that had been predicted for days caught much of the East Coast off guard with its ferocity, tearing through with lightning, thunder and mounds of wet snow, leaving nearly 300,000 customers around the nation's capital without power and forcing people to shovel out their cars and doorsteps all over again.
(Reuters, 1/27/11)(AP, 1/27/11)
2011 Feb 9, US federal prosecutors announced charges against 41 alleged gang members for activities ranging from racketeering conspiracy to drug and gun trafficking and murder in four states and Washington D.C. Some 29 defendants were arrested and more arrests are expected in connection with the separate cases from Los Angeles; McAllen, Texas; Kansas City; Washington D.C.; and Las Vegas.
(Reuters, 2/9/11)
2011 Feb 12, Activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC, selected Texas Rep. Ron Paul as their top choice for the 2012 presidential nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mit Romney finished a strong second.
(SSFC, 2/13/11, p.A14)
2011 Apr 13, Officials in Washington, DC said they planned to set up 20-30 online gambling hot spots by September in an effort to generate revenue.
(SFC, 4/14/11, p.A5)
2011 Jun 14, In Washington DC, Catholic University has decided to put an end to co-ed dormitories. John H. Garvey, president of the college, believes that single-sex dorms will minimize binge drinking and casual sex.
(Washington Post, 6/14/11)
2011 Jun 15, In Washington DC 10 members of the House of Representatives, conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, filed suit challenging Pres. Obama’s right to wage war in Libya.
(SFC, 6/16/11, p.A8)
2011 Jul 31, President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders reached historic agreement on a compromise to permit vital US borrowing by the Treasury in exchange for more than $2 trillion in long-term spending cuts. The Treasury's authority to borrow would be extended beyond the 2012 elections. No votes were scheduled in either house of Congress before Aug 1, to give rank and file lawmakers time to review the package.
(AP, 7/31/11)
2011 Aug 1, The US House of Representatives voted 269-161 to approve the debt-limit deal reached by leaders a day earlier. Democrats provided 95 votes as 66 Republicans voted no.
(SFC, 8/2/11, p.A1)
2011 Aug 2, Pres. Obama signed emergency legislation to avoid a government default on the national debt a little more than an hour after it passed the Senate.
(AP, 8/2/11)
2011 Aug 8, US House leaders announced that they are terminating the long-running congressional page program for high school students, both out of cost considerations, and in recognition of the diminished demand for page services in the digital age.
(http://tinyurl.com/4yp84kn)
2011 Aug 12, Albrecht Muth called police saying he had discovered Viola Drath (91), his wife of 20 years, murdered at their Georgetown home. On Jan 16, 2014, Albrecht Muth (49) was convicted of her murder.
(SFC, 1/17/14, p.A7)
2011 Aug 18, In China a fight broke out in Beijing between the visiting Georgetown University men's basketball team and the Bayi Rockets, the army's Chinese Basketball Association team, forcing play to end early. Video footage spread on the Internet and worldwide TV news.
(AP, 8/19/11)
2011 Aug 23, The most powerful earthquake to strike the East Coast in 67 years shook buildings and rattled nerves from South Carolina to Maine. Frightened office workers spilled into the streets in New York, and parts of the White House, Capitol and Pentagon were evacuated. The magnitude 5.8 earthquake and was centered 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Va. The Washington Monument obelisk closed indefinitely due to earthquake damage.
(AP, 8/23/11)(SFC, 9/27/11, p.A7)
2011 Sep 5, The US White House estimated that Hurricane Irene will cost taxpayers $1.5 billion in disaster relief.
(SFC, 9/6/11, p.A4)
2011 Sep 26, The US Congress finessed a dispute over disaster aid and advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown only days away.
(AP, 9/27/11)
2011 Oct 4, Officials at the Washington National Cathedral said they need to raise at least $15 million for initial repairs to the Aug 23 earthquake damaged edifice.
(SFC, 10/5/11, p.A7)
2011 Oct 8, The National Air and Space Museum in Washington was closed after anti-war demonstrators swarmed the building to protest a drone exhibit and security guards used pepper spray to repel them, sickening a number of protesters.
(AP, 10/8/11)
2011 Oct 15, Thousands of people led by the Rev. Al Sharpton rallied near the Washington Monument, where speakers called for easier job access and decried the gulf between rich and poor before the crowd marched to the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
(AP, 10/15/11)
2011 Oct 16, In Washington DC thousands of people spanning all ages and races honored the legacy of the nation's foremost civil rights leader during the formal dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
(AP, 10/17/11)
2011 Oct, In Washington DC Trudith Rishikof died after being hit by a Swiss Embassy vehicle In 2015 the Swiss government reached an agreement to pay $1.725 million in compensation to her husband.
(AP, 4/15/15)
2011 Nov 16, In Washington DC a band of millionaires stormed Capitol Hill to urge Congress to tax them more.
(AP, 11/16/11)
2011 Nov 16, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (21), a man with an apparent obsession with President Barack Obama, was arrested in Pennsylvania after the Secret Service discovered two bullets struck the White House while the president was away.
(AP, 11/17/11)
2011 Nov 22, Occupy Wall Street protesters arrived in Washington, DC, following a 231-mile trek and planned a day of action for Nov 23.
(SFC, 11/23/11, p.A13)
2011 Dec 4, Washington DC police detained over 30 people in a standoff at the Occupy DC campaign in McPherson Square.
(SFC, 12/5/11, p.A8)
2012 Jan 6, Harry Thomas Jr., a Democratic former city councilman in Washington, DC, pleaded guilty to embezzling over $350,000 in government funds earmarked for youth sports and arts programs. He also admitted filing false tax returns.
(SFC, 1/7/12, p.A5)
2012 Feb 17, The FBI arrested Amine El Khalifi (29) of Morocco in Washington DC. He was charged by criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against US property. He had a MAC-10 automatic weapon and wore a suicide-bomber vest given to him by FBI undercover agents posing as accomplices in the sting operation. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison.
(SFC, 2/18/12, p.A12)
2012 Feb 22, Pres. Obama and others took part in the formal groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall, scheduled to open in 2015.
(SFC, 2/23/12, p.A9)
2012 Mar 24, In Washington, DC, atheists gathered on the National Mall for the Reason Rally. Organizers claimed a crowd of at least 20,000.
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAd72Gkfd4k)
2012 Apr 3, Mitt Romney swept Republican primaries in Maryland (47%), Wisconsin (42%) and Washington, DC (70%).
(SFC, 4/4/12, p.A6)
2012 Jun 30, Millions across the mid-Atlantic region sweltered in the aftermath of violent storms that pummeled the eastern US with high winds and downed trees, killing 24 people and leaving 3 million without power during a heat wave. At least six of the dead were killed in Virginia. 2 young cousins in New Jersey were killed when a tree fell on their tent while camping. 2 were killed in Maryland, one in Ohio, one in Kentucky and one in Washington.
(AP, 6/30/12)(SFC, 7/3/12, p.A8)(Econ, 7/7/12, p.32)
2013 Jan 21, President Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term before a crowd of hundreds of thousands, urging the nation to set an unwavering course toward prosperity and freedom for all its citizens. Obama's inaugural address marked the first time a president used the occasion to praise progress on gay rights.
(AP, 1/21/13)(Reuters, 1/21/13)
2013 Feb 13, In Washington DC celebrities and activists were arrested after tying themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Sierra Club Director Michael Brune was also arrested, the first time in the group’s history that club leader was arrested in an act of civil disobedience.
(SFC, 2/14/13, p.A8)
2013 Feb 17, Thousands of protesters gathered on Washington's National Mall calling on Pres. Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline proposal and honor his inaugural pledge to act on climate change.
(AP, 2/18/13)
2013 Apr 16, A letter was intercepted in Maryland, postmarked from Memphis and mailed to Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker's DC office. It contained the toxic substance ricin, forcing the temporary closure of a Senate post office and prompting a federal investigation. The next day FBI agents detained Paul Kevin Curtis at his home in Corinth, Miss.
(The Ticket, 4/17/13)
2013 Jul 10, Washington DC passed a bill requiring large retailers to pay their workers a minimum of $12.50 per hour.
(Econ, 7/20/13, p.29)
2013 Aug 5, The Washington Post said Jeff Beezos, CEO of Amazon.com has agreed to buy the Washington Post for $250 million. His purchase will be made as an individual and not as part of the the online retailer.
(SFC, 8/6/13, p.D1)
2013 Aug 14, In Washington, DC, former Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (48) was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to scheming to spend some $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. His wife received a one year sentence.
(SFC, 8/15/13, p.A6)
2013 Sep 16, A former US Navy reservist opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people before he was shot dead by police. He was identified by the FBI as Aaron Alexis (35), a civilian contractor from Queens, NY, who most recently resided in Fort Worth, Texas.
(SFC, 9/17/13, p.A1)
2013 Oct 3, In Washington DC a dramatic car chase through the streets near the White House to the US Capitol ended in gunfire when law enforcement officers shot and killed the driver as lawmakers and aides huddled in a lockdown. The car involved in the chase was registered to Miriam Carey (34) of Connecticut. A one-year-old girl in the car was unhurt.
(AP, 10/4/13)
2013 Oct 4, In Washington DC a man set himself on fire in the National Mall. Passers-by rushed over to douse the flames. John Constantino (64) had suffered from mental illness and died of his burns at a hospital.
(SFC, 10/5/13, p.A6)(SSFC, 10/6/13, p.A10)(SFC, 10/9/13, p.A6)
2013 Nov 20, Members of Congress took part in a ceremony bestowing the Congressional Gold Medal to honor 33 tribes tribes for their WWI and WWII contributions as code talkers. Today’s ceremony was for tribes not included in the initial 2008 Gold Medal awards.
(SFC, 11/21/13, p.A5)
2013 Dec 8, In Washington DC the Kennedy Center Honors were awarded to Carlos Santana, Billy Joel, Herbie Hancock, Martina Arroyo and Shirley McClaine for their impact on Amereican culture.
(SFC, 12/9/13, p.A8)
2014 Jan 14, The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed the FCC’s online access rules arguing that Internet providers built their networks and therefore have the right to manage their costs and services.
(SFC, 1/15/14, p. A1)
2014 Jan 16, Albrecht Muth (49), an eccentric German who pretended to be an Iraqi general, was convicted in DC of killing his socialite and journalist wife, Viola Drath (91) in August, 2011. On April 30 Muth was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
(SFC, 1/17/14, p.A7)(SFC, 5/1/14, p.A8)
2014 Apr 2, Washington DC Councilwoman Muriel Bowser defeated Mayor Vincent Gray in a mayoral primary leaving Gray to serve nine months as a lame duck. Weeks earlier federal prosecutors said Gray knew of an illegal $668,000 slush fund that helped him defeat incumbent Adrian Fenty in 2010.
(SFC, 4/3/14, p.A11)
2014 Apr 12, The 188-nation IMF concluded weekend meeting in Washington, DC, with pledges to work for faster growth to alleviate unemployment.
(SSFC, 4/13/14, p.A6)
2014 Apr 13, In Washington DC a G20 official said reforms to the International Monetary Fund have hit a deadlock despite a declaration from global financial chiefs that they would move forward without the United States if it fails to ratify the changes by year-end.
(Reuters, 4/13/14)
2014 May 15, A US federal judge upheld registration requirements that are part of gun laws in Washington DC.
(SFC, 5/16/14, p.A5)
2014 May 22, US politicians, federal officials and gay activists celebrated the first day issue of a US Postal Service stamp in honor of Harvey Milk, on what would have been his 84th birthday.
(SFC, 5/23/14, p.A1)
2014 Jul 26, A US federal judge ruled that a ban on citizens carrying handguns in public in the US capital Washington DC is unconstitutional.
(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Aug 4, Pres. Obama opened a 3-day summit in Washington DC for more than 40 African heads of state as hundreds gathered outside the State Dept. to denounce some of the leaders as torturers and killers.
(SFC, 8/5/14, p.A6)(Econ, 8/2/14, p.19)
2014 Aug 5, The Obama administration announced $14 billion in commitments from US businesses to invest in Africa, a representatives from nearly 100 American and African companies gathered at a US-Africa summit in Washington DC.
(SFC, 8/6/14, p.A6)
2014 Sep 19, In Washington DC Omar Gonzalez (42), carrying a knife, climbed a fence of the White House, ran inside and reached the East Room before he was apprehended.
(SFC, 9/29/14, p.A12)
2014 Sep 23, The District of Columbia city council reluctantly voted to allow people to carry concealed handguns for the first time in 40 years to comply with a court ruling that struck down the district’s ban on carrying handguns outside the home.
(SFC, 9/24/14, p.A8)
2014 Oct 21, Ben Bradlee (93), the hard-driving editor who reigned over the Washington Post, died. His work included guiding young reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they traced a 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office and apartment complex back to the Nixon White House.
(AP, 10/22/14)
2014 Nov 4, Oregon and Washington DC voted to legalize marijiana use by adults.
(SFC, 11/5/14, p.A10)
2014 Nov 23, Marion Barry (b.1936), the scandal-plagued former mayor of Washington, DC, died. Barry was elected mayor 4 times (1978, 1982, 1986 and 1994). He was jailed in 1990 for smoking crack cocaine, but made a surprising return to office in 1994.
(Reuters, 11/23/14)(SFC, 11/24/14, p.A6)
2014 Dec 8, Protesters with signs bearing names of black Americans killed by police marched outside the US Capitol and the Justice Department in peaceful demonstrations demanding a human rights investigation.
(AP, 12/9/14)
2014 Dec 13, Thousands of protesters paralyzed parts of New York and Washington, stepping up demonstrations across the United States demanding justice for black men killed by white police.
(AFP, 12/14/14)
2015 Jan 12, In Washington DC a woman died and dozens of people were injured after thick smoke filled a subway tunnel during the evening rush hour.
(AFP, 1/13/15)
2015 Jan 26, The House Freedom Caucus, a congressional caucus consisting of conservative and libertarian Republican members of the US House of Representatives, was formed.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Caucus)
2015 Feb 26, In Washington DC a new law went into effect legalyzing possession of marijuana for recreational purposes, following a voter approved initiative last November.
(SFC, 2/27/15, p.A10)
2015 Mar 21, In Washington, DC, a new museum complex opened on the campus of George Washington Univ. It joined the Textile Museum with the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection.
(SSFC, 3/8/15, p.L2)
2015 Apr 15, Douglas Hughes of Florida landed a one-person gyrocopter on the lawn of the Capital in Washington DC. On April 21, 2016, Hughes was sentenced to 120 days in jail for operating a gyrocopter without a license.
(SFC, 4/22/16, p.A6)
2015 May 14, In Washington DC businessman Savvas Savopoulos, president and CEO of American Iron Works, a building materials company in Maryland, his wife Amy, their 10-year-old son Philip and the family's housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa -- were found bound and bludgeoned after a fire gutted the millionaire's mansion. On May 21 Daron Dylon Wint (34) was arrested along with three other men and two women following a DNA lead gleaned from a pizza crust.
(AFP, 5/22/15)
2015 May 15, Washington DC rabbi Bernard "Barry" Freundel (63), who admitted setting up cameras to spy on women as they prepared for Jewish ritual baths, was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
(AFP, 5/16/15)
2015 May 31, The Washington Post reported that US police have killed people at a rate of more than two a day this year, using its own tally for lack of complete federal statistics.
(AFP, 5/31/15)
2015 Jul 15, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, groundbreaking actresses Rita Moreno and Cicely Tyson, singer Carole King, rock band the Eagles and acclaimed music director Seiji Ozawa will receive this year's Kennedy Center Honors.
(AP, 7/15/15)
2015 Sep 22, Pope Francis (78) arrived Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, where he was greeted by US President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters. His historic six-day trip will focus on consumerism, poverty and the marginalized.
(AFP, 9/23/15)
2015 Sep 23, In Washington, DC, Pope Francis celebrated the canonization of Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
(SFC, 9/23/15, p.A1)
2015 Sep 24, In Washington, DC, Pope Francis issued a ringing call to action on behalf of immigrants, urging US lawmakers to embrace "the stranger in our midst" as he became the first pontiff in history to address a joint meeting of the legislators.
(AP, 9/24/15)
2015 Sep 25, US President Barack Obama welcomed China's Xi Jinping to the White House with pointed remarks about human rights, cyber espionage and Beijing's territorial ambitions.
(AFP, 9/25/15)
2015 Oct 18, Eddie Murphy was honored as the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 10/19/15, p.A7)
2015 Oct 30, Paul Ryan (45) of Wisconsin was sworn in as the 54th speaker of the US House of Representatives.
(SFC, 10/30/15, p.A6)
2015 Nov 5, In Washington DC controversial Russian media mogul Mikhail Lesin (57), who helped found the RT English-language television network, was found dead at the Dupont Circle Hotel.
(AFP, 11/7/15)
2016 Jan 23, A deadly blizzard walloped the eastern United States, paralyzing Washington and other cities under a heavy blanket of snow as officials warned millions of people to remain indoors until the storm eases up. At least 8 people were killed in three states in road accidents: 6 in North Carolina, one in Kentucky and one in Virginia.
(AFP, 1/23/16)
2016 Jan 24, Millions of Americans began digging out from a mammoth blizzard that set a new single-day snowfall record in Washington and New York City. At least 42 deaths were blamed on the weather.
(AP, 1/24/16)(SFC, 1/26/16, p.A5)
2016 Mar 28, In Washington DC Larry Dawson (66) was shot by police after he entered the Capitol visitor center brandishing a weapon. He was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
(AFP, 3/29/16)
2016 Mar 31, President Barack Obama hosted a nuclear security summit of world leaders in Washington.
(AP, 3/31/16)
2016 Apr 12, On Equal Pay Day Pres. Obama designated the iconic home and headquarters of the National Woman’s Party as a national monument to highlight the push for women's equality. The currently named Sewall-Belmont House and Museum in Washington, D.C., will become the new Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument.
(CSM, 4/12/16)
2016 Apr 19, District of Columbia law makers voted to enact a permanent ban on smoking marijuana in private clubs.
(SFC, 4/20/16, p.A6)
2016 May 20, The White House was placed on lockdown for more than an hour and heavily armed Secret Service agents deployed around the building after a man brandished a weapon nearby. Jesse Oliveri of Ashland, Pa., was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody.
(AP, 5/21/16)(SFC, 5/23/16, p.A6)
2016 Jun 7, Washington DC lawmakers approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to sign it.
(SFC, 6/8/16, p.A4)
2016 Jul 2, The Washington Wizards agreed to pay Ian Mahinmi $64 million over four years, according to a person familiar with the deal.
(AP, 7/2/16)
2016 Jul 10, Seth Rich (b.1989), an American employee for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), died after he was fatally shot in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Police suspected he may have been killed in an attempted robbery.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Seth_Rich)
2016 Jul 28, Washington DC prosecutors said they will not retry Ingmar Guandique, a Salvadoran immigrant charged in the 2001 murder of Chandra Levy, due to unforeseen recent developments.
(SFC, 7/29/16, p.A6)
2016 Sep 12, The five-star Trump Int’l. Hotel opened in Washington, DC, in the Old Post Office building.
(Econ, 1/14/17, p.77)
2016 Sep 24, Pres. Barack Obama opened National Museum of African-American History & Culture in Washington, DC. It had been approved by Pres. George W. Bush in 2003.
(Econ, 1/14/17, p.77)
2016 Nov 15, The rebuilt cast-iron dome of the US Capitol, a soaring symbol of national unity since the 19th century, was formally completed after a $60 million overhaul that included repairing rust-choked gutters and more than 1,300 cracks.
(Reuters, 11/15/16)
2016 Nov 18, President-elect Donald Trump tapped arch-conservative Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (69) to be attorney general and hawkish congressman Mike Pompeo (52), a strident opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, as his CIA director. Trump turned to Lieutenant General Michael Flynn (57) as national security adviser.
(AFP, 11/18/16)
2016 The 555-foot Washington Monument, completed in 1884, closed in order to replace the elevator and upgrade security systems. The D.C. monument reopened in 2019.
(SFC, 9/18/19, p.A5)
2017 Jan 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, ushering in a new political era that has been cheered and feared in equal measure. Washington DC was rocked by violent protests against the businessman-turned-politician, with black-clad anti-establishment activists smashing windows, setting vehicles on fire and fighting with riot police who responded with stun grenades.
(AFP, 1/20/17)(Reuters, 1/21/17)
2017 Jan 20, In Washington, DC, at least six journalists were charged with felony rioting after they were arrested while covering violent protests that took place just blocks from the inauguration parade of Pres. Trump. The journalists were among 230 people detained in the anti-Trump protests.
(SFC, 1/26/17, p.A6)
2017 Jan 21, Large crowds of women, many wearing bright pink knit hats, poured into downtown Washington a march in opposition to US President Donald Trump. Legions of women flooded parks, streets and city squares from Sydney to Paris to Philadelphia, marching in solidarity as a show of empowerment and a stand against Donald Trump.
(Reuters, 1/21/17)(AP, 1/21/17)
2017 Mar 14, Winter Storm Stella dumped snow and sleet across the northeastern United States, forcing airlines to ground flights and schools to cancel classes. Airlines canceled about 5,700 flights across the United States. Airports in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia were hit the hardest.
(AP, 3/14/17)(AFP, 3/14/17)
2017 Apr 6, US Rep. and House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes recused himself from the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation of Russian influence in last November’s elections.
(SFC, 4/7/17, p.A10)
2017 Apr 12, In Washington, DC, Sharafat Ali Khan (32), a Pakistani national former resident of Brazil, pleaded guilty to helping smuggle dozens of people from Pakistan and Afghanistan into the US through Brazil and Latin America from 2014-2016.
(SFC, 4/13/17, p.A5)
2017 Apr 22, US scientists staged an unprecedented protest in Washington, DC. The March for Science was provoked by steep cuts President Donald Trump has proposed for science and research budgets, and growing disregard for evidence-based knowledge. Similar events took place around the world.
(Reuters, 4/22/17)
2017 Apr 28, US officials said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is proposing to eliminate 2,300 jobs as part of a plan to cut more than a quarter of the State Department's budget for the next fiscal year.
(AP, 4/28/17)
2017 Apr 29, Tens of thousands of protesters turned out in Washington, DC, to voice concern over climate change in a mass demonstration dubbed the “Peoples Climate March" and also marking the 100th day of Donald Trump's presidency.
(Reuters, 4/29/17)
2017 May 11, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, while under questioning at a Senate hearing, agreed to refrain from updating the White House about an investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election.
(AP, 5/11/17)
2017 May 17, The US Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead the investigation of allegations that the Trump campaign collaborated with Russia to sway the 2016 election. Mueller will have sweeping powers and the authority to prosecute any crimes he uncovers.
(AP, 5/18/17)
2017 May 26, A US federal judge tossed out two life sentences for DC sniper lee Boyd Malvo and ordered Virginia courts to hold new sentencing hearings. Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed 10 people.
(SFC, 5/27/17, p.A6)
2017 Jun 8, Former FBI Director James Comey began his much-anticipated congressional testimony under oath. Comey accused the White House of lies and defamation, beginning explosive testimony against Donald Trump that threatens the future of his young presidency.
(AP, 6/8/17)(AFP, 6/8/17)
2017 Jun 11, Supporters of LGBT rights mobilized in Washington, DC, and other cities across the US for the Equality March for Unity and Pride."
(SFC, 6/12/17, p.A4)
2017 Jun 12, Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit alleging that Pres. Donald Trump’s failure to shed his private businesses has undermined public trust and violated constitutional bans against self-dealing.
(SFC, 6/13/17, p.A7)
2017 Jun 14, In Washington, DC, Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah met with US Defense Sec. James Mattis and signed a deal for F-15 fighter jets worth some $12 billion.
(SFC, 6/16/17, p.A4)
2017 Jul 10, Pres. Donald Trump’s commission on election fraud told states to hold off on providing detailed voter information until a judge rules on a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington.
(SFC, 7/12/17, p.A4)
2017 Jul 21, White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned in protest at a major shake-up of Donald Trump's scandal-tainted administration, as pressure mounted from a broadening investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
(AFP, 7/22/17)
2017 Jul 21, Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier, began his job as Pres. Donald Trump’s new communications chief. The next day he cleared up his Twitter trail of remarks in which he differs from Trump on illegal immigration, climate change, Islam and even gun control.
(AFP, 7/23/17)
2017 Aug 19, Dick Gregory (b.1932), pioneering black satirist and civil rights campaigner, died in Washington, DC.
(SSFC, 8/20/17, p.A6)(Econ, 9/9/17, p.86)
2017 Aug 31, The US State Dept. ordered Russia to shutter its San Francisco consulate on Green St. in Pacific Heights and close trade offices at its missions in Washington and New York. It gave Moscow 48 hours to comply.
(AP, 9/1/17)(SSFC, 7/15/18, p.C9)
2017 Sep 20, Chinese bike-sharing giant Mobike launched in the US capital, bringing its "dockless" system which has swept China and is used in some 180 cities worldwide. Mobike, allows users to unlock the bicycle with a smartphone app and tracks the location of the bikes with GPS.
(AP, 9/20/17)
2017 Oct 27, The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website with strong ties to the Republican establishment, confirmed it originally retained the political research firm Fusion GPS to scour then-candidate Trump's background for negative information. the Democratic National Committee continued funding Fusion's work after the original GOP source lost interest.
(AP, 10/28/17)
2017 Dec 24, Marcus Raskin (83), a co-founder of the liberal Institute for Policy Studies think tank (1963), died at his home in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 12/28/17, p.D5)
2018 Jan 19, The US House and Senate failed to break a deadlock over a fourth stopgap spending bill since the fiscal year ran out last fall.
(SFC, 1/20/18, p.A1)
2018 Jan 20, Parts of the US federal government shut down early today as the House and Senate failed to break a deadlock over a fourth stopgap spending bill since the fiscal year ran out last fall.
(SFC, 1/20/18, p.A1)
2018 Jan 22, The US three-day government shut down ended as Senate Democrats voted for a stopgap spending bill with a promise by Republican leaders to hold debates on immigration that will provide legal status for the 690,000 Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigrants.
(SFC, 1/23/18, p.A1)
2018 Feb 6, The White House confirmed Pres. Donald Trump’s order for a large-scale military parade with soldiers marching and tanks rolling. Critics said it would be a waste of money and was akin to events organized by authoritarian regimes.
(AP, 2/7/18)(SFC, 2/7/18, p.A5)
2018 Feb 6, The US House of Representatives passed a resolution prohibiting members from engaging in sexual relationships with staff.
(AP, 2/9/18)
2018 Feb 20, In Washington, DC, attorney Alex van der Zwann (33), a Dutch national, pleaded guilty to lying to the special counsel investigation Russian election interference.
(SFC, 2/21/18, p.A6)
2018 Feb 21, In Washington, DC, students and parents appealed to Pres. Donald Trump to set politics aside and protect America’s school children from gun violence. Trump promised to be strong on background checks and suggested support for teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons.
(SFC, 2/22/18, p.A7)
2018 Mar 2, Amtrak canceled all trains between Boston and Washington because of hazardous conditions as storms pounded the US East Coast, and later in the day also said it was canceling all trains southbound from Washington because of downed trees.
(Reuters, 3/2/18)
2018 Mar 3, In Washington, DC, a man (26) shot himself to death outside the White House. He was later identified as Cameron Ross Burgess of Maylene, Ala.
(SSFC, 3/4/18, p.A12)(SFC, 3/5/18, p.A6)
2018 Apr 16, At the request of Speaker Paul Ryan, House Chaplain Rev.Patrick Conroy resigned, with May 24 being his last day in office. US Republicans later said Ryan fired Rev. Patrick Conroy (b.1950) because he didn't do a very good job, and not because of Conroy's political leanings.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_J._Conroy)(SFC, 4/28/18, p.A5)
2018 May 3, US House Speaker Paul Ryan reinstated Rev. Patrick J. Conroy as chaplain of the House of Representatives after Conroy sent him a letter intimating that the speaker did not have the authority to fire him..
(SFC, 5/4/18, p.A5)
2018 Jun 28, Police in Washington, DC, arrested nearly 600 people after hundreds of chanting women demonstrated inside a Senate office building against Pres. Donald Trump's treatment of migrant families.
(SFC, 6/29/18, p.A14)
2018 Jul 26, In Washington, DC, Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed oversaw the reunification of feuding wings of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church, one of the world's oldest Christian churches. The 2 Synods were reunited into one Holy Synod after 27 years.
(AFP, 7/27/18)
2018 Jul 28, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (88), the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who has been at the center of a widening sexual abuse scandal.
(Reuters, 7/28/18)
2018 Aug 12, In Washington, DC, a white supremacist rally outside the White House fizzled out after only a handful of neo-Nazis showed up and were massively outnumbered by hundreds of counter-protesters.
(AFP, 8/12/18)
2018 Sep 10, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said US has notified the Palestinians it's closing their mission in Washington.
(AP, 9/10/18)
2018 Nov 8, The White House suspended CNN reporter Jim Acosta after he and Pres. Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference a day earlier.
(SFC, 11/9/18, p.A7)
2018 Nov 30, At the American Health Summit in Washington DC former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $50 million donation to help ten states fight the nation's opioid epidemic.
(SFC, 12/1/18, p.A8)
2018 Dec 4, In Washington DC a sentencing recommendation late today from Russia probe head Robert Mueller, that Flynn spend no time in jail, explained that the retired three-star general had given "substantial assistance" to his and other secret, high-level investigations.
(AFP, 12/5/18)
2018 Dec 5, In Washington DC international dignitaries gathered with US leaders at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush.
(AP, 12/5/18)
2018 Dec 22, An air of chaos enveloped Washington as the US government kicked off the holidays by partially shutting down, following the failure of leaders to pass a federal spending bill as negotiations stalled over Donald Trump's demand for money to build a US-Mexico border wall.
(AFP, 12/22/18)
2019 Jan 3, Democrats took over the US House of Representatives, ushering in a new era of divided government in Washington with the goal of checking Donald Trump's turbulent presidency.
(AP, 1/3/19)
2019 Jan 19, A Catholic diocese in Kentucky apologized after videos emerged showing students from an all-male high school mocking Native American Nathan Philips after a rally in Washington DC. Many of the youths were wearing "Make America Great Again" hats. One student said African American protesters were insulting them. Philips said he approached the students to keep the peace.
(SSFC, 1/20/19, p.A10)(SFC, 1/21/19, p.A4)
2019 Jan 28, It was reported that Freedom Forum is selling its Newseum, a Washington DC museum devoted to journalism and the First Amendment, to Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Univ. for $372.5 million.
(SFC, 1/28/19, p.A4)
2019 Feb 27, Michael Cohen, Pres. Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, spoke before the US House Oversight and Reform Committee and accused Pres. Trump of an expansive pattern of lies and criminality.
(SFC, 2/28/19, p.A7)
2019 Feb 28, Michael Cohen, Pres. Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, returned to Capitol Hill for hours of questioning before the US House Intelligence committee.
(SFC, 3/1/19, p.A6)
2019 Apr 4, Pope Francis named Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory (71) as the new archbishop of Washington DC, choosing a moderate, and the first African-American, to lead the archdiocese.
(AP, 4/4/19)
2019 Apr 26, In Washington DC Maria Butina, the only Russian arrested and convicted in the three-year investigation of Moscow's interference in US politics, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
(AP, 4/27/19)
2019 Jun 3, Twenty-two journalists killed in 2018 had their names added to a Washington memorial as media rights defenders warned of growing threats to freedom of the press around the world.
(AFP, 6/4/19)
2019 Jul 4, Donald Trump’s “Salute to America" took place in Washington, DC, as the country celebrated Independence Day. Trump became the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day.
(SFC, 7/5/19, p.A6)
2019 Aug 15, Washington DC Catholic priest Urbano Vazquez (47) was convicted after a weeklong trial for sexually abusing two children in his parish. He faced up to 45 years in prison.
(AP, 8/16/19)
2019 Aug 16, Washington, DC, encted emergency regulations to stop the federal government's plan to house unaccompanied migrant children there. Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration approved regulations that prohibited licensing facilities housing more than 15 residents.
(SFC, 8/22/19, p.A7)
2019 Aug 27, In Washington, DC, a military contractor, whose top executive was killed in Iraq under mysterious circumstances 15 years ago, won a judgment of roughly $140 million against Iraq to reimburse the contractor for funds it never received.
(AP, 8/27/19)
2019 Sep 5, Three former private security guards for the former security firm Blackwater were given new sentences by a federal court for convictions in the 2007 massacre of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a traffic stop. They were convicted in 2014 of multiple counts of manslaughter for their roles in the massacre and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The federal district court for the District of Columbia resentenced the men, ordering Paul Slough to serve 15 years, Evan Liberty to serve 14 years and Dustin Heard to serve 12 years.
(Reuters, 9/6/19)
2019 Sep 13, Outside the DC White House Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg (16), who has shot to global fame for inspiring worldwide student strikes to promote action against climate change, took her mission to President Donald Trump’s doorstep. Hundreds of mostly young people joined her across the street.
(Reuters, 9/13/19)
2019 Sep 18, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg appeared for a second straight day before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The hearing was part of a series of events intended to raise awareness of global warming before a planned “climate strike" on September 20.
(Yahoo News, 9/18/19)
2019 Sep 23, In Washington, DC, activists seeking to pressure US politicians to fight climate change blocked major traffic hubs as they sought to draw attention to a UN Climate Summit.
(AP, 9/23/19)
2019 Oct 30, The DC Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-2 at Minute Maid Park coming from behind in the last two games to take the first championship in the history of the organisation. It was DC’s first baseball title since 1924, when the Washington Senators won.
(http://tinyurl.com/y3o96r5b)
2019 Nov 9, Militias and conservative activists rallied in Washington DC to demand protection of gun ownership rights, term limits for lawmakers in Congress, and tighter US borders against immigrants, among other things.
(Reuters, 11/11/19)
2019 Nov 15, It was reported that Giles Daniel Warrick (60), suspected of being the “Potomac River Rapist," is now awaiting extradition from Horry County, South Carolina. He was accused of raping 10 women and killing one of them between 1991 and 1998 in Washington, D.C. and its surrounding suburbs.
(AP, 11/15/19)
2019 Dec 1, Allan Gerson (74), a lawyer who pursued Nazi war criminals, died at his home in Washington, DC. He pioneered the practice of suing foreign government in US courts for complicity to terrorism.
(AP, 12/3/19)
2019 Dec 18, The US House gaveled in for a historic session to impeach President Donald Trump on charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress, votes that will leave a lasting mark on his tenure at the White House. Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The historic vote split along party lines.
(AP, 12/18/19)(AP, 12/19/19)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = DC
End of file
Return to home
Washington DC is about 1/6 the size of Hong Kong.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, Par p.27)
1754 Aug 2, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, French engineer who designed the layout of Washington, D.C., was born.
(HN, 8/2/98)
1787-1788 The Thomas Mallon historical novel "Two Moons," published in 2000, was set in Washington DC at this time.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, BR p.6)
1788 Dec 23, Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government; about two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia.
(AP, 12/23/97)
1789 Jan 23, Georgetown University was established by Jesuits in present-day Washington, D.C., as the 1st US Catholic college.
(AP, 1/23/98)(MC, 1/23/02)
1790 Jul 16, The District of Columbia was established as the seat of the United States government.
(AP, 7/16/97)
1790 Jul 26, US Congress passed Alexander Hamilton’s Assumption plan making it responsible for state debts. Virginia had withdrawn its opposition in return for having the nation’s new capital located on its borders.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Report_on_the_Public_Credit)(Econ, 12/17/11, p.132)
1791 Mar 29, Pres. George Washington and French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant examined the site along the Potomac River that would become the US capital. Maryland and Virginia had ceded land to the federal government to form the District of Columbia. Chosen as the permanent site for the capital of the United States by Congress in 1790, President Washington was given the power by Congress to select the exact site—an area ten-miles square, made up of land given by Virginia and Maryland. Washington became the official federal capital in 1800. In 2008 Fergus Bordewich authored “Washington: The Making of the American Capital."
(HNQ, 8/13/00)(HN, 8/2/98)(WSJ, 8/8/08, p.A13)
1791 Apr 15, Surveyor General Andrew Ellicott consecrated the southern tip of the triangular District of Columbia at Jones Point.
(WSJ, 7/25/00, p.A20)
1792 Apr 14, Pres. George Washington appointed David Rittenhouse, the foremost scientist of America, the first director of the US Mint at a salary of $2000 per annum. Rittenhouse was then in feeble health and lived at the northwest corner of Seventh and Arch Streets, then one of the high places of Old Philadelphia, where he had an observatory and where he later died and was first buried.
(http://tinyurl.com/per3q6f)
1792 Jul 31, The foundation-stone was laid for the US Mint by David Rittenhouse, Esq. The property was paid for and deeded to the United States of America for a consideration of $4266.67 on July 18, 1792. The money for the Mint was the first money appropriated by Congress for a building to be used for a public purpose.
(http://tinyurl.com/per3q6f)
1792 Oct 13, The cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.
(AP, 10/13/97)(HN, 10/13/98)
1793 Sep 18, President George Washington laid the foundation stone for the U.S. Capitol on Jenkins Hill.
(AP, 9/18/97)(SFC, 7/18/98, p.A15)(HN, 9/18/98)
1800 Jun 4, The White House was completed and President & Mrs. John Adams moved in. [see Nov 1]
(MC, 6/4/02)
1800 Nov 1, John and Abigail Adams moved into "the President’s House" in Washington DC. It became known as the White House during the Roosevelt administration.
(SFEC, 5/7/00, p.T8)(MC, 11/1/01)
1800 Nov 17, The Sixth Congress (2nd session) convened for the first time in Washington, DC, in the partially completed Capitol building. Previously, the federal capital had briefly been in other cities, including New York, Philadelphia, and Annapolis, Maryland. George Washington- a surveyor by profession- had been assigned to find a site for a capital city somewhere along the upper Potomac River, which flows between Maryland and Virginia. Apparently expecting to become president, Washington sited the capital at the southernmost possible point, the closest commute from Mount Vernon, despite the fact that this placed the city in a swamp called Foggy Bottom.
(HN, 11/17/98)(AP, 11/17/07)
1800 Dec 12, Washington DC was established as the capital of US.
(MC, 12/12/01)
1801 Feb 27, The District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress.
(AP, 2/27/98)
1801 Mar 4, Thomas Jefferson was the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 3/4/98)
1802 May 3, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city, with the mayor appointed by the president and the council elected by property owners.
(AP, 5/3/97)
1814 Aug 24, 5,000 British troops under the command of General Robert Ross marched into Washington, D.C., after defeating an American force at Bladensburg, Maryland. It was in retaliation for the American burning of the parliament building in York (Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada. Meeting no resistance from the disorganized American forces, the British burned the White House, the Capitol and almost every public building in the city before a downpour extinguished the fires. President James Madison and his wife fled from the advancing enemy, but not before Dolly Madison saved the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. This wood engraving of Washington in flames was printed in London weeks after the event to celebrate the British victory.
(AP, 8/24/97)(HNPD, 8/24/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bladensburg)
1814 Aug 25, British forces destroyed the Library of Congress, containing some 3,000 books.
(MC, 8/25/02)
1815 Jan 30, The burned Library of Congress was reestablished with Jefferson's 6,500 volumes.
(MC, 1/30/02)
1815 Feb, Congress appropriated funds for the restoration of the White House and hired James Hoban, the original designer and builder, to do the work.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)
1817 Oct, Pres. and Mrs. James Monroe moved back into the restored White House.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)
1818 Jan 1, An official reopening of the White House took place after being repaired from burning by British during War of 1812.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, Par p.5)(http://tinyurl.com/7uewdhv)
1829 Mar 4, An unruly crowd mobbed the White House during the inaugural reception for President Jackson, the 7th US President. The event was later depicted by artist Louis S. Glanzman in his painting “Andrew Jackson’s Inauguration" (1970).
(AP, 3/4/98)(WSJ, 1/17/08, p.W5)
1833 The Washington Monument Association was formed to build a monument to honor George Washington.
(ON, 3/00, p.9)
1835 Jan 31, Richard Lawrence misfired at President Andrew Jackson (aka 'Old Hickory') at the White House. Lawrence fired 2 pistols at Pres. Andrew Jackson during funeral services for Rep. Warren Davis. Jackson wasn’t hit and Lawrence, who thought he was the king of England and that Jackson owed him money, was found to be insane.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)(HN, 1/31/99)(SFC, 2/5/00, p.B3)
1838 Maryland’s Jesuits sold 272 slaves to pay off debts for Georgetown Univ. located in Washington DC. In 2016 the school introduced a set of measures that included an initiative offering preferential admission status to descendants of those held in slavery by the university.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University)
1839 Feb 20, Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia.
(AP, 2/20/98)
1839 Construction began on the Gen’l. Post Office Building. It was completed in 1847 under architect Robert Mills and later became known as the Tariff Building. In 1998 it was leased by the Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group for conversion into a 172-room luxury hotel.
(SFC, 4/14/98, p.B2)(SFC, 5/20/02, p.F10)
1842 The 14-room Anderson Cottage was built. It was used as a home by Pres. Lincoln for 3 summers from 1862-1864.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.F10)
1844 May 1, Samuel Morse (1791-1872) sent the 1st telegraphic message as a demonstration between Washington, DC, and Baltimore [see Jan 6, 1838]. The line officially opened on May 24, 1844.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Morse)
1844 May 24, Samuel F.B. Morse, before a crowd of dignitaries in the chambers of the Supreme Court, tapped out the message, "What hath God wrought?" to his partner in Baltimore, Alfred Vail. Congress had appropriated $30,000 for the experimental line built by Ezra Cornell between Washington and Baltimore. American portrait artist Samuel F.B. Morse developed the technology for electrical telegraphy in the 1830s, the first instantaneous form of communication. Using a key to hold open an electrical circuit for longer or shorter periods, an operator would tap out a message in a code composed of dots and dashes. Public demonstrations of the equipment were made in February 1838, but it was necessary for Morse to secure financial backing to build the first telegraph line to carry the signal over distance. In 1843, Congress appropriated the funds for a 37-mile line between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. After underground telegraph wires proved unsuccessful, Morse switched to pole wires.
(AP, 5/24/97)(HN, 5/24/98)(HNPD, 2/6/99)(HNQ, 5/27/00)
1846 Aug 10, President James Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution. The US Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution, named after English scientist James Smithson (1765-1836), whose bequest of $500,000 made it possible. The Smithsonian Institute was born and Joseph Henry became its first secretary.
(SFEC, 8/25/96, p.T6)(AP, 8/10/07)
1847 May 1, The cornerstone of the Smithsonian Institute was laid in Washington, DC. The building was designed by James Renwick Jr.
(ON, 2/06, p.6)
1848 Jul 4, The Cornerstone of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. was laid by President Polk. Each state of the union was invited to donate a memorial stone. The white marble obelisk, which is 555 feet tall and 55 fee square at the base, was not completed until 1884. The public was admitted to the monument on October 9, 1888. Architect Robert Mills (1781-1855) designed the monument.
(ON, 3/00, p.9)(WSJ, 2/16/08, p.W18)
1849 Dec 29, Gas light was installed in the White House.
(HN, 12/29/98)
1850 Apr, During the debate on the Compromise of 1850, Senator Henry Foote, a unionist and supporter of the compromise, drew a pistol on Senator Thomas Hart Benton, an opponent of the deal. Other senators intervened before Foote could fire.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1850 Sep 20, The slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished as a provision of Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850. Because each state had its own slavery code when the District of Columbia was founded in 1800, Washington had adopted Maryland's laws. Although the 1850 legislation made the slave trade illegal, slavery itself was still legal. Nevertheless, Washington became a haven for free blacks. By 1860, free blacks outnumbered slaves almost four-to-one. President Abraham Lincoln put an end to Washington's slavery altogether in 1862, freeing about 2,989 African Americans who were then slaves according to the slavery code.
(HNPD, 9/20/98)(HN, 9/20/98)
1850 The Willard family acquired a 4-story hotel in Washington DC and turned it into the 100-room Willard Hotel at 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. In 1901 it was replaced by an opulent 389-room Beaux-Arts building. In 1968 it was closed and scheduled for demolition. In 1986 it re-opened following a $73 million restoration.
(SFC, 1/5/06, p.E4)
1851 Dec 24, Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes.
(AP, 12/24/97)
1853 Jan 8, 1st US bronze equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson was unveiled in Wash. DC. [see Mar 8]
(MC, 1/8/02)
1853 Mar 8, The first bronze statue of Andrew Jackson was unveiled in Washington, D.C. [see Jan 8]
(HN, 3/8/98)
1854 Mar, A slab of marble, donated by Pope Pius IX, was stolen from the Washington Monument. It had once belonged to the Temple of Concord in Rome. Members of the Know-Nothing Party, an anti-Catholic political movement, reportedly heaved it into the Potomac River.
(ON, 3/00, p.9)(Econ, 7/25/15, p.25)
1854 Nov 6, The king of American march music, John Philip Sousa, was born in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/6/97)
1855 Feb 22, The Know-Nothing Party seized control of the Washington Monument Association and kept control for 3 years.
(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1856 Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, a Republican abolitionist from Mass. Sumner was beaten unconscious and was unable to resume duties for 3 years. Brooks resigned from his seat but was re-elected.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1858 The original board of the Washington Monument regained control after the Know-Nothing Party disbanded due to a split between pro- and anti-slavery factions.
(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1859 Feb 19, Daniel E. Sickles, NY congressman, was acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. This was the 1st time this defense was successfully used. Sickles had shot and killed Philip Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key, author of "Star Spangled Banner." He shot Lee, the DC district attorney, in Lafayette Square for having an affair with his wife. Sickles pleaded temporary insanity and the sanctity of a man’s home and beat the murder rap.
(WSJ, 3/29/02, p.W10)(MC, 2/19/02)
1959 Northern and Southern leaders socialized together for the last time at the Napier Ball in the Willard Hotel before the start of the US Civil War.
(SFC, 1/5/06, p.E4)
1860 Apr 25, The first Japanese ambassador to the US, Niimi Buzennokami, and his 74-man staff arrived in Washington to present their credentials to Pres. James Buchanan.
(www.trivia-library.com/b/world-history-1860.htm)
1861 Feb 4, Winfield Scott, US general-in-chief, decided to relieve Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee as commander of federal forces in Texas and bring him to Washington DC where Lee could take command of forces guarding DC.
(ON, 12/05, p.11)
1861 Mar 4, The US Government Printing Office, created by Congressional Joint Resolution 25 of June 23, 1860, began operations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Government_Printing_Office)
1861 Apr 18, The Kansas Frontier Guards drilled and set up camp in the East Room of the White House with the mission to protect President Lincoln from a feared Rebel attack on Washington. The collection of Kansans in Washington, many office seekers and politicians, were organized and led by the state's first senator, James Henry Lane, a friend of the president and former leader of the Free State movement in Kansas. With Virginia's secession from the Union on April 17, rumors spread of an impending rebel strike on Washington. Lane organized the force of 50 men and offered their service to the War Department, arriving in the White House in the evening of April 18. As additional Union troops entered the city, the Frontier Guard was dismissed from the White House on April 19. The unofficial unit was assigned various positions in the city during the following week and, in a ceremony attended by the president, was disbanded on April 25.
(HNQ, 1/7/99)
1861 Aug 23, Union intelligence chief Allan Pinkerton placed Rose O’Neal Greenhow (1813/1814-1864) under house arrest for working as a southern spy working in Washington DC. She was sent to the Old Capitol Prison and then was banished to Richmond, Va., in May, 1963. She had supplied Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard with a warning that Union General Irvin McDowell was planning an attack on Manassas in July 1861. Greenhow, a 44-year-old widow with four daughters, was recruited in 1861 to be the operating head of the Confederacy’s first spy ring. A Washington socialite with many friends in high government circles, Rose was perfectly placed to gather intelligence about Federal troop strengths and movements. She drowned in a shipwreck on September 30, 1864.
(ON, 12/10, p.10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_O%27Neal_Greenhow)
1861 Oct 23, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases.
(HN, 10/23/98)
1861-1865 The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NHMH) was founded in Washington DC to advance medical care during the Civil War.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T10)
1862 Mar 6, Pres. Lincoln proposed to Congress a revised plan of compensated emancipation for slave-owners in the District of Columbia and the border states.
(ON, 6/10, p.1)
1862 Apr 3, A bill was passed to abolish slavery in Washington, D.C. [see Apr 16]
(HN, 4/3/98)
1862 Apr 13, In the Washington area volunteers led by Sarah J. Evans paid homage to the graves of Civil War soldiers. Villagers in Waterloo, NY, held their 1st Memorial Day service on May 5, 1866. In 1966 Pres. Johnson gave Waterloo, NY, the distinction of holding the 1st Memorial Day.
(SFC, 5/26/03, p.A2)
1862 Apr 16, President Lincoln signed a bill, passed on April 3, ending slavery in the District of Columbia.
(HN, 4/16/98)(AP, 4/16/08)
1862 Jul 29, Confederate spy Belle Boyd (1844-1900) was arrested and confined at Old Capital Prison in Washington, DC.
(AH, 6/03, p.14)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Boyd)
1862 Aug 29, Confederate spy Belle Boyd was released from Old Capital Prison in Washington, DC.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Boyd)
1862 Nov 17, Union General Burnside marched north out of Washington, D.C. to begin the Fredericksburg Campaign.
(HN, 11/17/98)
1862 The Washington DC bordello of Mary Ann Hall at 349 Maryland Ave. was rated at the top of a list of 450 brothels catalogued by the office of the federal provost marshal. The city had an estimated 5,000 prostitutes, 18 of whom resided at the 3-story brick Hall house.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.A24)
1863 Jul 2, Mrs. Lincoln was thrown from her carriage and spent weeks recovering at the Anderson Cottage. The seat assembly may have been sabotaged.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.F10)
1863 Dec 1, Belle Boyd, a Confederate spy, was released from prison in Washington.
(HN, 12/1/98)
1864 Jul 2, Statuary Hall in US Capitol was established.
(SC, 7/2/02)
1864 Jul 11, Confederate General Jubal Early's army arrived in Silver Spring, Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and began to probe the Union line. Confederate forces led by Gen. Jubal Early began an invasion of Washington, D.C., turning back the next day.
(HT, 3/97, p.66)(AP, 7/11/97)(HN, 7/11/98)
1864 Jul 12, President Abraham Lincoln became the first standing president to witness a battle as Union forces repelled Jubal Early's army on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.
(HN, 7/12/98)
1864 Jul 13, Gen Jubal Early retreated from the outskirts of Washington back to Shenandoah Valley.
(MC, 7/13/02)
1865 Mar 4, President Lincoln was inaugurated for his 2nd term as President. It was held at the Patent Office, the site of a military hospital. Four companies of African-American troops and lodges of African-American Masons and African-American Odd-Fellows joined the procession to the Capitol.
(WSJ, 2/12/04, p.D12)(SSFC, 1/20/13, Par p.4)
1865 Mar 6, President Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Ball was held.
(MC, 3/6/02)
1865 Apr 14, On the evening of Good Friday, just after 10 p.m., Pres. Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington DC. Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth burst into the presidential box and shot Lincoln behind the ear. Booth shouted out “sic semper tyrannis" (thus always to tyrants), Virginia’s state motto, after shooting Pres. Lincoln. He leaped to the stage, breaking his left leg on impact, and escaped through a side door. Lincoln was carried to a nearby house where he remained unconscious until his death at 7:22 the following morning. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had kept vigil at Lincoln's bedside, said, "Now he belongs to the ages." As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
(V.D.-H.K.p.277)(AP, 4/14/97)(AP, 4/14/98)(HNPD, 4/14/00)(WSJ, 10/13/06, p.W13)
1865 Apr 14, A 2nd assassin stabbed the Sec. of State 5 times. George Atzerodt, a 3rd assassin for the vice president, got cold feet.
(SSFC, 4/8/01, Par p.12)(WSJ, 2/2/05, p.B1)
1865 Apr 15, President Lincoln died, several hours after he was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson, Vice-President under Lincoln, became the 17th President (1865-1869) of the US upon the assassination. The first Mourning Stamp was issued after his assassination, a 15-cent black commemorative. In 1999 Allen C. Guelzo authored "Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President," an intellectual biography. In 2002 William Lee Miller authored "Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography." In 2004 Ronald C. White Jr. authored “The Eloquent President." In 2005 Doris Kearns Goodwin authored “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln."
(SFEC, 5/31/98, Z1 p.8)(WSJ, 12/29/99, p.A16)(WSJ, 2/8/02, p.W9)(WSJ, 1/20/05, p.D9)(http://condor.stcloudstate.edu/~brixr01/NYTAPR151865.html)(SSFC, 11/27/05, p.M3)
1865 Apr 21, Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left Washington.
(HN, 4/21/98)
1865 May 23, The American flag was flown at full staff over White House for the 1st time since Lincoln was shot. Union Army's Grand Review began in Washington DC.
(MC, 5/23/02)
1865 Jun 30, Eight alleged conspirators in assassination of Lincoln were found guilty after kangaroo court-martial and brutal treatment by military officers.
(MC, 6/30/02)
1865 Jul 5, The US Secret Service began operating under the Treasury Department. The Secret Service Division began in Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency. Chief William P. Wood was sworn in by Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service)
1865 Jul 7, The trap doors of the scaffold in the yard of Washington’s Old Penitentiary were sprung, and Mary Surratt, Lewis Paine, David Herold and George Atzerodt dropped to their deaths. The four had been convicted of "treasonable conspiracy" in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and had learned that they were to be hanged only a day before their execution. Shortly after 1 p.m. the prisoners were led onto the scaffold and prepared for execution. The props supporting the platform were knocked away at about 2 p.m. Assassin John Wilkes Booth had been killed on April 26, 12 days after Lincoln’s assassination. Other convicted conspirators—Edman Spangler, Dr. Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold and Michael O’Laughlin—were imprisoned.
(AP, 7/7/97)(HNPD, 7/7/98)
1866 Jun 18, Both Houses of the US Congress passed the 14th Amendment. The Radical Republicans were satisfied that they had secured civil rights for blacks, but were disappointed that the amendment would not also secure political rights for blacks; in particular, the right to vote. Secretary of State William H. Seward issued an unconditional certificate of ratification, dated July 28, 1868, declaring the Fourteenth Amendment to have been duly ratified by the requisite three-fourths of the states.
(http://tinyurl.com/77terl3)
1867 Jan 8, Legislation gave suffrage to DC blacks, despite Pres. Johnson's veto.
(MC, 1/8/02)
1867 Mar 2, Howard University, Washington DC, was incorporated. General Oliver Otis Howard, Union Civil War commander, co-founded Howard Univ.
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov20.html)(ON, 4/07, p.8)
1867 Mar 29, Congress approved Lincoln Memorial.
(MC, 3/29/02)
1867 Sep 25, Congress created the 1st all black university, Howard Univ. in Wash DC.
(MC, 9/25/01)
1870 Jun 9, Washington: Pres Grant met with Sioux chief Red Cloud.
(MC, 6/9/02)
1873 Mar 4, Pres. Ulysses S. Grant accepted the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice Salmon Chase, for his 2nd term. At the inauguration ceremony 150 canaries, whose chirping was to amuse guests, froze to death in their cages.
(SFC, 1/20/09, p.A7)(www.bartleby.com/124/pres34.html)
1874 Secret Service headquarters returned to Washington, D.C. after 4 years in NYC.
(http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/history.shtml)
1876 President Ulysses S. Grant authorized the funds to complete the construction of the Washington Monument, but without the ornate building and classical statue.
(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1877 Dec 6, The Washington Post published its 1st edition. It was founded by independent-minded Democrat Stilson Hutchins.
(www.washpostco.com/history-history-1875.htm)
1879 Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes had the first White House telephone installed.
(SFC, 2/3/97, p.D1)
1881 May 17, Frederick Douglass was appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C.
(HN, 5/17/98)
1884 Mar 13, US Congress adopted Eastern Standard Time for the District of Columbia.
(AP, 3/13/07)
1884 Oct 13, Greenwich was established as the universal time meridian of longitude. 41 delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C. for the International Meridian Conference. This conference selected the Greenwich Meridian as the official Prime Meridian due to its popularity. However, France abstained from the vote and French maps continued to use the Paris Meridian for several decades.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Meridian)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_13)
1884 Dec 6, The Washington Monument was completed by Army engineers 101 years after George Washington himself approved the location halfway between the proposed sites of the Capitol and the White House. Construction did not begin on the 555-foot Egyptian obelisk until July 4, 1848, when a private citizens' group, the Washington National Monument Society, raised enough money to begin the project. The original design called for the familiar obelisk surrounded by a large building with a statue of Washington driving a Roman chariot on top. Construction was halted in 1854 when the money ran out and for 22 years the monument stood embarrassingly unfinished, looking, as Mark Twain put it, like "a factory chimney with the top broken off." In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant authorized the funds to complete the construction--but without the ornate building and classical statue. When the final capstone and 9-inch aluminum pyramid were set in place in 1884, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world.
(AP, 12/6/97)(HNPD, 12/6/98)(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1885 Feb 21, The Washington Monument was dedicated by Pres. Chester A. Arthur.
(HN, 2/21/98)(AP, 2/21/98)(ON, 3/00, p.10)
1885 The National Aquarium first opened to visitors in Washington DC. On Sep 30, 2013, it closed its operations at the US Dept. of Commerce building due to renovations.
(SFC, 9/30/13, p.A4)
1887 Jun 7, Monotype type-casting machine was patented by Tolbert Lanston in Wash., DC.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1887 Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, architect, oversaw the completion of his Pension Building. The Pension Bureau oversaw the benefits of the nation’s ex-soldiers.
(AH, 10/01, HT p.28)
1887 The American Graphaphone Co. was founded in Washington DC. They made a sound producing machine that was peddle operated and based on work by Alexander Bell that used a cardboard cylinder coated with a waxy material to hold sounds.
(SFC,11/19/97, Z1 p.7)
1888 Jan 27, National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC. It 1st magazine was published Oct 1, 1888. In 2004 Robert M. Poole authored “Explorers House: National Geographic and the World it Made."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Society)(Econ, 10/16/04, p.81)
1888 Oct 9, The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills, was completed and the public was first admitted. Steam powered elevators carried visitors to the top in 12 minutes. It underwent a $1.5 million renovation in 1998. In 1903 Frederick L. Harvey authored "History of the Washington National Monument and Washington National Monument Association." In 1995 Craig and Katherine Doherty authored "The Washington Monument."
(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A3)(ON, 3/00, p.10)(HN, 10/9/00)
1890 Feb, Charles E. Kincaid, correspondent for the Louisville Times, shot former Representative William Taulbee, a democrat from Kentucky, at the Capital during an argument over a scandal involving the lawmaker. Taulbee died ten days later.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1890 Apr 14, The First International Conference of American States met in Washington, where delegates agreed to form the International Union of American Republics, a forerunner of the Organization of American States.
(AP, 4/14/08)
1890 Aug 8, Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) organized. [see Oct 11]
(MC, 8/8/02)
1890 Oct 11, The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was founded in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 10/11/97)
1893 Sep 9, Frances Cleveland, wife of President Cleveland, gave birth to a daughter, Esther, in the White House. It was the first time a president's child was born in the executive mansion.
(AP, 9/9/97)
1894 Apr 29, The Commonweal of Christ, called Coxey's Army, arrived in Wash, DC, 500 strong to protest unemployment; Coxey was arrested for trespassing at Capitol.
(MC, 4/29/02)
1895 Feb 11, Georgetown became part of Wash, DC.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1895 Feb 20, Abolitionist Frederick Douglass died in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 2/20/98)
1895 Dec 17, Anti-Saloon League of America was formed in Washington, DC.
(MC, 12/17/01)
1895 Charles Crittenton, a businessman and philanthropist, and Dr. Kate Waller Barrett founded the Florence Crittenton mission for young women in Washington, DC. It was named in memory of Crittenton’s daughter. The Florence Crittenton Mission sought to support and empower unwed mothers and provide for the health of their infant children.
(www.fcaknox.org/cms/History/41.html)
1896 Jul 21, Mary Church Terrell founded the National Association of Colored Women in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 7/21/98)
1897 Feb 17, The US National Congress of Mothers was founded in Washington, D.C. It later became the National congress of Parents and Teachers known as the PTA (Parent Teachers Association).
(USAT, 2/14/97, p.13D)(SFC, 2/22/96, p.A20)(AP, 2/17/98)
1897 Apr 27, Grant's Tomb was dedicated.
(MC, 4/27/02)
1897 American Telephone & Telegraph Co. began to use wooden poles when it put up a communication line from Washington DC to Norfolk, Va.
(WSJ, 3/2/00, p.A1)
1899 Apr 29, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (d.1975), jazz composer and musician was born in Washington D.C. A major influence in jazz, especially the big band sound, Ellington orchestrated over 1,000 pieces of music during his prolific career. Although some tunes most associated with Duke Ellington and ‘His Famous Orchestra‘ were written by others (Billy Strayhorn wrote "Take the A Train"), Ellington capitalized on his outstanding ensemble by writing pieces emphasizing the talents of individual performers such as Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Blanton. In addition to big band pieces, he also wrote for film, ballet and opera.
(HN, 4/4/98)(SFEC, 2/21/99, DB p.32)(AP, 4/29/99)(HNQ, 11/10/00)
1901 Jan 28, Byron Bancroft Johnson announced that the American League would play the 1901 baseball season as a major league and would not renew its membership in the National Agreement. The new league would include Baltimore and Washington, DC, recently abandoned by the National League. The league would also invade 4 cities where National League teams existed: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. The 8 charter teams included: the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Americans, Chicago White Stockings, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics, and Washington Senators.
(ON, 6/09, p.11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_League)
1901 Oct 12, Theodore Roosevelt renamed the "Executive Mansion," to “The White House."
(HNQ, 6/28/00)(MC, 10/12/01)
1901 Oct 28, Race riots, sparked by Booker T. Washington's visit to the White House, killed 34.
(HN, 10/28/98)
1901 Nov 27, The Army War College was established in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/27/97)
1901 A statue of Albert Pike, Confederate brigadier general, was unveiled at 3rd and D Streets NW. It was erected by the Masons to commemorate Pike's work for Freemasonry. He is the only Confederate officer to have a statue in Washington, D.C. The conduct of Indian troops under his command at the Battle of Pea Ridge eventually led to his forced resignation
(HNQ, 11/12/98)
1901 President Theodore Roosevelt officially named the Executive Mansion the White House.
(HNQ, 6/28/00)
1902 Jan 28, The Carnegie Institute was established in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 1/28/98)
1902 Feb 22, A fistfight broke out in the US Senate. Senator Benjamin Tillman, a white supremacist, suffered a bloody nose for accusing his fellow South Carolina Senator John McLaurin of bias on the Philippine tariff issue.
(HN, 2/22/98)(Econ, 6/30/12, p.35)
1903 Feb 21, The cornerstone laid for US army war college in Washington, DC.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1906 Feb 17, Alice Lee Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible eldest daughter, married Congressman Nicholas Longworth of Ohio in an elaborate White House ceremony. Heedless of social convention, Alice's behavior routinely shocked her family and friends. Once the president, when confronted with another of Alice's escapades, remarked, "I can do one of two things, I can run the country or control Alice. I cannot do both." Nevertheless, the world public was captivated with the first daughter, who seemed to embody the ideal Gay Nineties woman. In spite of its promising beginning, Alice's 25-year marriage to Longworth was not a happy one, but Alice reigned as the grande dame of Washington, D.C. society for another 50 years.
(HNPD, 2/16/99)
1906 Mar 17, President Theodore Roosevelt first likened crusading journalists to a man with "the muckrake in his hand" in a speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington, DC, as he criticized what he saw as the excesses of investigative journalism.
(AP, 3/17/06)(AP, 3/17/08)
1907 May 1, Kate Smith (d.1986), singer, was born in Washington, DC.
(AP, 5/1/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Smith)
1907 Sep 29, The foundation stone was laid for Washington National Cathedral, which wasn't fully completed until 1990.
(AP, 9/29/07)
1907 Oct 27, Union Station in Washington, D.C., opened.
(AP, 10/27/07)
1903 Dec 8, Samuel P. Langley’s man-carrying Great Aerodrome collapsed right after takeoff from a houseboat on the Potomac River.
(www.nasm.si.edu/research/arch/findaids/langley/langley_sec_6.html)
1909 Mar 8, Hinton Rowan Helper (b.1829) of North Carolina, writer and former US consul in Buenos Aires (1861-1866), blocked the door of his Washington, DC., rooming house, turned on the gas and asphyxiated himself.
(SFC, 6/20/15, p.C2)
1909 May 1, Walter Reed Hospital opened in Washington DC as an 80-bed Army medical center. It closed in 2011 and operations were moved to facilities in Maryland and Virginia.
(SFC, 8/26/05, p.A13)(SFC, 7/28/11, p.A4)
1909 Jun 1, Pres. William Howard Taft touched a key in Washington, DC, sending a signal to Seattle, opening the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Expo at the Seattle World’s Fair, as well as a signal to NYC initialing the New York to Seattle Automobile Race.
(AH, 6/03, p.18)
1912 Mar 27, The first cherry blossom trees, a gift from Japan, were planted in Washington, D.C. First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial. The event was held in celebration of a gift, by the Japanese government, of 3,020 trees to the US government for planting along Washington's Potomac River.
(HN, 3/27/98)
1912 Apr 22, At the urging of Pres. Taft the Chamber of Commerce of the USA was established at a Washington hotel by a gathering of 700 delegates from 44 states. The represented 324 voluntary organizations.
(Econ, 4/21/12, p.77)
1912 Services began in Bethlehem Chapel of the unfinished National Cathedral in Washington DC, fulfilling the vision of DC planner Pierre L’Enfant, who had called for a church for national purposes. Construction had begun in 1907 and continued for 83 years.
(AH, 4/07, p.31)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_National_Cathedral)
1913 Mar 3, Ida B. Wells-Barnett demonstrated for female suffrage in Washington DC.
(SC, 3/3/02)
1913 May 14, Walter Johnson (1887-1946), Washington Senators baseball ace, ended his record-breaking streak of 56 scoreless innings against the St. Louis Browns. Johnson’s scoreless inning streak began on April 10, 1913, and lasted 55 and 2/3 innings pitched. He threw six shutouts in a row before finally being scored on by the Browns. The Big Trains streak of 55 2/3 scoreless innings surpassed the Philadelphia Athletics' Jack Coombs record of 53 scoreless innings achieved in 1910. It would take 55 years before Johnson's streak was broken by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Don Drysdale.
(www.nationalsdailynews.com/columnists/archive.cfm?blog=mark&tag=The%20Big%20Train)
1914 Houses of prostitution were banned.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.A24)
1915 Feb 12, The cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C., a year to the day after groundbreaking.
(AP, 2/12/08)
1915 Jul, A homemade bomb exploded in the Senate Reception Room. It was placed by Erich Muenter, a former Harvard professor, who was upset by the private sales of US munitions to the allies in WW I.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1916 Anton Dilger (1884-1918), an American educated as a surgeon in Germany, set up a basement laboratory in Washington DC for cultivating anthrax bacteria and Pseudomonas mallei to infect horses and cattle destined to supply Allied armies. German saboteurs disseminated the bacteria. Dilger later moved to Mexico to help goad Mexico into attacking the US. He died of the Spanish flu in Madrid. In 2007 Robert Koenig authored “The Fourth Horseman: One Man’s Mission to Wage the Great War in America."
(SSFC, 1/14/07, p.M2)
1918 May 14, Sunday baseball became legal in Wash, DC.
(MC, 5/14/02)
1918 May 15, The U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Army began regularly scheduled airmail service between Washington and New York through Philadelphia.
(AP, 5/15/97)(HNPD, 6/15/99)(HNQ, 4/24/01)
1918 Oct 22, The cities of Baltimore and Washington run out of coffins during the "Spanish Influenza" epidemic.
(HN, 10/22/00)
1919 Jun 2, There were coordinated bombings in Washington, DC, and 6 other cities. Militant followers of anarchist Luigi Galleani were blamed. A campaign this month involved 8 bombs that killed several people including an anarchist.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_United_States_anarchist_bombings)(Econ, 11/6/10, p.74)
1919 Jul 7, The U.S. Army’s First Transcontinental Motor Train left Washington, D.C., bound for San Francisco. The 62-day journey crossed 3,250 miles. In 2002 Peter Davies authored "American Road," an account of the trip.
(HN, 3/7/01)(WSJ, 7/19/02, p.W9)
1919 Jul 19-1919 Jul 22, In Washington DC, white mobs — many made up of members of the military — rampaged over the weekend, beating any black they could find after false rumors of a white woman being assaulted by black men spread.
(AP, 7/23/19)
1919 Jul 24, A race riot in Washington, DC, left 6 killed and 100 wounded.
(MC, 7/24/02)
1919 Sep 17, The US saluted Gen. John J. Pershing and soldiers returning from WWI in a parade up Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington DC.
(AH, 10/04, p.14)
1921-1924 Woodrow Wilson, who left office in 1921, lived at 2340 S. St. NW, Washington DC, until his death in 1924. His house, built in 1915, is now open to the public.
(HNQ, 9/12/00)
1922 Feb 8, President Harding had a radio installed in the White House.
(AP, 2/8/99)
1922 Mar 23, 1st airplane landed at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1922 May 30, The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., by Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln. The Memorial has 48 sculptured festoons above the columns representing the number of states at the time of dedication. The 36 Doric columns in the Lincoln Memorial represent the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death in 1865. The limestone and marble edifice, which is situated at the western end of the Mall, was designed by Henry Bacon of North Carolina in the style of a Greek temple. Daniel Chester French co-designed the memorial with Bacon.
(HNQ, 2/12/00)(WSJ, 5/24/08, p.W12)(AP, 5/30/08)
1922 Jun 27, George Walker, composer (In Praise of Lillies), was born in Washington, DC.
(SC, 6/27/02)
1922 Aug 12, The home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. was dedicated as a memorial.
(HN, 8/12/98)
1922 Oct 3, The 1st facsimile photo (fax) was sent over city telephone lines in Washington, DC.
(MC, 10/3/01)
1922 The second largest equestrian statue in the world, located in Washington, D.C., is of General and later President Ulysses S. Grant. The statue of Grant, sculpted by Henry Merwin Shrady and dedicated in 1922, stands at head of the reflecting pool in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The only equestrian statue larger is of Victor Emmanuel in Italy.
(HNQ, 11/21/98)
1923 The Freer Gallery in Washington was established as the nation’s national museum of Asian art. The center of the collection was amassed by Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), a self-made railroad magnate living in Detroit.
(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A20)(WSJ, 11/6/98, p.W10)(WSJ, 12/14/06, p.D6)
1923 The Shriners, the fraternal Ancient Order of the Mystic Shrine, made a pilgrimage to Washington DC.
(WSJ, 8/11/00, p.W6)
1924 Feb 3, The 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, died in Washington at age 68.
(AP, 2/3/97)
1924 Feb 22, Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.
(AP, 2/22/08)
1924 Apr 23, The U.S. Senate passed a Soldiers Bonus Bill, but deferred payments to some 4 million veterans to 1945. Pres. Coolidge vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode him.
(HN, 4/23/99)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1925 Aug 8, The first national congress of the Ku Klux Klan opened. 200,000 members marched in Washington, DC.
(HN, 8/8/98)(MC, 8/8/02)
1925-1926 Edward Christopher Williams (1871-1929), black playwright, teacher and librarian, published "When Washington Was in Vogue," a serialized novel in The Messenger, a socialist magazine.
(WSJ, 1/23/04, p.W5)
1927 Apr 7, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was on hand for the first inter-city (DC to Manhattan) transmission by telephone of video imagery. Hoover’s image and voice were transmitted across telephone lines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1927_in_television)(AH, 4/07, p.14)
1927 Nov 17, A tornado hit Washington DC.
(MC, 11/17/01)
1927 The Washington Airport opened in DC next to Hoover field, which had opened a year earlier. The two merged in 1930 to form the Washington-Hoover Airport.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport)
1928 Feb 28, Smokey the Bear was created.
(MC, 2/28/02)
1929 Mar 23, The 1st telephone installed in White House.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1930 Jun 24, The 1st radar detection of planes was made at Anacostia, DC.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1930-1950 The NKVD and KGB infiltration in Washington during this period was documented in the 1998 book "The Haunted Wood" by Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev.
(WSJ, 1/5/98, p.A20)
1932 May 29, World War I veterans began arriving in Washington DC to demand cash bonuses they weren’t scheduled to receive for another 13 years. 17,000 veterans, calling themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force, marched on Washington demanding cash for their bonus certificates. They were led by Walter Waters, a former sergeant from Portland, Ore.
(TMC, 1994, p.1932)(AP, 5/29/97)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1932 Jun 7, Over 7,000 war veterans marched on Washington, D.C. demanding their bonuses for service in WW I.
(HN, 6/7/98)
1932 Jun 14, Representative Edward Eslick died on the floor of the House of Representatives while pleading for the passage of the bonus bill for US veterans.
(HN, 6/14/98)
1932 Jun 17, The U.S. Senate defeated a cash-now bonus bill as some 10,000 veterans massed around the Capitol.
(HN, 6/17/98)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1932 Jul 28, Under orders from Pres. Hoover shacks built in the shadow of the nation’s Capitol by World War I veteran demonstrators were burned. In 1924 Congress had enacted a law that provided compensation to veterans—those entitled to more than $50 would receive certificates maturing in 1945. However, because of the Depression, Congress proposed in 1932 that the certificates be redeemable immediately, as a bonus. Veterans groups began to gather in Washington, D.C., to march for their cause. When the bill was defeated, the veterans (nicknamed the Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF), "Bonus Army") refused to leave. Hoover resorted to using U.S. troops to force them to evacuate. One veteran was killed and 50 veterans and police were injured in the melee. In May 1933, newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt also opposed the bill, but he issued an executive order allowing 25,000 veterans to enroll in the Citizens’ Conservation Corps in lieu of getting bonuses. In 1971 Roger Daniels authored “The Bonus March." In 1994 Donald J. Lisio authored “The President and Protest."
(AP, 7/28/97)(HNPD, 7/28/98)(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.B1)
1932 Dec, Marlin R.M. Kemmerer drew a revolver in the Capital House gallery. Rep. Melvin Maas, a republican from Minn., convinced the man to drop the gun.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1933 Agnes and Eugene Meyer purchased the Washington Post at a bankruptcy auction.
(USAT, 2/13/97, p.5D)(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A6)
1934 Apr 21, Moe Berg, Senators catcher (and later US spy), played an AL record 117th consecutive, errorless game.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1935 Feb 22, All plane flights over the White House were barred because they disturbed President Roosevelt's sleep.
(HN, 2/22/98)
1935 Oct 7, The US Supreme court held its 1st session in its new building designed by Cass Gilbert. It was built on the site of an old Civil War prison. A new marble frieze at the Supreme Court included an image of Mohammed. In 1997 a Muslim group complained because Islamic tradition forbids images of the prophet.
(WSJ, 3/13/97, p.A1)(www.supremecourthistory.org)(WSJ, 8/27/03, p.B4)
1936 Mar 6, Marion S. Barry, (Mayor-D-Wash DC), was born.
(MC, 3/6/02)
c1937 The painting "Dangers of the Mail" was created by Frank Albert Mechau of Colorado for the display in the Ariel Rios building of the Federal Triangle complex. The painting depicted the slaughter of Western settlers by native Indians and was later claimed as racist.
(SFC, 12/4/00, p.A3)
1938 Dec 15, Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial took place in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 12/15/97)
1939 Apr 2, Marvin P. Gaye Jr, singer (Sexual Healing), was born in Wash, DC.
(MC, 4/2/02)
1939 Apr 9, Singer Marian Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after she was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
(AP, 4/9/97)
1939 Oct 17, Frank Capra's comedy-drama "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" premiered in the nation's capital.
(AP, 10/17/99)
1939 Nov 15, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/15/97)
1940 In Washington DC the Dumbarton Oaks mansion was donated to Harvard Univ.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T10)
1940 Britain’s PM Winston Churchill sent a handful of young British officers to Washington, DC, to ingratiate themselves on the social scene and advance the British cause through good manners. They included Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming and David Ogilvy. In 2008 Jennet Conant authored “The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington.
(WSJ, 9/11/08, p.A13)
1941 Mar 17, The National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 3/17/97)(HN, 3/17/98)
1941 Jun 16, The new Washington National Airport opened southwest of DC. In 1945, Congress passed a law that established the airport was legally within Virginia but under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In 1998 it was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport)
1941 Oct 5, Former US Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (b.1856), the first Jewish member of the nation's highest court (1916-39), died in Washington at age 84. In 2009 Melvin Urofsky authored “Louis D. Brandeis: A Life." In 2016 Jeffrey Rosen authored “Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet."
(AP, 10/5/99)(Econ, 9/26/09, p.97)(Econ, 5/14/16, p.24)
1941 Dec, David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), Israeli leader, traveled to Washington to speak with Pres. F.D. Roosevelt regarding a Jewish state. He waited for 10 weeks at the Ambassador Hotel but was refused a meeting.
(http://tinyurl.com/kkvdh)(Econ, 8/5/06, p.28)
1942 Jun 21, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met in Washington, DC.
(MC, 6/21/02)
1943 Apr 13, President Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial. It was designed by John Russell Pope.
(AP, 4/13/97)(HN, 4/13/98)(WSJ, 9/21/00, p.A26)
1943 Jul 21, Edward Herrmann, actor (Day of the Dolphin, Reds), was born in Wash., DC.
(MC, 7/21/02)
1944 Jun 20, The US Congress chartered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
(MC, 6/20/02)
1944 Aug 21, The US, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened the Dumbarton Oaks conference in Washington, D.C. It laid the foundation for the establishment of the UN.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T10)(AP, 8/21/07)
1945 With the war over 16 million GIs began reentry to civilian life. Some 406,000 Americans died in WW II. In 1987 a national war memorial was proposed and in 1993 Congress approved funding to build it on the Mall in Washington DC. www.wwiimemorial.com
(TMC, 1994, p.1945)(SFEC, 5/30/99, Par p.16)
1946 Aug 20, Connie Chung (Yu-Hwa) journalist: CBS Evening News, was born in Washington, DC.
(Internet)
1946 Dec 2, The Protocol to the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) was signed was signed in Washington, DC. The International Whaling Commission (IWC), formed in 1948, prohibited the hunting of gray whales worldwide when their numbers were down to the thousands. Scientific studies and the commercial reality of fewer whales led to the implementation of bans on hunting many whale species such as the humpback whale in 1963 followed in 1965 by a hunting ban on the blue whale (the largest creature known to have ever existed). The IWC adopted a moratorium on whaling in 1982. Although the IWC attempted to ban all commercial whaling in 1986, some countries refused to agree.
(SFEM, 5/7/00, p.9)(www.iwcoffice.org/commission/convention.htm)(Econ, 5/26/07, p.65)
1947 Jul, Senator John Bricker, a republican from Ohio, was shot at twice as he entered the Senate subway. William L. Kaiser, a former Capital police officer, missed 2 times. He had lost money when an Ohio building and loan firm was liquidated.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1947 Oct 20, Hollywood came under scrutiny as the House Un-American Activities Committee re-convened in Washington and opened hearings into alleged Communist influence and infiltration within the motion picture industry.
(SFEC, 5/18/97, DB p.64)(AP, 10/20/97)
1948 Jul 28, Georgia Engel, actress (Georgette-Mary Tyler Moore Show), was born in Wash DC.
(SC, 7/28/02)
1948 Sep 10, Mildred Gillars, accused of being Nazi wartime radio broadcaster "Axis Sally," was indicted in Washington, D.C., on treason charges. She was later convicted, and served 12 years in prison.
(AP, 9/10/04)
1950 Aug 27, Charles Fleischer, comedian (Roger Rabbit), was born in Wash, DC.
(www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/188514)
1950 Nov 1, Two members of a Puerto Rican nationalist movement tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington to assassinate President Truman. The attempt failed, and one of the pair was killed.
(AP, 11/1/97)(HN, 11/1/98)
1950 A rally in Washington DC was organized to protest racial injustice. The rally led to the formation of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights by Arnold Aronson, A. Philip Randolph, and Roy Wilkins.
(SFC, 2/20/98, p.A23)
1951 May 24, Racial segregation in Washington D.C. restaurants was ruled illegal.
(HN, 5/24/98)
1953 Jan 14, In Washington DC the Pennsylvania Railroad's Federal, the overnight train from Boston, crashed into the Union Station. Remarkably, no one was killed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_%28Washington,_D.C.%29)
1953 Apr 17, Mickey Mantle hit a home run in Washington's Griffith Stadium off the Senator's Chuck Stobbs that was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as measuring 565 feet. The distance was later said to have been padded.
(WSJ, 7/9/03, p.A1)
1953 The Washington National Cathedral installed stained-glass windows that paid tribute to Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army. The Confederate flags depicted in the windows were scheduled for removal in 2016.
(SFC, 6/10/16, p.A10)
1954 Mar 1, Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five congressmen. In 1998 the granddaughter of one of the nationalists published a family memoir.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)(AP, 3/1/98)(NPR, 2/28/98)
1954 Sep 7-8, Integration of public schools began in Washington DC and Baltimore, Md.
(HN, 9/7/98)(www.courtinfo.ca.gov/presscenter/timeline.htm)
1954 The US Supreme Court in Berman v Parker approved a slum clearance plan of the government of Washington DC over the objections of a local department store owner.
(Econ, 2/19/05, p.32)
1954 A World War II memorial to US Marines was dedicated next to Arlington National Cemetery. It was based on the Iwo Jima flag raising by 6 Marines, which was captured by AP photographer Joseph Rosenthal. The photo inspired the sculpture by Felix de Weldon (1907-2003).
(AP, 2/23/98)(SFC, 9/21/00, p.C6)(SFC, 6/14/03, p.A21)
1955 Herbert Haft (1920-2004), pharmacist, opened his 1st Dart Drugs in Washington, DC. Over the next 30 years it grew to a chain of 77 stores and then expanded creating Trak Auto, Crown Books, Shoppers Food Warehouse and Total Beverage. In 1997 Dart accepted $50 million in exchange for leaving the business.
(SFC, 9/3/04, p.B6)
1956 June 9, In Washington, DC, President Eisenhower underwent surgery for an intestinal blockage. The operation was a success and doctors assured the nation that the president will make a full recovery.
(NYT, 6/9/1956, p.1)
1957 Aug 15, The musical "West Side Story," composed by Leonard Bernstein and based on a concept by Jerome Robbins, first opened in Washington D.C. The story was by Arthur Laurents and the lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim.
(SFEM, 5/23/99, p.18)
1957 Oct 17, Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the White House.
(MC, 10/17/01)
1958 Jun, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, of African American and American Indian ancestry, traveled from Caroline County, Va., to marry in Washington, DC. Upon returning home they were arrested for violating the state’s 1924 Racial Integrity Act. Their one year sentenced was suspended on condition that they leave the state. The case was appealed in 1963. In 1967 The US Supreme Court under Earl Warren ruled unanimously in their favor.
(SFC, 2/14/12, p.E4)
1959 Jul 4, A 49-star flag was raised for the first time at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in honor of Alaska which had become the 49th state in the Union on July 7, 1958.
(IB, Internet, 12/7/98)
1959 Apr 14, The Taft Memorial Bell Tower was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 4/14/98)
1960 The Washington Senators, a baseball team in the American League, moved from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota at the end of 1960 and became the Minnesota Twins. The next year, an expansion team, also called the Washington Senators, came to the nation’s capital. After the 1971 season, those Senators moved to Texas and became the Texas Rangers. In the 30 years since then, Washington, D.C., has not had the Senators or any other Major League baseball team.
(HNQ, 6/29/01)
1961 Mar 29, The 23rd amendment, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president, was ratified.
(HN, 3/29/98)
1961 May 4, A group of 13 CORE civil rights activists, dubbed "Freedom Riders" left Washington, D.C., for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on buses and in bus terminals.
(AP, 5/4/97)(HN, 5/4/98)(MC, 5/4/02)
1961 Erving Goffman wrote "Asylums," which asserted that the abnormal behavior of psychiatric patients was mostly a consequence of hospitalization. It was based on a year of working incognito at St. Elizabeths in Washington, DC.
(WSJ, 7/18/97, p.A14)(Econ, 7/11/15, SR p.7)
1962 Feb 16, Todd Gitlin (b.1943), Harvard activist, helped organize a national anti-war rally in Washington, DC. Some 8,000 students turned up. Boston SANE & the fledgling SDS organized the first anti-nuclear march.
(www.peacebuttons.info/new/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february16)(Econ, 2/18/12, p.15)
1962 Apr 9, JFK threw out the 1st ball at Washington's new DC Stadium.
(MC, 4/9/02)
1962 Jun, In 2012 Mimi Alford (69), a grandmother and retired church administrator said she began a relationship with Pres. John F. Kennedy while she was a 19-year-old intern in the White House press office. According to a New York Post, which obtained a copy of the memoir, the affair began in the summer of 1962, on the fourth day of Alford's internship, when they had an encounter in the White House swimming pool. That night, Alford says, she lost her virginity to the president in First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's bedroom. The affair was first revealed in 2003, when Kennedy biographer Robert Dallek wrote in "An Unfinished Life" about an unnamed intern who allegedly had a relationship with the late president. Alford’s "Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath" was released on Feb 8, 2012.
(http://tinyurl.com/7shp9j3)
1962 Nov 17, Washington's Dulles International Airport was dedicated by President Kennedy.
(AP, 11/17/97)
1963 Aug 3, Phil Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, committed suicide. His wife, Katharine Graham (1917-2001), took over as publisher. She published her autobiography in 1997: "Personal History."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Graham)(SFEC, 2/9/97, BR p.1)
1963 Aug 28, The civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom drew 200-250,000 demonstrators and was the occasion for King’s "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was organized by Bayard Rustin (1912-1987). In 1997 a biography of Rustin by Jervis Anderson was published: "Bayard Rustin: The Troubles I’ve Seen." The 1997 play "Civil Sex" by Brian Freeman was based on Rustin’s life. Rev. Thomas Kilgore Jr. (d.1998 at 84) helped organize the march on Washington. Martin Luther King led marches on Washington and Selma, Alabama. His chief lieutenant was Andrew Young who in 1996 wrote: "An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America."
(WSJ, 11/6/96, p.A21)(SFEC, 1/26/97 BR, p.4)(WSJ, 1/30/97, p.A14)(AP, 8/28/97)(SFC, 2/7/98, p.21)(HN, 8/28/98)
1963 Marcus Raskin and Richard Barnet co-founded the DC-based liberal Institute for Policy Studies think tank.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Policy_Studies)(SFC, 12/28/17, p.D5)
1964 Feb 11, The Beatles 1st live appearance in US was in the Washington, DC Coliseum.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1964 Nov 24, Residents of Wash DC were permitted to vote for the 1st time since 1800.
(MC, 11/24/01)
1965 Apr 17, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held its 1st anti-Vietnam war protest rally in Washington DC. Daniel Ellsburg helped Patricia Marx tape the event for public radio.
(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.M1)
1965 Nov 27, 15-25,000 demonstrated in Wash DC against the war in Vietnam.
(MC, 11/27/01)
1965 Blues Alley, a Georgetown legend, began business and in 1998 was the oldest continuously operating jazz supper club.
(BS, 5/3/98, p.7R)
1966 Oct 29, The National Organization for Women was formally organized during a conference in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 10/29/07)
1966 Apr 9, The statue of Winston Churchill was dedicated at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
(HN, 4/9/99)
1967 May 20, A 2-day Spring Mobilization Conference opened in Washington D.C. The gathering of 700 antiwar activists was called to evaluate the antiwar demonstrations that had taken place on April 15, 1967 in New York City and San Francisco. The conference set another antiwar action for the fall of 1967 and created an administrative committee to plan it. That committee was the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mobilization_Committee_to_End_the_War_in_Vietnam)
1967 Sep 28, Walter E. Washington (d.2003) took office as the first mayor of the District of Columbia. He had been appointed mayor-commissioner by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson and won by election in 1974.
(AP, 9/28/97)(SFC, 11/1/03, p.A20)
1967 Oct 21, Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters marched in Washington, D.C. 35,000 people assembled outside the Pentagon to protest the war in Vietnam.
(TMC, 1994, p.1967)(AP, 10/21/97)
1967 The Watergate (Swissotel Washington) commercial and residential complex was built.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.C1)
1968 Mar 2, The Poor Peoples' March on Washington, envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a means of dramatizing the plight of the poor of all races, got under way.
{USA, Black History}
(www.project1968.com/in-the-news-may-2-1968.html)
1968 Mar 19, Howard University students in Washington DC staged rallies, protests and a 5-day sit-in, laying siege to the administration building, shutting down the university in protest over its ROTC program, and demanding a more Afrocentric curriculum.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968)
1968 Mar 23, Reverend Walter Fauntroy became the 1st non-voting congressional delegate from Washington DC, since Reconstruction.
(www.thehistorymakers.com/timeline/index.asp?string=1968)
1968 Apr 4, Five days of race riots erupted in Washington, D.C. following assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil unrest affected at least 110 U.S. cities; Washington, along with Chicago and Baltimore, were among the most affected.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Washington,_D.C._riots)
1968 Apr 29, Dr. Ralph Abernathy led The Poor People's Campaign in Washington D.C., less than a month after the assassination of King. It concluded on June 23. The campaign was for reforms in welfare, employment and housing policies. Abernathy was the successor to Rev. Martin Luther King as head of the Southern Christian Leadership conference.
(HNQ, 1/19/99)
1968 May 12, "March of Poor" under Rev. Abernathy reached Washington, DC.
(MC, 5/12/02)
1968 Apr 2, The influential science-fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey," produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, had its world premiere in Washington.
(AP, 4/2/08)
1968 Jun 19, Some 50,000 marched on Washington, DC, to support the Poor People's Campaign. Rev. Jesse Jackson preached “I Am Somebody" at Resurrection City, a tent city set up in front of the White House. In 1971 he turned the speech into a poem for Sesame Street.
(http://cheyannescampsite.blogspot.com/2008_06_15_archive.html)(SFC, 7/5/96, BR, p.6)(HN, 6/19/98)
1968 Jun 24, "Resurrection City," a shantytown constructed as part of the Poor People's March on Washington, D.C., was closed by authorities.
(AP, 6/24/97)
1968 The Library of Congress finished its Machine Readable Cataloguing (Marc) pilot project, which was under the direction of Henriette D. Avram (1919-2006). In 1969 bibliographic records were sent on magnetic tape to libraries around the country. In 1971 Marc became the national standard fro electronic cataloguing.
(SFC, 5/4/06, p.B7)
1969 Oct 15, Peace demonstrators staged activities across the country, including a candlelight march around the White House, as part of a moratorium against the Vietnam War.
(AP, 10/15/97)
1969 Nov 15, A quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., against the Vietnam War.
(AP, 11/15/97)(HN, 11/15/98)
1969 Dec 21, Vince Lombardi (1913-1970), head coach of the Washington Redskins, coached his last football game and lost.
(www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/was/1969.htm)
1970 Mar, Several dozen leading US journalists met in Washington and formed the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The meeting was spearheaded by CBS journalist Murray Fromson (1929-2018) and New York Times reporter J. Anthony Lukas.
(SFC, 6/14/18, p.D2)
1970 Sep 1, Dr. Hugh Scott of Washington, D.C., became the first African-American superintendent of schools in a major U.S. city.
(HN, 9/1/99)
1970 Sep 3, Vince Lombardi (57), one of Fordham University‘s stalwart linemen known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite" during his college days, succumbed to cancer in Washington, D.C. He had recently coached the Washington Redskins to their first winning season in 14 years. Lombardi had previously coached the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls. He went to the Washington Redskins in 1969 as head coach, general manager, and part owner. The team wound up with a 7-5-2 record for the season. In 1999 David Maraniss authored "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi."
(AP, 9/3/97)(WSJ, 10/7/99, p.A28)
1970 Sep 22, President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill giving the District of Columbia representation in the U.S. Congress. Pres Nixon requested 1,000 new FBI agents for college campuses.
(HN, 9/22/98)(http://tinyurl.com/5qrct8)
1971 Mar 1, The Weather Underground bombed the US Capitol building claiming it to be in protest of US involvement in Laos. The bomb exploded in a Capitol restroom 30 minutes after a telephone warning. Some $200,000 in damage was caused with no injuries.
(HNQ, 7/30/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol)(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1971 Apr 23, In the final event of Operation Dewey Canyon III, nearly 1,000 Vietnam War veterans threw their combat ribbons, helmets, and uniforms on the Capitol steps.
(www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryapril.htm)
1971 May 3, Anti-war protesters calling themselves the Mayday Tribe began four days of demonstrations in Washington aimed at shutting down the nation's capital. 13,000 anti-war protesters were arrested in 3 days.
(AP, 5/3/97)(MC, 5/3/02)
1971 Jul 4, A July 4th concert on the West Lawn of the White House was held and began an annual tradition.
(SSFC, 6/30/02, Par p.30)
1971 Sep 8, The Kennedy Center, begun in 1964, officially opened in Washington, DC. A performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass was held there three days earlier. The $71 million structure was designed by Edward Durell. The cultural center was promoted at Kennedy’s request by Roger L. Stevens (1910-1998). Congress had designated it a national monument to Pres. Kennedy following his assassination.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts)(SFC, 8/27/01, p.E4)
1971 Sep 20, The American League Ok'd the Washington Senator move to Arlington, where they became the Texas Rangers.
(WSJ, 4/7/99, p.B1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Washington_Senators_season)
1971 Sep 30, The Washington Senators baseball team played their last game before leaving DC for Texas.
(WSJ, 4/7/99, p.B1)(www.sportsecyclopedia.com/al/wastex/senators61.html)
1972 Mar 1, Kathy Boudin and Bernardine Dohrn, members of the Weathermen, set explosives in the 1st-floor ladies room of the US Capitol building. [See Oct 20, 1981]
(WSJ, 11/26/03, p.A1)(http://hnn.us/articles/1155.html)
1972 Apr 16, The Republic of China presented to Pandas to the US National Zoo: Hsing-Hsing (d.1999) and Ling-Ling. Ling-Ling died Sep 30, 1992.
(SFC, 4/16/97, p.C14)(HN, 4/16/98)
1972 May 28, Operatives working for the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP) burglarized the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Washington, DC, Watergate office complex.
(http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum)
1972 Jun 17, President Nixon's eventual downfall began when five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate hotel at 1:52 a.m. Carl Schloffler (1945-1996), undercover police officer, made the arrest. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy ran the break-in from a nearby hotel room. Within hours of the bust Liddy attempted to shred all related documents. After the arrests of the burglars, White House Counsel John Dean took custody of evidence and money from the White House safe of E. Howard Hunt, Jr., who had been supervising the burglaries, and later destroyed some of the evidence before it could be found by investigators The five burglars, led by former CIA agent James McCord Jr. (1924-2019), were soon linked to Nixon's Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP) and, as suspicion grew, Nixon conspired to obstruct an FBI investigation of the incident. Nixon's conversations about the obstruction and subsequent cover-up had been tape-recorded as part of a secret tape-recording system revealed to investigators by Nixon's schedule keeper. Jeb Magruder later wrote "An American Life." The book has been described as the most accurate description of what happened. Stanley I. Kutler later authored "The Wars of Watergate." Liddy later asserted that John Dean was really after a brochure of call-girl pictures kept by DNC secretary Ida Wells that included a picture of Dean’s girlfriend, Maureen Biner.
(SFC, 4/13/96, p.A-2)(TMC, 1994, p.1972)(SFC, 7/16/96, p.A14)(SFC, 2/1/99, p.A3) (HNPD, 6/17/99)(SFC, 2/4/00, p.D9)(SFC, 1/31/01, p.A2)(SSFC, 4/21/19, p.C9)
1972 Jun 19, Two days after the botched Watergate break-in, FBI official W. Mark Felt secretly assured Bob Woodward that The Washington Post could safely make a connection between the burglars and a former CIA agent linked to the White House, E. Howard Hunt. Woodward’s secret source for information became known as Deep Throat, and Felt’s name was not made public until 2005. In 2006 Mark Felt and John O’Connor authored “A G-Man’s Life: The FBI, Being “Deep Throat," and the Struggle for Honor in Washington."
(http://tinyurl.com/cva26)(SSFC, 5/21/06, p.M3)
1972 Jun 20, Pres. Nixon recorded on tape information relating to the Jun 16 Watergate break-in. Sections of the tape were later erased, allegedly accidentally by sec. Rose Mary Woods. A panel of experts examined the tape to see if the 18-minute gap was intentional. Richard H. Bolt (d.2002 at 90), acoustic expert at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, later said that if it was an accident than it was committed at least 5 time in the 18 minutes.
(SFC, 2/4/02, p.B5)
1972 Oct 11, There was an attempted prison escape at the Washington DC jail. In 1975 Appellants Frank Gorham, Jr., and Otis D. Wilkerson were indicted, along with co-defendants Meltonia Fields and Linda Ewing, on counts of conspiracy, introducing contraband into a penal institution, armed kidnapping, and armed robbery, and both appellants were indicted individually on counts of attempted escape and escape from custody. The charges grew out of appellants' abortive attempt to escape from the D.C. jail on October 11, 1972, and their successful escape two weeks later.
(http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/523/523.F2d.1088.74-1613.74-1611.html)
1972 Oct 26, The Washington Post first disclosed that Attorney General of the United States, John Mitchell, personally controlled a secret fund to finance intelligence operations against Democrats during the Nixon administration. The money financed spying and sabotaging Democratic primary campaigns in 1972 and included activity such as forgery of correspondence, release of false leaks to the press and seizure of confidential campaign files.
(www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a102672macgregorfund)
1972 Nov 9, The "Trail of Broken Treaties" caravan, an Indian protest, ended in vandalism and chaos at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. The story is told in the 1996 book "Like A Hurricane, The Indian Movement From Alcatraz to Wounded Knee" by Paul Chaat Smith and Robert Allen Warrior.
(SFEC, 1/5/97, BR p.8)(http://siouxme.com/lodge/treaties.html)
1972 Katharine Graham (1917-2001) became the CEO of the Washington Post company and the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
(Econ., 4/18/15, SR p.7)
1973 Jan 8, The trial of Watergate burglars began in Washington, DC. In 2006 Andreas Killen authored “1973 Nervous Breakdown: Watergate, Warhol and the Birth of Post-Sixties America."
(www.watergate.info/chronology/1973.shtml)(SSFC, 4/16/06, p.M3)
1973 Jan 15, Four of six remaining Watergate defendants pleaded guilty.
(HN, 1/15/99)
1973 Jan 30, A jury found Watergate defendants Liddy & McCord guilty on all counts.
(www.watergate.info/chronology/1973.shtml)
1973 Feb 16, The Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy think tank, was founded in Washington, DC, by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner, and Joseph Coors.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation)(SFC, 12/28/17, p.D5)
1973 Mar 21, Dean told Nixon: "There is a cancer growing on the Presidency."
(http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/amia-l/2000/01/msg00043.html)
1973 Dec 24, The US Congress passed the Home rule Act, which allowed residents of Washington DC to elect a mayor. Walter Washington was elected in 1974.
(WSJ, 10/28/03, p.A1)(Econ, 9/16/06, p.41)(www.abfa.com/ogc/hrtall.htm)
1973 The Washington DC Eastern Market was started in a pair of buildings abandoned by the transportation dept.
(BS, 5/3/98, p.7R)
1973 The reorganized Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority took over D.C. Transit. The Washington, Virginia and Maryland Coach Company, the AB&W Transit Company, and the WMA Transit Company), whose assets were sold to WMATA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metropolitan_Area_Transit_Authority)
1974 Feb 17, Henry Kulbaski (d.2007), White House Secret Service agent, ordered service agents to shoot down a stolen helicopter that was flying around the White House. Robert K. Preston (b.1954), a US Army private, suffered superficial pellet wounds and was taken into custody.
(SSFC, 7/15/07, p.B7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Preston)
1974 Feb 22, Samuel Joseph Byck (1930–1974), an unemployed former tire salesman, attempted to hijack a plane flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport. He intended to crash into the White House in hopes of killing US President Richard M. Nixon. Byck killed pilot Fred Jones and a aviation officer George Neal Ramsburg before he was shot and wounded by gunfire through the door of a Delta DC-9 airplane. Byck then shot himself in the head.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Byck)
1974 Mar 1, A grand jury in Washington, DC, concluded that President Nixon was indeed involved in the Watergate cover-up. 7 people, including former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, former Attorney General John Mitchell and former assistant Attorney General Robert Mardian, were indicted on charges of conspiring to obstruct justice in connection with the Watergate break-in. They were convicted the following January, although Mardian's conviction was later reversed. In 2005 Vanity Fair Magazine revealed that W. Mark Felt (91), former FBI official, was the Watergate whistleblower Deep Throat, who helped bring down Pres. Nixon.
(HN, 3/1/98)(AP, 3/1/99)(AP, 6/1/05)
1974 Jul 9, Earl Warren (83), former California governor and US Chief Justice (1953-68) died in Washington D.C. In 1997 Ed Cray authored the Warren biography "Chief Justice."
(AP, 7/9/99)(SFC, 2/28/01, p.A18)
1974 Sep 20, Gail A. Cobb (24), a member of the Metropolitan Police Force of Washington, D.C., became the first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty. Cobb was murdered by a robbery suspect in an underground garage in downtown Washington.
(http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1231,q,538639.asp)
1974 Nov 5, Walter Washington (1915-2003) was elected mayor of Washington DC, the 1st black mayor there in 104 years. He had been appointed mayor-commissioner in 1967.
(WSJ, 10/28/03, p.A1)(www.narpac.org/ITXDCHIS.HTM)
1974 The Hirshborn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington opened.
(SFC, 12/30/99, p.E1)
1975 May 25, The Golden Gate Warriors won the NBA title in a 4-game sweep over the Washington Bullets.
(SFC, 4/26/10, p.A8)(www.nba.com/history/finals/19741975.html)
1976 Mar 27, In Washington DC the first 4.6 miles of track for the Washington Metro was completed. The Gallery Place metro station opened. Harry Weese (d.1998) Associates of Chicago did the design work. By 2012 Metrorail had 106.3 miles of track.
(SFC, 11/4/98, p.C7)(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metro)
1976 Sep 21, Chilean exile Orlando Letelier, one time foreign minister to Chilean President Salvador Allende, was killed when a bomb exploded in his car in Washington D.C. He was assassinated by order from Chile by Gen’l. Manuel Contreras, head of the secret police known as DINA. Ronni Moffitt (24), an American colleague of Letelier, was also killed. Contreras was convicted of the order in 1993 and sentenced to a 7-year prison term. In 2000 Gen. Pinochet was linked to the killing. In 2015 declassified US documents relating to the assassination reportedly pointed to Pinochet's role in ordering the murder.
(SFC, 6/27/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/99, p.C3)(SFEC, 5/28/00, p.A7)(AP, 9/21/01)(Reuters, 10/8/15)
1976 Nov 9, Smokey the Bear (26) died at the Washington DC National Zoo.
(www.capitanlibrary.org/research/smokey-bear.htm)
1976 The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.A5)
1977 Mar 7, Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin met with Pres. Carter in Washington.
(www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/campdavid25/campdavid25_photos.phtml)
1977 Mar 9, About a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The siege ended two days later.
(AP, 3/9/98)
1977 Mar 11, More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims were freed after ambassadors from three Islamic nations joined the negotiations.
(AP, 3/11/98)
1977 Jun 6, The Washington Post reported that the US had developed a neutron bomb.
(http://piurl.com/5B)
1977 Jul 23, A jury in Washington, D.C., convicted 12 Hanafi Muslims of charges stemming from the hostage siege at three buildings the previous March.
(AP, 7/23/98)
1979 Mar 19, The U.S. House of Representatives began televising its day-to-day business. Brian Lamb launched C-Span, a TV public service broadcasting medium that focused on public affairs without comment or analysis. He came up with the idea while working the Washington bureau chief for Cablevision magazine.
(AP, 3/19/97)(SSFC, 3/27/05, Par p.14)(Econ, 3/24/12, p.34)
1978 Jul 9, Nearly 100,000 demonstrators marched on Wash DC for ERA.
(www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/history.html)
1979 Mar 3, Mustafa Barzani (b.1903), Iranian Kurd leader (KDP), died in Washington, DC. He was succeeded by his son Massoud.
(SFC, 9/4/96, A7)(WSJ, 12/20/02, p.A14)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barzani)
1979 May 7, An estimated 125,000 people rallied against nuclear power in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 5/7/04, p.F2)
1979 Oct 7, Pope John Paul II concluded a week-long tour of the United States with a Mass on the Mall in Washington, DC.
(AP, 10/7/99)
1979 Oct 14, In Washington, DC, some 100,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and supporters marched in celebration of gay pride and demanded equal rights for homosexuals under the law.
(SFC, 10/15/04, p.F13)
1979-1985 Victor Cherkashin served as the KGB chief at the Soviet embassy in Washington. In 2004 he authored “Spy Handler: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames."
(WSJ, 12/30/04, p.D8)
1979-1999 Meg Greenfield (d.1999) served as the editorial-page editor of the Washington Post. In 2001 her book "Washington" was published.
(WSJ, 5/3/01, p.A16)
1980 Nov 17, WHHM Television in Washington, D.C. became the first African American public-broadcasting television station.
(HN, 11/17/98)
1981 Mar 2, Howard Stern began broadcasting on WWDC in Washington DC.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1981 Mar 30, John W. Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded Pres. Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. Press Sec. James Brady took a bullet as did Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty.
(SFC, 7/14/96, Par p.2)(HN, 3/30/02)(AP, 3/30/08)
1981 Apr 13, Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about an 8-year-old heroin addict named "Jimmy." Cooke relinquished the prize two days later, admitting she had fabricated the story.
(AP, 4/13/00)(www.museumofhoaxes.com/day/04_17_2001.html)
1981 Apr 15, Janet Cooke said her Pulitzer award 8-year-old heroin addict story was a lie. The Washington Post relinquished the Pulitzer Prize over the fabricated story.
(www.museumofhoaxes.com/day/04_17_2001.html)
1981 Jun 23, The body of Catherine Schilling (21), a Georgetown law student, was found raped and murdered in Rock Creek Park. She was shot in the head five times after taking a shortcut home through the park after working late at her job as a paralegal at a DC law firm. In September 1982, a D.C. jury convicted Donald Eugene Gates of killing and raping Schilling. In 2009 Gates (58) was released from prison based on DNA evidence.
(http://tinyurl.com/y8smuur)(SFC, 12/15/09, p.A9)
1981 Aug, Oliver North (b.1943) was assigned to White House duty as Chief Middle East arms-sales adviser to Secretary of Defense Casper W. Weinberger. He was fired on November 25, 1986, for selling arms to Iran, and diverting Iran arms sales proceeds to the contras.
(www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm)
1981 Bill Strauss (1947-2007), Elaina Newport and Jim Aidala founded Capitol Steps, a singing, satirical troupe in Washington DC. By 2007 the group had recorded 29 albums including “Sixteen Scandals" (1997).
(SFC, 12/26/07, p.B4)
1981 Joseph Rivers (d.1989) founded the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) in Washington DC to improve the quality of life of young people who had been in foster care.
(SFEC,12/14/97, Par p.14)
1981 Metal detectors were installed at the White House.
(SFC, 11/28/98, p.E4)
1982 Jan 13, An Air Florida 737 crashed into the capital's 14th Street Bridge after takeoff and fell into the Potomac River, killing 78 people.
(AP, 1/13/98)
1982 Mar 26, Ground was broken in Washington D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin of Yale. It was dedicated Nov 13.
(NG, May 1985, p.554, 557)(AP, 3/26/97)(HN, 3/25/98)
1982 Nov 10, The newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/10/97)
1982 Nov 13, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund had chosen Maya Ying Lin's design. Lin was an architecture student at Yale University when she submitted her proposal for the memorial, to be built in Washington D.C.'s Constitution Gardens as a tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War. In her proposal, shown above, Lin described "a long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth," which would include the names of all the military personnel who had died or remained missing. According to Lin, "these names, seemingly infinite in number, [would] convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole.
(AP, 11/13/97)(HNPD, 11/13/98)
1982 Nov 16, A replica of the original 1854 "Pope’s Stone," donated by the Vatican, was dedicated at the Washington Monument. The original from Pope Pius IX, arrived in October 1853. It was taken by force in 1854 by unknown men. The common idea is that the men were part of a group called the Know-Nothings.
(www.nps.gov/archive/wamo/memstone_564.htm)
1982 Dec 8, A man demanding an end to nuclear weapons held the Washington Monument hostage, threatening to blow it up with explosives he claimed were inside a van. After a 10-hour standoff, Norman D. Mayer was shot dead by police; it turned out there were no explosives.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mayer)(AP, 12/8/07)
1982 Dec 9, The Washington, D.C., police shot and killed Norman Mayer (b.1916), an American anti-nuclear weapons activist, 10 hours after he threatened to blow up the Washington Monument. Police found he had no explosives.
(HN, 12/8/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mayer)
1982 The Washington Times was founded by Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, to be a conservative alternative to the larger Washington Post. The Times is widely perceived as maintaining a right-leaning editorial stance. By 2002, the Unification Church had spent about $1.7 billion in subsidies for the Times.
(SFC, 12/9/09, p.A6)(http://tinyurl.com/y9r9xd7)
1983 Nov 7, A bomb exploded on the 2nd floor of the Capitol, causing heavy damage but no injuries. A caller said the bomb was an action against US aggression in Grenada and Lebanon.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_United_States_Senate_bombing)
1984 Nov 9, The Vietnam Veterans statue, “Three Soldiers" by Frederick Hart (d.1999 at 56), was unveiled in Washington DC on Veterans Day.
(http://www.440.com/twtd/archives/nov09.html)(SFC, 8/18/99, p.C4)
1986 Jun 23, Tip O'Neill refused to let Reagan address the House.
(http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_106/TECH_V106_S0437_P003.txt)
1987 May 3, The Miami Herald said its reporters had observed a young woman, later identified as Donna Rice, spending "Friday night and most of Saturday" at a Washington, D.C., townhouse belonging to Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart.
(AP, 5/3/97)(SFEC, 12/19/99, p.C12)
1987 May 26, Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (b.1913), physician and philanthropist, died. He donated a large collection of Asian art housed in the National Museum Sackler Gallery, which adjoins the Freer in Washington DC.
(WSJ, 11/6/98, p.W10)(www.britannica.com/eb/article-9001219)
1987 Oct 11, Some 200,000 homosexual rights activists marched through Washington DC to demand protection from discrimination and more federal money for AIDS research and treatment. The AIDS Memorial Quilt had its inaugural presentation. In 2000 Cleve Jones and Jeff Dawson authored "Stitching a Revolution, The making of an AIDS Activist."
(AP, 10/11/97)(SFEC, 6/18/00, BR p.5)
1987 Nov 12, Heavy snow closed schools from DC to Maine.
(http://weather.intellicast.com/Almanac/Northeast/November/)
1987 The National Museum of Women in the Arts was founded in Washington DC. It was the idea of Wilhelmina Holladay. In 1997 a new $1 million wing was added.
(SFEC,11/9/97, p.A12)
1987 The Carlyle Group was founded in Washington DC. It had interests with military contractors and ties to elite DC circles.
(SFC, 3/27/03, p.B1)
1988 Jan 16, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was fired as a CBS Sports commentator one day after telling a TV station in Washington, D.C., that, during the era of slavery, blacks had been bred to produce stronger offspring. He was fired because he claimed blacks were superior to whites in athletics, and he traced it back to how blacks were bred. To make matters worse, he also said "if blacks take over coaching like everybody wants them to, there is not going to be anything left for the white people."
(AP, 1/16/98)(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/almanac/video/1988/)
1988 Mar 6, The board of trustees at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a liberal arts college for the deaf, selected Elisabeth Zinser, a hearing woman, to be school president. Outraged students shut down the campus, forcing the selection of a deaf president, I. King Jordan, instead.
(AP, 3/6/08)
1988 Mar 13, Yielding to student protests, the board of trustees of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a liberal arts college for the hearing-impaired, chose I. King Jordan to become the school's first deaf president, replacing Elisabeth Ann Zinser, a hearing woman.
(AP, 3/13/98)
1988 Aug 4, US Congress voted $20,000 to each Japanese-American interned during WW II.
(MC, 8/4/02)
1988 Nov 9, John N. Mitchell (b.1913), former Attorney General under Pres. Nixon, died in Washington. He was a major figure in the Watergate scandal and served 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama (1977-1979) for his role in the scandal. In 2008 James Rosen authored “The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate."
(AP, 1/19/98)(AP, 11/9/02)(WSJ, 5/24/08, p.W8)
1988 McDonald's opened its 10,000th restaurant in a suburb of DC.
(WSJ, 5/13/99, p.B13)
1989 May 31, US House Speaker Jim Wright, dogged by questions about his ethics, announced he would resign. Thomas Foley succeeded him.
(AP, 5/31/99)
1989 May 31, Charles A. Hufnagel (b.1917), artificial heart valve pioneer, died at his home in Washington, DC.
(http://tinyurl.com/f5wdx)
1989 May, In Washington DC a 7-year-old boy was raped, stabbed and castrated by a repeat sex offender. The event gave rise to the nation’s first civil commitment law for sex offenders.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.A8)
1989 Jun 6, In Washington, DC, Thomas Foley was elected the 49th speaker of the House of Representatives.
(AP, 6/6/99)
1989 Aug 2, The House of Representatives voted against including abortion curbs in a spending bill for the District of Columbia.
(AP, 8/2/99)
1989 Nov 12, Abortion rights advocates rallied in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C.
(AP, 11/12/99)
1989 The Save Outdoor Sculpture (SOS), organization was founded as a non-profit and largely volunteer organization. It is housed in Washington at the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property (NIC). The SOS has 15,000 works entered into its Inventory of American Sculpture.
(Smith., 4/1995, p.140)(http://tinyurl.com/hrt5r)
1990 Jan 18, In an FBI sting, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession. Barry was arrested while smoking crack cocaine and fondling a woman who was not his wife. He was later convicted of a misdemeanor.
(AP, 1/18/00)(SFC, 11/24/14, p.A6)
1990 Apr 28, Anti-abortion demonstrators marched in Washington D.C.; authorities put the number of protesters at 200,000, but organizers claimed a turnout of about 700,000.
(AP, 4/28/00)
1990 Jun 19, Opening statements were presented in the drug and perjury trial of Washington DC Mayor Marion S. Barry Junior. Barry was later convicted of a single count of misdemeanor drug possession, and sentenced to six months in prison.
(AP, 6/19/00)
1990 Jun 28, Jurors in the drug and perjury trial of Washington DC Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr. viewed a videotape showing Barry smoking crack cocaine during an FBI hotel-room sting operation. Barry was later convicted of a single count of misdemeanor drug possession.
(AP, 6/28/00)
1990 Aug 10, Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry was convicted of a single misdemeanor drug charge and acquitted on another; the judge declared a mistrial on 12 other counts.
(AP, 8/10/00)
1990 John Williamson (b.1937) wrote an article that pinned down the features of the “Washington Consensus." It described a framework for policy in emerging countries that was accepted by most mainstream practitioners in the field.
(Econ, 10/7/06, p.63)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus)
1990 In Washington DC the Rev. George A. Stallings Jr. and his breakaway African-American Catholic Congregation, which encouraged the ordination of women and the use of birth control and abortion, were excommunicated for breaking ties with the Vatican.
(AP, 5/5/06)
1991 Jan 2, Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first black woman to head a city of Washington's size and prominence.
(AP, 1/2/98)
1991 Sep 28, The quotable former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in prison for possession of crack (a crystalline form of cocaine).
(http://tinyurl.com/ky3hv)
1991 Oct 26, Former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry arrived at a federal correctional institution in Petersburg, Va., to begin serving a six-month sentence for cocaine possession.
(AP, 10/26/01)
1991 The Int’l. Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL) was formed by Jody Williams and fellow activists during a Thanksgiving dinner. The organization won the 1997 Nobel Peace.
(SFC, 10/11/97, p.A9)
1991 The number of murders in Washington, DC, peaked at 482 this year.
(Econ, 1/14/17, p.75)
1992 Jan 26, The Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI, defeating the Buffalo Bills 37-24.
(AP, 1/26/02)
1992 Apr 23, Marion Berry, former mayor of Wash DC, was let out of prison.
(www.washtimes.com/metro/20040613-111808-1902r.htm)
1992 Jun, Latrena Denise Pixley, annoyed with the wailing of her 6-week-old 3rd child, smothered her with a blanket and tossed her in the trash.
(WSJ, 1/2/98, p.8)
1992 The Shakespeare Theater moved to 7th and E streets from its longtime Capital Hill site.
(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)
1992 The TEC-9 semiautomatic pistol made by Navegar was renamed the TEC-DC9 after DC adopted a law making gun manufacturers liable for gun deaths.
(SFEC, 5/2/99, p.A11)
1993 Apr 25, Hundreds of thousands of gay rights activists and their supporters marched in Washington, D.C., demanding equal rights and freedom from discrimination.
(AP, 4/25/98)
1994 Jul 15, Israel and Jordan agreed to talks in Wash., DC, on July 25th.
(MC, 7/15/02)
1994 Sep 12, A stolen, single-engine Cessna crashed into the South Lawn of the White House, coming to rest against the executive mansion; the pilot, Frank Corder, was killed.
(AP, 9/12/99)
1994 Oct, The Clintons inaugurated a sculpture garden at the White House.
(WSJ, 12/1/98, p.A20)
1994 Nov 22, A gunman opened fire inside the District of Columbia's police headquarters; the ensuing gun battle left two FBI agents, a city detective and the gunman dead.
(AP, 11/22/99)
1994 Nov 22, Serb fighters in northwest Bosnia set villages ablaze in response to a retaliatory air strike by NATO.
(AP, 11/22/99)
1994 Dec 17, Six shots were fired at the White House by an unidentified gunman.
(AP, 12/17/99)
1994 WritersCorps began as an AmeriCorps program, thus the name, in San Francisco, the Bronx, and DC.
(SFC, 10/20/10, p.C2)(http://tinyurl.com/256lvpv)
1994 The US allowed the PLO to open a mission in Washington, a move that required Pres. Bill Clinton to waive a law that said the Palestinians couldn't have an office.
(AP, 9/10/18)
1995 Jun 25, Warren E. Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States (1969-86), died in Washington, D.C., of congestive heart failure at age 87.
(AP, 6/25/97)
1995 Jul 27, The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington by President Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam.
(AP, 7/27/98)
1995 Oct 16, A vast throng of black men gathered in Washington D.C. for the "Million Man March," "A Day of Atonement," led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Over 800,000 black men attended.
(AP, 10/16/97)(HN, 10/16/98)(MC, 10/16/01)
1995 Oct 28, An 18-wheel truck plunged over an embankment outside Washington DC and spilled 100 gallons of sulfuric acid onto I-95. The driver, Tom Billings, had fallen asleep.
(WSJ, 5/6/96, p.B-1)
1995 The Weekly Standard, a Washington DC opinion magazine, began operations. In 2005 it published a 1-year sampling of its work.
(WSJ, 9/2/05, p.W10)
1996 Jul 1, Placido Domingo became artistic director of Washington National Opera (f.1956).
(www.dc-opera.org/aboutcompany/placidodomingo.asp)
1997 Apr 6, Jack Kent Cooke (84), owner of the Washington Redskins, died. Settlement of his will took 7 years and cost $64 million in professional fees.
(AP, 4/6/98)(WSJ, 7/9/04, p.A1)
1997 Apr 30, President Clinton reopened the newly renovated Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
(AP, 4/30/98)
1997 May 8, In Washington DC Jacqueline Thompson (32) gave birth to sextuplets. One was stillborn. No fertility drugs were used but both she and her husband Linden had a family history of multiple births.
(SFEC,11/23/97, p.A7)
1997 Jul 6, Mary Mahoney (25), Emory Evans (25) and Aaron Goodrich (18) were murdered in an apparent botched robbery at Starbuck's coffee shop in the Georgetown neighborhood. In 1999 Carl Derek Havord Cooper (29) was charged with the murders.
(SFC, 3/6/99, p.A3)
1997 Nov 25, Police Chief Larry D. Soulsby resigned just hours before a police lieutenant roommate was charged with extorting money from married men who frequented gay bars. The chief and his lieutenant shared a cut-rate luxury apartment obtained under false premises.
(SFC,11/26/97, p.A3)
1997 Dec 4, In Washington DC Eric Butera (31) was robbed and beaten to death while assisting police in an undercover investigation of a triple murder. In 1999 a court ruled that the DC police dept. and 4 officers pay Butera's mother $98 million in damages.
(SFC, 10/21/99, p.A3)
1997 The MCI Center, a sports arena for the NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals, was completed for $260 million.
(SFC, 5/21/01, p.A3)
1998 Jan, The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) was formed with headquarters in Washington, DC, as an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Chemical_Safety_and_Hazard_Investigation_Board)
1998 Feb 5, Democratic fundraiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie pleaded innocent in Washington to charges he'd raised illegal donations to buy influence in high places. Trie pleaded guilty in May 1999 to a felony count and a misdemeanor and was sentenced later that year to four months' home detention and three years' probation.
(AP, 2/5/03)
1998 Apr 27, A Pentagon panel said remains of the Vietnam veteran in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery should be exhumed to determine whether they belonged to Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, as his family believed. The remains were later positively identified as Blassie's.
(AP, 4/27/03)
1998 May 5, The $816 million, 3.1 million-sq.-ft. Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Washington DC was dedicated.
(USAT, 5/6/98, p.3A)
1998 May 15, Latia Robinson (7) took control of a Honda Accord after her father passed out and drove him safely to a hospital at the beginning of rush hour.
(SFC, 6/20/98, p.A6)
1998 Jul 24, A gunman burst past a metal detector at the US Capital and killed 2 policemen, officers Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, and wounded a visitor. Russell Eugene Weston Jr. (41) was captured after being shot.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A1)
1998 Jul 25, The US Capitol was reopened, a day after a gunman killed two police officers; a wounded suspect, Russell E. Weston Junior, was charged with murder. Weston was later found unfit to stand trial because of paranoid schizophrenia. Weston refused to take any medications voluntarily. In May 2001, a federal judge authorized doctors to treat Weston involuntarily. A panel from a federal appeals court ruled in July 2001 that Weston could be forced to take the drugs which he was forced to do for 120 days. He remains incarcerated in a psychiatric center in the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.
(AP, 7/25/99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Capitol_shooting_incident_(1998)#The_suspect)
1998 Oct 1, Gordon and Betty Moore, announced a $35 million contribution to Conservation Int’l., an environmental group for biodiversity. The funds would be used for a new Washington DC Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. Moore was a co-founder and former chairman of Intel Corp. He donated $12.5 million to Cambridge Univ. for the most advanced science and technology library in Europe.
(SFC, 10/2/98, p.B6,D1)
1998 Oct 7, Robert McDonough (76) donated $30 million to Georgetown Univ. He made his fortune in the temporary employment business.
(SFC, 10/8/98, p.A3)
1998 Nov, A measure on medical marijuana was voted upon. Congress held up the ballot count until Sep 1999, when results showed a 69% approval.
(WSJ, 9/21/99, p.B8)
1998 The Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport)
1999 Jan 2, Anthony A. Williams was inaugurated as mayor of Washington DC and given authority to run the daily operations of the city.
(SFC, 12/21/98, p.A2)(Econ, 3/4/06, p.31)
1999 Apr 13, The beaver "Big Daddy" was relocated. He was the 3rd of a family that was removed for snacking on the Japanese cherry trees in the capital.
(SFC, 4/14/99, p.A3)
1999 Apr, A 32-foot sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein, "Brushstroke Group," was to be erected in front of the Corcoran Gallery at 17th St. and New York Ave.
(SFC, 3/8/99, p.A8)
1999 May 22, The 6-acre National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden at 7th Ave and Constitution was opened to the public.
(WSJ, 5/21/99, p.W2)
1999 Jun 5, Some 3,000 protestors demonstrated outside the Pentagon against the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia.
(SFEC, 6/6/99, p.A4)
1999 Jun 5, In Washington DC Nancy Richards-Akers, a popular romance novelist, was shot and killed by her husband in front of their 2 children. Jeremy R. Akers then killed himself.
(SFC, 6/7/99, p.A2)
1999 Jun, Cheryl L. Johnson (1950-2007), a nurse at the Univ. of Michigan, and Susan Bianchi-Sand were among the co-founders of the United American Nurses union (UAN). During the week of June 17-20, ANA's House of Delegates (HOD) voted in Washington, DC, to create the United American Nurses (UAN), a labor entity within ANA that will further strengthen its labor activities.
(WSJ, 11/10/07, p.A8)(http://tinyurl.com/2tvqo9)
1999 Nov 28, In Washington DC Hsing Hsing (28) the giant panda died.
(SFC, 11/29/99, p.A2)
1999 Jemal’s Chinatown, a 100,000 square-foot complex of adjoining low-rise Victorian style buildings, was scheduled for completion. Ethnic restaurants and specialty shops were to be featured.
(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)
1999 George Washington Univ. purchased the Howard Johnson Hotel on Virginia Ave. for student housing.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.C5)
1999 The Weston A. Price Foundation was established in Washington DC to promote traditional foods such as grass-fed beef and unpasteurized milk.
(WSJ, 9/11/03, p.A1)
2000 Feb 22, Over 200 truckers gathered in Washington DC to protest high diesel prices.
(SFC, 2/23/00, p.A3)
2000 Feb 29, Doris Haddock (90), known as "Granny D." completed a 3,200 mile trek to Washington DC from California to urge Congress to enact reforms. Haddock (d.2010) had began walking on Jan 1, 1999, and arrived in DC to draw attention to the need for campaign finance reform.
(SFC, 2/29/00, p.A3)(AP, 8/3/19)
2000 Feb, The three most common first names for U.S. presidents have been James, John and William. Six presidents have been named James: Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan and Garfield, Carter. Four Johns (Adams, Quincy Adams, Tyler and Kennedy) and four Williams (McKinley, Harrison, Taft, Clinton) have occupied the White House.
(HNQ, 2/21/00)
2000 Mar 20, Some 2,000 farmers, ranchers and rural businessmen converged on Washington to lobby for an overhaul of farm programs and to strengthen antitrust enforcement on agribusiness.
(WSJ, 3/21/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 9, Some 10-30 thousand protesters began gathering in Washington DC for the meeting of the WTO. They planned to target the World Bank and the IMF. The World Bank’s 181 members accessed some $30 billion annually in loans through 5 institutions: The Int’l. Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Int’l. Development Assoc. (IDA), the Int’l. Finance Corp. (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the Int’l. Center for settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
(SFEC, 4/9/00, p.A12)
2000 Apr 15, An estimated 600 people were arrested in Washington DC prior to the meeting of the IMF and World Bank.
(SFEC, 4/16/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 16, In Washington DC police blocked some 10,000 protesters from disrupting the meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. Finance ministers and central bankers issued a statement that pledged to seek greater debt relief for the poorest countries and to reform the IMF to prevent future financial crises.
(SFC, 4/17/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 17, The IMF and World Bank ministers in Washington DC ended their meetings and pledged to speed debt relief to poor countries and to increase support for fighting AIDS. Police blocked all protestor attempts to disrupt the meetings.
(SFC, 4/18/00, p.A1)(AP, 4/17/01)
2000 Apr 24, In Washington DC a shootout at the National Zoo left 7 children wounded. A 16-year-old high school student, Antoine B. Jones, the son of a convicted enforcer, was later arrested. Jones later agreed to plead guilty to 7 felonies.
(WSJ, 4/25/00, p.A1)(SFC, 4/26/00, p.A3)(SFC, 4/27/00, p.A4)(SFC, 10/26/00, p.a12)
2000 Apr 29, Some 1000 gay and lesbian couples proclaimed their love at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the events leading to the 4th annual Millennium March the next day.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.A13)
2000 Jun 3, Some 69,000 runners took part in the Komen Race for the Cure, sponsored by the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
(SFEC, 6/4/00, p.A2)
2000 Sep 13, The contest for a Martin Luther King memorial on the national Mall was won by the ROMA Design Group of SF.
(SFC, 9/14/00, p.A3)
2000 Sep 21, Final approval of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall was expected. The neoclassical design was by Friedrich St. Florian.
(WSJ, 9/21/00, p.A26)
2000 Sep 28, A gay, deaf student at Gallaudet Univ. was beaten to death. Thomas Minch (18) was later arrested for the death of Eric Franklin Plunkett (19). Minch was released within 24 hours. In 2002 Joseph M. Mesa Jr. was convicted of killing and robbing 2 Gallaudet classmates. [See Feb 3, 2001]
(SFC, 10/4/00, p.A2)(SFC, 10/5/00, p.A2)(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A9)
2000 Oct 16, Louis Farrakhan planned a one million family march in Washington to seek spiritual strength and political empowerment. Thousands gathered in the National Mall to celebrate the American family.
(SFC, 10/14/00, p.A3)(SFC, 10/17/00, p.A3)
2000 Afghan cab drivers in Washington DC began meeting to discuss the poetry of Abdul Qadir Bedil (1644-1721), Afghanistan Sufi poet, in a program called “An Evening of Sufism." In 2004 original members broke off and formed the group “An Evening With the Dervishes."
(WSJ, 7/10/06, p.A1)(http://devoted.to/bedil)
2001 Jan 20, George Bush , the 1st president with an MBA, was inaugurated as the nation’s 43rd president in Washington DC. The "compassionate conservative" vowed to lead "through civility, courage, compassion and character."
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 20, Some 25,000 protesters gathered in Washington DC for the inauguration of Pres. Bush along with some 7,000 police.
(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.A4)
2001 Feb 3, Benjamin Varner, a freshman at Gallaudet Univ., was found dead with his throat slashed and face mutilated. Police later arrested Joseph Mesa Jr. (20), a freshman student from Guam, for the murder of Varner and Eric Plunkett in Sep, 2000. [see Sep 28, 2000]
(SSFC, 2/4/01, p.A10)(SFC, 2/6/01, p.A6)(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A7)
2001 Feb 20, Robert Philip Hanssen (56), senior FBI agent, was arrested for spying. He had allegedly passed information to the Russians for 15 years. It was believed that he had betrayed the construction of a tunnel under the Soviet Embassy in Washington.
(SFC, 2/21/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A6)
2001 Mar 18, An accident that injured 17 shut down several heavily traveled highways around Washington DC for several hours. The Virginia crash involved a Quebec tour bus, a truck and two cars.
(AP, 3/19/02)
2001 Mar 22, The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, designed by Leo Daly, opened near the Basilica of the National Shrine.
(SSFC, 3/11/01, Par p.19)
2001 Apr 30, Chandra Levy (24), an intern from Modesto, Ca., was last seen at a health club near her apartment in Washington, DC. On July 5 the aunt of Chandra Levy reported that her niece told her of a relationship with US Rep. Gary Condit before she disappeared. Levy’s remains were found May 22, 2002, in Rock Creek Park, Washington DC. In 2009 Ingmar Guandique (27), a Salvadoran immigrant already serving a 10-year sentence for attacking 2 women in the same park, was charged in her murder. In 2010 Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz authored “Finding Chandra: The True Washington Murder Mystery." In Nov 22, 2010, a jury found Guandique guilty of 2 counts of 1st degree murder. On Feb 11, 2011, Guandique was sentenced to 60 years in prison. In 2015 Guandique was granted a new trial. In 2016 the DC US Attorney’s office said it has moved to dismiss the case against Guandique.
(SFC, 5/18/01, p.A3)(SFC, 7/6/01, p.A1)(AP, 4/30/02)(SFC, 5/23/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/23/09, p.A4)(SSFC, 5/9/10, p.F1)(SFC, 11/23/10, p.A12)(SFC, 2/12/11, p.A6)(SFC, 7/29/16, p.A6)
2001 May 28, Pres. Bush signed a bill ordering the construction of a WW II memorial on the capital Mall.
(SFC, 5/29/01, p.A3)
2001 Jul 17, Katharine Graham, Pulitzer Prize winner and publisher of the Washington Post, died at age 84 in Boise, Idaho.
(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A6)
2001 Sep 11, 9:38 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 carrying 64 people, crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. It was enroute from Washington DC to LA.
9:40 a.m. The FAA grounded all domestic flights and ordered all airborne craft to land immediately.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.A6,10,12)(WSJ, 9/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 29, Some 7,000 people marched for peace in Washington DC while an estimated 7-10 thousand marched in San Francisco. They marched to mourn terrorist victims, and to urge the nation to heal poverty and injustice that fuels global violence instead of focusing on military revenge.
(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A3)
2001 Sep 29-30, The annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF was scheduled to take place in Washington DC. The meeting was reduced to 2-days due to expected anti-globalization protests. The meeting was cancelled following the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
(SFC, 8/14/01, p.A3)(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A3)
2001 Oct 4, Reagan National Airport re-opened.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.A15)
2001 Oct 5, Bob Stevens (63), photo editor for the Sun tabloid, died of anthrax. Anthrax spores were later found on his computer keyboard in Lantana. This was the 1st of a series of cases in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Washington. In 2011 his widow settled a $2.5 million lawsuit against the US government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2001_anthrax_attacks)(SFC, 12/30/01, p.D7)(AP, 10/5/02)(SFC, 10/31/11, p.A5)(SFC, 11/30/11, p.A13)
2001 Oct 7, Herbert L. Block (b.1910), Washington Post cartoonist, died at age 91. He authored "Herblock: A Cartoonist’s Life" in 1993.
(SFC, 10/8/01, p.A20)
2001 Oct 16, A wing of the US Senate building was closed following confirmation that a letter to Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., carried anthrax. It was later found that the anthrax contained the additive bentonite to enhance suspension in air.
(SFC, 10/17/01, p.A1)(SFC, 10/25/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 20, Traces of anthrax were found in a US House of Representatives mail room. This became the 3rd Capital Hill building infected.
(SSFC, 10/21/01, p.A3)
2001 Oct 21, Thomas L. Morris Jr. (55), a DC postal worker diagnosed with the deadly inhalation form of anthrax, died. Officials began testing thousands of postal employees.
(SFC, 10/23/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/24/01, p.A1)(AP, 10/22/06)
2001 Oct 22, DC postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen (47), died from anthrax. .
(SFC, 10/23/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 23, Traces of anthrax were found at an off-site facility that handled mail for the White House.
(SFC, 10/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 10, Traces of anthrax were reported in offices of the Hart and Longworth government buildings.
(SSFC, 11/11/01, p.A7)
2002 Apr 19, Protesters gathered in Washington DC and rallied against US policies in Latin America ahead of weekend meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
(SFC, 4/20/02, p.A3)
2002 Jul 26, The new Malrite international spy museum opened.
(SFC, 7/17/02, p.A3)
2002 Jul 29, The Capitol Limited Amtrak train derailed outside Washington DC and over 100 people were injured.
(SFC, 7/30/02, p.A4)(AP, 7/29/03)
2002 Aug 30, In Washington, DC, some 35,000 gathered for the 39th annual meeting of the Islamic Society of North America.
(SFC, 8/31/02, p.A1)
2002 Sep 27, In Washington DC some 1,500-2,000 activists protested the start of the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF. About 650 were arrested.
(SFC, 9/28/02, p.A3)
2002 Sep 28, In Washington DC the World Bank and IMF agreed to speed efforts to develop a new "sovereign bankruptcy" procedure for countries in debt crises. Thousands demonstrated, but only 5 arrests were reported.
(SSFC, 9/29/02, p.A1,9)
2002 Oct 2, James Martin (55) was shot to death by a sniper in Wheaton, Md. He was the 1st to die at the hands of a local serial killer. The next day, five people in the Washington D.C. area were shot dead, setting off a frantic manhunt. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were later arrested for 10 killings and three woundings; Muhammad has been sentenced to death, Malvo to life in prison.
(NW, 10/21/02, p.28)(AP, 10/2/07)
2002 Oct 3, Police hunted for a "skilled shooter" who murdered five random victims over 16 hours with a high-powered rifle in Montgomery County, Maryland, just a short distance from Washington DC. A 6th victim was killed in DC. James Buchanon (39), Premkumar Walekar (54), Sarah Ramos (34), Lori Ann Lewis Rivera (25) and Pascal Charlot (72) became the 2nd to 6th victims.
(SFC, 10/4/02, p.A3)(SFC, 10/5/02, p.A3)(SSFC, 10/12/02, p.A4)(NW, 10/21/02, p.28)
2003 Feb 26, In Washington DC war protesters tied up phones, fax machines and computers as part of a "virtual march."
(SFC, 2/27/03, A14)
2003 Mar 19, Tobacco farmer Dwight Ware Watson, who'd claimed to be carrying bombs in a tractor and trailer that he'd driven into a pond on Washington's National Mall, surrendered after disrupting traffic for two days; there were no explosives.
(AP, 3/19/04)
2003 Nov 17, John Allen Muhammad was convicted of two counts of capital murder and masterminding the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington DC region.
(SFC, 11/18/03, p.A1)(AP, 11/17/08)
2003 Nov 19, The 2-year-old Transportation Security Administration (TSA) held a banquet at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC that cost $461,745 for some 600 honorees and as many guests.
(SFC, 10/15/04, p.A7)
2003 The $650 Million Washington Convention Center was scheduled to open.
(WSJ, 12/16/98, p.B12)
2003 Street Sense, a Washington DC newspaper for the homeless, was founded by Ted Henson (23) and Laura Thompson Osuri (26). It followed the general business plane of the North American Street Newspaper Association, a trade group focused on homelessness.
(WSJ, 6/30/06, p.A1)
2004 Jan, Pres. George W. Bush signed the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, the first school-voucher scheme directly subsidized by the federal government.
(http://tinyurl.com/y9xy7vs3)(Econ, 5/6/17, p.29)
2004 Feb 2, A white power containing Ricin, a deadly poison, was discovered in a mail room near the office of US Senate majority leader Bill Frist.
(SFC, 2/3/04, p.A3)
2004 Mar 9, John Allen Muhammad (43) was sentenced to death in Manassas, Va., for his 2002 murder rampage in the Washington DC area.
(SFC, 3/10/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 29, A national monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who served during World War II opened to the public in Washington DC. Official dedication was set for May 29.
(AP, 4/29/04)(SFC, 4/30/04, p.A3)
2004 Jan 2, Independence Air, formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, began operations at Dulles Airport. The DC based carrier shut down Jan 5, 2006.
(SFC, 1/3/06, p.E1)
2004 Jun 9-10, The body of Ronald Reagan arrived in Washington to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda before the 40th president's funeral. Thousands viewed the flag-draped casket of Pres. Reagan in the Capitol Rotunda of Washington DC.
(SFC, 6/10/04, A15)(AP, 6/9/05)
2004 Jul 16, PNC Financial, based in Pennsylvania, agreed to by Riggs National of Washington DC for $779 million. Riggs was fined $25 million in May for violating money laundering regulations.
(Econ, 7/24/04, p.69)
2004 Oct 24, Cardinal James A. Hickey (84), former archbishop of Washington, D.C., died.
(AP, 10/24/05)
2004 Nov 10, A gas station in Washington DC became the first in North America to have a hydrogen dispensing pump.
(AP, 11/10/04)
2004 Burt Solomon authored “The Washington Century: Three Families and the Shaping of the Nation’s Capital."
(WSJ, 11/18/04, p.D8)
2004 A US government found that some $700 million from Equatorial Guinea was held at Washington's Riggs Bank, making the country the bank's biggest customer. Riggs was fined millions of dollars in money-laundering fines. Nothing was done against Equatorial Guinea’s Pres. Obiang. Human rights groups have accused Obiang of using the oil wealth to make his family fabulously rich while most of his countrymen live in squalor.
(AP, 11/3/09)
2005 Jan 20, The inauguration ceremony for Pres. Bush was held in Washington DC. The event was expected to cost $40 million the administration asked DC to use 11.9 million of its federal homeland security funds to help pay costs.
(SFC, 1/20/05, p.A12)
2005 Feb 1, The Washington DC City Council approved a bill that requires transporters of ultra hazardous materials to skirt a 2.2 mile radius around the Capital building.
(WSJ, 2/2/05, p.A4)
2005 Apr 14, Pres. Bush threw out the 1st pitch at RFK Stadium as the Nationals brought baseball back to the capital. Washington, DC, had last hosted a major-league game in September, 1971.
(WSJ, 4/15/05, p.A1)
2005 Sep 23, G7 finance ministers and central bankers concluded a meeting in Washington and agreed to meet again in December in London and bid farewell to Chairman Alan Greenspan.
(AFP, 9/24/05)
2005 Sep 24, The 184-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank opened their annual meetings in Washington DC. They were ready to act on a breakthrough deal that would forgive more than $40 billion owed by the poorest nations.
(AP, 9/24/05)
2005 Oct 15, Thousands gathered in DC at the National Mall for the Millions More Movement to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
(AP, 10/15/05)
2005 Nov 18, In Washington DC Michael Scanlon (35) was charged with conspiring with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to bribe government officials and bilk millions of dollars from Indian tribes. In March, 2002, Ohio Rep. Robert Ney agreed to back legislative language to benefit the Tigua tribe of El Paso, Texas, a client of Abramoff and Scanlon.
(SFC, 11/19/05, p.A3)
2005 Donald A. Ritchie authored “Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corp."
(WSJ, 4/12/05, p.D8)
2006 Jan 2, Independence Air, formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, said it will shut down on Jan 5. The DC based carrier only began operations Jun 16, 2004.
(SFC, 1/3/06, p.E1)
2006 Jan 8, In Washington DC David E. Rosenbaum (63), a recently retired journalist for the NY Times, died from injuries suffered in a robbery on Jan 6. Michael Hamlin (24) and Percy Jordan Jr. (42) were soon arrested and charged with felony murder. Both men were convicted of murder. In 2007 Hamlin was sentenced to 26 years in prison after he pleaded guilty and testified against his cousin.
(SFC, 1/14/06, p.A3)(SFC, 10/25/06, p.A3)(SFC, 1/4/07, p.A3)
2006 Apr 28, Five member of US Congress were willingly arrested and led away from the Sudanese Embassy in plastic handcuffs after protesting the Sudanese government's alleged role in atrocities in the Darfur region.
(AP, 4/28/06)
2006 Apr 30, Some 100,000 rallied in Washington DC, SF and other US cities to urge the Bush administration to take decisive action to stop the genocide in Darfur.
(SFC, 5/1/06, p.A1)
2006 Apr, In Washington DC a smoking ban passed in 2005 took effect for restaurants and offices.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.A3)
2006 May 16, Seven African-American members of the US Congress were arrested at the Embassy of Sudan, where they were protesting atrocities in that country's Darfur region.
(AP, 5/17/06)
2006 Jun 20, A Washington DC jury found former Bush administration official David Safavian guilty of covering up his dealings with Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff. Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the underlying conviction was thrown out by an appeals court in 2008. In Dec, 2008, Safavian was convicted of obstructing justice and lying. In Oct 2009 he was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.
(AP, 6/20/06)(SFC, 10/17/09, p.A6)
2006 Jun 26, Flooding shut down much of central Washington DC.
(WSJ, 6/27/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 27, Washington DC was scheduled to begin a campaign to screen every resident (14-84) for the AIDS virus. DC was experiencing the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the US.
(SSFC, 6/25/06, p.A8)
2006 Jul 9, In Washington DC Alan Senitt (27), a British volunteer for the potential presidential campaign of former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, was killed in the Georgetown neighborhood by robbers who slashed his throat and tried to rape his female companion. Within three hours of the attack, police arrested and charged two men, and two other suspects surrendered a few hours later. On May 21, 2007, Christopher Piper and Jeffery Rice pleaded guilty to robbing and killing Alan, and committing other robberies in the city. They were sentenced August 24, 2007, to 37 and 52 years respectively in prison.
(AP, 7/10/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Senitt)
2006 Oct 29, Gallaudet Univ. of Washington DC, the premier US school for the deaf, voted to terminate the appointment of incoming president Jane Fernandes following a month of protests by students and faculty.
(SFC, 10/30/06, p.A3)
2006 Nov 4, Katherine Jefferts Schori (52) took office at Washington National Cathedral as the 1st woman to lead the US Episcopal Church and the 1st female to head an Anglican province. The former bishop of Nevada was elected at the Episcopal convention in June.
(SSFC, 11/5/06, p.A9)
2006 Nov 13, Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Washington DC for a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr.
(SFC, 11/14/06, p.A1)
2007 Jan 1, In Washington DC a smoking ban passed in 2005 was extended to bars and nightclubs. The ban for smoking in restaurants and offices had taken effect in April 2006.
(SFC, 1/2/07, p.A3)
2007 Jan 2, US markets and federal agencies closed in respect for funeral rites for former Pres. Gerald Ford. Ford’s body was flown to Michigan for burial following services in the National Cathedral.
(WSJ, 1/2/06, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/3/06, p.A1)
2007 Jan 4, The 110th Congress convened with Democrats in control of both the House and Senate for the first time in a dozen years. "Today we make history. Today we change the direction of our country," exulted Rep. Nancy Pelosi, poised to become the first woman speaker in history.
(AP, 1/4/07)
2007 Jan 4, The US Federal Trade Commission fined the marketers of four weight loss pills $25 million for making false advertising claims ranging from rapid weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer.
(AP, 1/4/07)
2007 Jan 17, Art Buchwald (81), columnist and author, died. For over four decades he chronicled the life and times of Washington DC with an infectious wit and endeared himself to many with his never-say-die battle with failing kidneys.
(AP, 1/18/07)
2007 Jan 27, In Washington DC tens of thousands converged on the National Mall to oppose Pres. Bush’s plan for a troop increase in Iraq. Thousands marched in San Francisco.
(SSFC, 1/28/07, p.A15)
2007 Mar 1, Deborah Palfrey (1956-2008) of Vallejo, Ca., was indicted in Washington DC for running a $2 million prostitution ring. She threatened to sell detailed phone records of her clients to pay for her defense. At least 132 women were employed by her firm in the Washington area from 1993-2006. On April 15, 2008, Palfrey was convicted of racketeering and other charges.
(SFC, 3/3/07, p.B1)(SFC, 4/16/08, p.A2)
2007 Mar 1, Paul Joyal (53), a US expert on Russian intelligence, was hit several times as he returned home in Washington DC. The shooting came four days after Joyal alleged in a major television network interview that the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin was involved in the radiation poisoning of a former KGB agent in London.
(AFP, 3/3/07)
2007 Mar 9, A US appeals court overturned a District of Columbia handgun ban.
(WSJ, 3/10/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 25, A Washington DC judge rejected a lawsuit by Roy Pearson, who sought $54 million for a pair of pants lost by the Custom Cleaners dry cleaning firm in 2005. Pearson’s claim had been reduced from $67 million.
(SFC, 6/26/07, p.A3)
2007 Jul 9, US Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that he was on the list of phone records just released by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the alleged “D.C. Madam."
(SFC, 7/11/07, p.A6)
2007 Jul 18, NYC and New Jersey claimed $170.2 million in anti-terrorism funds, LA and Long Beach, Ca., claimed $72.6 million, DC claimed $61.7 million, Chicago got $47.3 million, the SF Bay Area got $34.1 million and Houston got $25 million.
(SFC, 7/19/07, p.B3)
2007 Sep 15, Several thousand anti-war demonstrators marched through downtown Washington, DC, clashing with police at the foot of the Capitol steps where more than 190 protesters were arrested.
(AP, 9/16/07)
2007 Oct 1, The Shakespeare Theater Company opened the new Sidney Harman Hall, a 775-seat theater in downtown Washington, DC.
(Econ, 10/6/07, p.34)
2007 Oct 19, A team of students from Germany's Technische Universitat Darmstadt won a weeklong competition on the Washington DC National Mall for the best, most efficient, and well-designed and -engineered solar home.
(AP, 10/19/07)
2007 Nov 7, Prosecutors said 2 mid-level DC government employees used phony paperwork to collect more than $16 million from illegal tax refunds, avoiding detection for at least three years while issuing more than 40 checks cashed by friends and family members in on the scam. The total stolen was later raised to some $30 million. Harriet Walters, the alleged ringleader of the scam, authorized checks to such fake companies as Bilkemor LLC. In 2008 Walters (51) pleaded guilty to stealing some $48 million. 9 others pleaded guilty in the scam. Walters faced 15-18 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution.
(Econ, 11/24/07, p.36)(http://tinyurl.com/2o7sj5)(WSJ, 9/17/08, p.A19)
2007 Nov 9, In Washington, DC, Michael Mukasey, a retired federal judge, was sworn in as the 81st US Attorney General.
(SFC, 11/10/07, p.A3)
2007 Nov 26, A new report said the US District of Columbia has the highest rate of AIDS of any city in the country. An estimated one in 20 residents had HIV and one in 50 had AIDS.
(SFC, 11/27/07, p.A3)
2007 Dec 17, A US judge ruled that the White House visitor logs are public, a blow to Pres. Bush, who didn’t want to disclose visits by religious conservatives.
(WSJ, 12/18/07, p.A1)
2008 Jan 9, In Washington, DC, the bodies of 4 girls, ages 5-17) were found by federal marshals delivering eviction papers. They had been dead for about seven months. Banita Jacks (34) was later convicted of killing her 4 daughters and in Dec 2009 was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
(SFC, 12/19/09, p.A5)(http://tinyurl.com/ya5qebf)
2008 Feb 12, Barack Obama won 75% of the vote in Washington DC, nearly two-thirds in Virginia and approximately 60% in Maryland. McCain's victory in Virginia was a relatively close one, the result of an outpouring of religious conservatives who backed Mike Huckabee.
(AP, 2/13/08)
2008 Apr 28, In Washington truck drivers honked horns, waved placards and shouted through bullhorns at the Capitol to protest rising fuel prices they say are hurting their livelihood.
(AP, 4/29/08)
2008 May 1, Deborah Palfrey (b.1956), a woman from Vallejo, Ca., known as the “D.C. Madam," was found hanged at her mother’s home in Tarpon Springs, Fl. She had been convicted on April 15 of racketeering and other charges related to a prostitution ring, whose clients included high profile government officials.
(SFC, 5/2/08, p.A13)
2008 Jun 13, Tim Russert (58), NBC News's Washington bureau chief, collapsed and died of a heart attack in his Washington newsroom.
(AP, 6/14/08)
2008 Sep 10, An internal government report said US Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington, who oversaw oil drilling on federal lands, had sex and used illegal drugs with workers at energy companies where they were conducting official business.
(AP, 9/11/08)
2008 Oct 27, A Washington DC jury found Alaska’s Sen. Stevens guilty on seven counts of trying to hide more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Stevens, who first entered the Senate in 1968, faced Alaska's voters in upcoming elections as a convicted felon. On April 1, 2009, the US Justice Dept. dropped charges against Stevens, saying prosecutors’ mistakes forced the move.
(AP, 10/28/08)(WSJ, 4/2/09, p.A1)
2008 Nov 6, The leaders of GM, Ford and Chrysler came to Capital Hill along with the president of the UAW to discuss billions of dollars in financial help for the struggling car industry.
(SFC, 11/7/08, p.C3)
2008 Nov 18, The chief executives of Detroit’s Big Three automakers appeared before the US Senate Banking Committee along with the head of the UAW union to plea for financial aid under the current economic crises.
(WSJ, 11/19/08, p.A1)
2008 Dec 2, The new Washington, DC, Capitol Visitor Center opened to the public. The 580,000 square-foot structure ended up costing $621 million, over twice the budgeted amount.
(Econ, 12/20/08, p.53)(www.aoc.gov/cvc/)
2008 Dec 31, SF ended the year with 98 homicides. In Milwaukee, Wisc., the total number of homicides dropped 32%, from 105 in 2007 to 71 in 2008, the lowest number since 1985. Detroit had 344 slayings, a 13% drop from the 396 in 2007; Philadelphia's 332 killings were a 15% drop from the 392 in 2007; and the 234 homicides in Baltimore were 17% less than the 392 the year before. Cleveland recorded 102 homicides in 2008, down from a 13-year high of 134 in 2007. Homicides in New York rose 5.2%, to 522 from 496 the year before. Slayings in Los Angeles were down to 376 in 2008 compared to 400 the prior year. Preliminary data in Chicago showed 508 homicides were reported in 2008, the first time the city had more than 500 murders since 2003 and about 15% more than the 442 homicides reported in 2007. Washington, D.C., ended 2008 with 186 homicides, up from 181 in 2007.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.1)(AP, 1/3/09)
2009 Jan 17, President-elect Barack Obama rolled into the capital city after pledging to help bring the nation "a new Declaration of Independence" and promising to rise to the stern challenges of the times. He kicked off a four-day inaugural celebration with a daylong rail trip, retracing the path Abraham Lincoln took in 1861.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 20, In Washington DC some 2 million people packed the National Mall to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as America's 44th and first black president. “The Question we ask today is not whether government is too big or too small, but whether it works." Obama's new administration ordered all federal agencies and departments to stop any pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff, halting last-minute Bush orders.
(AP, 1/20/09)(Reuters, 1/20/09)(SFC, 1/21/09, p.A8)
2009 Jan 21, President Barack Obama's first public act in office was to institute new limits on lobbyists in his White House and to freeze the salaries of high-paid aides, in a nod to the country's economic turmoil. A judge quickly granted President Barack Obama's request to suspend the war crimes trial at Guantanamo of a young Canadian in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists. Obama took the oath of office again with Chief Justice John Roberts to correct the previous day’s initial flub in wording.
(AP, 1/21/09)
2009 Mar 25, Conservation International, a Washington D.C.-based conservation group, announced the discovery of over 50 new animal species in a remote, mountainous region of Papua New Guinea. The group spent the past several months analyzing more than 600 animal species found during its expedition to the South Pacific island nation in July and August.
(AP, 3/25/09)
2009 Apr 15, In Washington, DC, the FBI arrested Walter Kendall Myers (72) and his wife, Gwendolyn (71), for spying. For three decades, Myers and his wife had shuffled secrets to their Cuban contacts. Kendall Myers first worked for the State Department as a lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute and later as a European analyst in the department's intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, from 2000 until his retirement in October 2007. On Nov 20 Myers and his wife pleaded guilty to serving as covert agents since 1979. Myers agreed to serve life in prison and his wife agreed to serve 6-7½ years.
(AP, 6/6/09)(SFC, 11/21/09, p.A4)
2009 Apr 27, Five members of the US Congress were arrested while protesting the expulsion of aid groups from Darfur in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC. The included Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, John Lewis of Georgia, Donna Edwards of Maryland and Lynn Woolsey of California.
(AP, 4/27/09)
2009 May 5, The District of Columbia Council gave final approval to legislation that recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The law became effective on July 7.
(SFC, 5/6/09, p.A5)(SFC, 7/8/09, p.A4)
2009 Jun 10, James von Brunn (88), identified as a white supremacist, shot and killed Guard Stephen T. Johns (39), who prevented his entrance into the US Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Washington, DC. Security engaged the gunman as soon as he stepped inside the crowded museum and began shooting. Brunn was shot in the face by other guards and was later charged with first-degree murder. He died on Jan 6, 2010, while awaiting trial in North Carolina.
(AP, 6/11/09)(SFC, 7/30/09, p.A5)(SFC, 1/6/10, p.A4)
2009 Jun 22, A Washington DC Metrorail transit system train plowed into another stopped train, killing at least seven people and injuring scores of others. It was part of an aging fleet that federal officials had sought to phase out because of safety concerns.
(AP, 6/23/09)
2009 Jun 29, Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, became the 186th member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The ceremony was held in Washington, DC, because the US government is the repository for the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement that created the post-World War II international financial system.
(AP, 6/30/09)
2009 Jul 4, Attacks began on more than two dozen Internet sites in the United States and South Korea and some were disabled by hackers. South Korea's spy agency later said the attacks were possibly linked to North Korea. Some of the affected US government Web sites, such as the Treasury Department, Federal Trade Commission and Secret Service, were still reporting problems days after it started during the July 4 holiday.
(Reuters, 7/8/09)(AP, 7/8/09)
2009 Aug 18, Robert Novak (78), political columnist, died in Washington DC after a battle with brain cancer that was diagnosed in July 2008. He was a conservative, pugilistic debater and proud owner of the "Prince of Darkness" moniker, which he used in his 2007 memoir: "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington." A column of his in 2003 outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent.
(AP, 8/18/09)
2009 Sep 21, Bob Woodward released an exclusive 66-page report from Gen. Stanley McChrystal to President Barack Obama about Afghanistan policy, the first major national security leak and a sure sign that the celebrated Washington Post reporter has penetrated yet another administration. The report was presented to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on August 30 and was being reviewed by the White House, with McChrystal widely expected to make a formal request to increase the 62,000-strong US force.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090922/pl_politico/27414)(AFP, 9/22/09)
2009 Oct 11, Thousands of gay and lesbian activists marched from the White House to the Capitol, demanding that President Barack Obama keep his promises to allow gays to serve openly in the military and allow same-sex marriages.
(AP, 10/11/09)
2009 Nov 20, The Manhattan Declaration, signed by about 150 prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars, was released at a press conference in Washington, DC. A number of Christian leaders, known for their public witness on behalf of justice, human rights, and the common good, had come together in shaping the declaration. It was born out of an urgent concern about growing efforts to marginalize the Christian voice in the public square, to redefine marriage, and to move away from the biblical view of the sanctity of life. In December 2010 Apple removed it as an iPhone App.
(www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-movement/movement.aspx)(SFC, 12/7/10, p.A18)
2009 Nov 24, President Barack Obama showered praise on India and PM Manmohan Singh in an elaborate welcoming ceremony, declaring it was only fitting the Indian leader should be the first state visitor of his administration. Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, met Pres. Obama in the receiving line of the state dinner for PM Singh. A "deeply concerned and embarrassed" Secret Service later acknowledged that its officers never checked whether the two were on the guest list before letting them onto the White House grounds.
(AP, 11/24/09)(AP, 11/28/09)
2009 Dec 16, It was reported that nearly 40 people have been arrested in Virginia this week on charges of dealing heroin and prescription narcotics in the suburbs of Washington, DC.
(SFC, 12/15/09, p.A9)
2010 Jan 6, Gilbert Arenas, a Washington DC Wizards basketball guard, was suspended indefinitely without pay by NBA commissioner David Stern, for carrying guns into the Wizards' locker room. With each game he misses, Arenas will lose about $147,200 of the $16.2 million he will earn in the second season of a six-year, $111 million contract. The punishment came on his 28th birthday.
(AP, 1/7/10)
2010 Feb 6, A blizzard battered the US Mid-Atlantic region, with emergency crews struggling to keep pace with the heavy, wet snow that has piled up on roadways, toppled trees and left thousands without electricity. A record 2 1/2 feet or more was predicted for Washington.
(AP, 2/6/10)
2010 Feb 8, The US federal government was shuttered while the Mid-Atlantic region dug out from as much as three feet of snow that left tens of thousands without power and blocked trains, planes and cars, with another storm looming.
(AP, 2/8/10)
2010 Feb 9, US Federal government offices were closed for a second straight day and utility workers struggled to restore power knocked out by a weekend blizzard.
(AP, 2/9/10)
2010 Feb, RT America, a TV channel based in Washington, D.C., was launched as part of the RT network, a global multilingual television news network based in Moscow, Russia, and funded by the Russian government.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_America)
2010 Mar 2, The Washington DC council voted to censure ex-mayor Marion Barry over a report accusing him of helping award a $15,000 city contract to a woman with whom he had a sexual relationship.
(SFC, 3/3/10, p.A6)
2010 Mar 9, In Washington, DC, same sex couple began to marry as the district became the 6th place in the US to conduct same sex marriages.
(SFC, 3/10/10, p.A10)
2010 Mar 30, A gunman sprayed bullets from a moving vehicle into a crowd in southeastern Washington, killing four and wounding at least five others, before leading police on a chase into neighboring Maryland. Three people were arrested in the drive-by shooting.
(AP, 3/31/10)
2010 Apr 15, In Washington, DC, several thousand Tea Party protesters marked tax day with a rally in Freedom Plaza capping a national protest tour that began in Nevada.
(SFC, 4/16/10, p.A12)
2010 Apr 20, Dorothy Height (98), a longtime leader of the US civil rights movement and the chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women, died in Washington, DC.
(Reuters, 4/20/10)
2010 Jul 12, Shahram Amiri, a missing Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran claims was abducted by the US, took refuge at the Pakistani embassy in Washington and asked to return to his homeland. Amiri (32) disappeared while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June 2009.
(AP, 7/13/10)
2010 Jul 25, In Washington DC a storm downed electrical lines and left 4 people dead.
(SFC, 7/27/10, p.A5)
2010 Aug 28, From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial conservative commentator Glenn Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed to a vast, predominantly white crowd on the National Mall to help restore traditional American values and honor Martin Luther King's message.
(AP, 8/28/10)
2010 Sep 27, Sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security, Cyber Storm III kicked off for a 3-day series of simulated events designed to exploit holes in the nation's cybersecurity system. It was Washington's first chance to test the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, which was set up last fall to act as a hub for coordinating cybersecurity.
(http://tinyurl.com/24jewsu)
2011 Jan 5, Claiming power beneath the Capitol dome, resurgent Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives as the 112th Congress convened in an era of economic uncertainty. Dozens of tea party-backed lawmakers took office in both houses.
(AP, 1/6/11)
2011 Jan 27, A thick blanket of snow covered the Northeast, as the fifth major storm of the winter set snowfall records. The storm that had been predicted for days caught much of the East Coast off guard with its ferocity, tearing through with lightning, thunder and mounds of wet snow, leaving nearly 300,000 customers around the nation's capital without power and forcing people to shovel out their cars and doorsteps all over again.
(Reuters, 1/27/11)(AP, 1/27/11)
2011 Feb 9, US federal prosecutors announced charges against 41 alleged gang members for activities ranging from racketeering conspiracy to drug and gun trafficking and murder in four states and Washington D.C. Some 29 defendants were arrested and more arrests are expected in connection with the separate cases from Los Angeles; McAllen, Texas; Kansas City; Washington D.C.; and Las Vegas.
(Reuters, 2/9/11)
2011 Feb 12, Activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC, selected Texas Rep. Ron Paul as their top choice for the 2012 presidential nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mit Romney finished a strong second.
(SSFC, 2/13/11, p.A14)
2011 Apr 13, Officials in Washington, DC said they planned to set up 20-30 online gambling hot spots by September in an effort to generate revenue.
(SFC, 4/14/11, p.A5)
2011 Jun 14, In Washington DC, Catholic University has decided to put an end to co-ed dormitories. John H. Garvey, president of the college, believes that single-sex dorms will minimize binge drinking and casual sex.
(Washington Post, 6/14/11)
2011 Jun 15, In Washington DC 10 members of the House of Representatives, conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, filed suit challenging Pres. Obama’s right to wage war in Libya.
(SFC, 6/16/11, p.A8)
2011 Jul 31, President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders reached historic agreement on a compromise to permit vital US borrowing by the Treasury in exchange for more than $2 trillion in long-term spending cuts. The Treasury's authority to borrow would be extended beyond the 2012 elections. No votes were scheduled in either house of Congress before Aug 1, to give rank and file lawmakers time to review the package.
(AP, 7/31/11)
2011 Aug 1, The US House of Representatives voted 269-161 to approve the debt-limit deal reached by leaders a day earlier. Democrats provided 95 votes as 66 Republicans voted no.
(SFC, 8/2/11, p.A1)
2011 Aug 2, Pres. Obama signed emergency legislation to avoid a government default on the national debt a little more than an hour after it passed the Senate.
(AP, 8/2/11)
2011 Aug 8, US House leaders announced that they are terminating the long-running congressional page program for high school students, both out of cost considerations, and in recognition of the diminished demand for page services in the digital age.
(http://tinyurl.com/4yp84kn)
2011 Aug 12, Albrecht Muth called police saying he had discovered Viola Drath (91), his wife of 20 years, murdered at their Georgetown home. On Jan 16, 2014, Albrecht Muth (49) was convicted of her murder.
(SFC, 1/17/14, p.A7)
2011 Aug 18, In China a fight broke out in Beijing between the visiting Georgetown University men's basketball team and the Bayi Rockets, the army's Chinese Basketball Association team, forcing play to end early. Video footage spread on the Internet and worldwide TV news.
(AP, 8/19/11)
2011 Aug 23, The most powerful earthquake to strike the East Coast in 67 years shook buildings and rattled nerves from South Carolina to Maine. Frightened office workers spilled into the streets in New York, and parts of the White House, Capitol and Pentagon were evacuated. The magnitude 5.8 earthquake and was centered 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Va. The Washington Monument obelisk closed indefinitely due to earthquake damage.
(AP, 8/23/11)(SFC, 9/27/11, p.A7)
2011 Sep 5, The US White House estimated that Hurricane Irene will cost taxpayers $1.5 billion in disaster relief.
(SFC, 9/6/11, p.A4)
2011 Sep 26, The US Congress finessed a dispute over disaster aid and advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown only days away.
(AP, 9/27/11)
2011 Oct 4, Officials at the Washington National Cathedral said they need to raise at least $15 million for initial repairs to the Aug 23 earthquake damaged edifice.
(SFC, 10/5/11, p.A7)
2011 Oct 8, The National Air and Space Museum in Washington was closed after anti-war demonstrators swarmed the building to protest a drone exhibit and security guards used pepper spray to repel them, sickening a number of protesters.
(AP, 10/8/11)
2011 Oct 15, Thousands of people led by the Rev. Al Sharpton rallied near the Washington Monument, where speakers called for easier job access and decried the gulf between rich and poor before the crowd marched to the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
(AP, 10/15/11)
2011 Oct 16, In Washington DC thousands of people spanning all ages and races honored the legacy of the nation's foremost civil rights leader during the formal dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
(AP, 10/17/11)
2011 Oct, In Washington DC Trudith Rishikof died after being hit by a Swiss Embassy vehicle In 2015 the Swiss government reached an agreement to pay $1.725 million in compensation to her husband.
(AP, 4/15/15)
2011 Nov 16, In Washington DC a band of millionaires stormed Capitol Hill to urge Congress to tax them more.
(AP, 11/16/11)
2011 Nov 16, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (21), a man with an apparent obsession with President Barack Obama, was arrested in Pennsylvania after the Secret Service discovered two bullets struck the White House while the president was away.
(AP, 11/17/11)
2011 Nov 22, Occupy Wall Street protesters arrived in Washington, DC, following a 231-mile trek and planned a day of action for Nov 23.
(SFC, 11/23/11, p.A13)
2011 Dec 4, Washington DC police detained over 30 people in a standoff at the Occupy DC campaign in McPherson Square.
(SFC, 12/5/11, p.A8)
2012 Jan 6, Harry Thomas Jr., a Democratic former city councilman in Washington, DC, pleaded guilty to embezzling over $350,000 in government funds earmarked for youth sports and arts programs. He also admitted filing false tax returns.
(SFC, 1/7/12, p.A5)
2012 Feb 17, The FBI arrested Amine El Khalifi (29) of Morocco in Washington DC. He was charged by criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against US property. He had a MAC-10 automatic weapon and wore a suicide-bomber vest given to him by FBI undercover agents posing as accomplices in the sting operation. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison.
(SFC, 2/18/12, p.A12)
2012 Feb 22, Pres. Obama and others took part in the formal groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall, scheduled to open in 2015.
(SFC, 2/23/12, p.A9)
2012 Mar 24, In Washington, DC, atheists gathered on the National Mall for the Reason Rally. Organizers claimed a crowd of at least 20,000.
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAd72Gkfd4k)
2012 Apr 3, Mitt Romney swept Republican primaries in Maryland (47%), Wisconsin (42%) and Washington, DC (70%).
(SFC, 4/4/12, p.A6)
2012 Jun 30, Millions across the mid-Atlantic region sweltered in the aftermath of violent storms that pummeled the eastern US with high winds and downed trees, killing 24 people and leaving 3 million without power during a heat wave. At least six of the dead were killed in Virginia. 2 young cousins in New Jersey were killed when a tree fell on their tent while camping. 2 were killed in Maryland, one in Ohio, one in Kentucky and one in Washington.
(AP, 6/30/12)(SFC, 7/3/12, p.A8)(Econ, 7/7/12, p.32)
2013 Jan 21, President Barack Obama took the oath of office for his second term before a crowd of hundreds of thousands, urging the nation to set an unwavering course toward prosperity and freedom for all its citizens. Obama's inaugural address marked the first time a president used the occasion to praise progress on gay rights.
(AP, 1/21/13)(Reuters, 1/21/13)
2013 Feb 13, In Washington DC celebrities and activists were arrested after tying themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Sierra Club Director Michael Brune was also arrested, the first time in the group’s history that club leader was arrested in an act of civil disobedience.
(SFC, 2/14/13, p.A8)
2013 Feb 17, Thousands of protesters gathered on Washington's National Mall calling on Pres. Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline proposal and honor his inaugural pledge to act on climate change.
(AP, 2/18/13)
2013 Apr 16, A letter was intercepted in Maryland, postmarked from Memphis and mailed to Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker's DC office. It contained the toxic substance ricin, forcing the temporary closure of a Senate post office and prompting a federal investigation. The next day FBI agents detained Paul Kevin Curtis at his home in Corinth, Miss.
(The Ticket, 4/17/13)
2013 Jul 10, Washington DC passed a bill requiring large retailers to pay their workers a minimum of $12.50 per hour.
(Econ, 7/20/13, p.29)
2013 Aug 5, The Washington Post said Jeff Beezos, CEO of Amazon.com has agreed to buy the Washington Post for $250 million. His purchase will be made as an individual and not as part of the the online retailer.
(SFC, 8/6/13, p.D1)
2013 Aug 14, In Washington, DC, former Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (48) was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to scheming to spend some $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. His wife received a one year sentence.
(SFC, 8/15/13, p.A6)
2013 Sep 16, A former US Navy reservist opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people before he was shot dead by police. He was identified by the FBI as Aaron Alexis (35), a civilian contractor from Queens, NY, who most recently resided in Fort Worth, Texas.
(SFC, 9/17/13, p.A1)
2013 Oct 3, In Washington DC a dramatic car chase through the streets near the White House to the US Capitol ended in gunfire when law enforcement officers shot and killed the driver as lawmakers and aides huddled in a lockdown. The car involved in the chase was registered to Miriam Carey (34) of Connecticut. A one-year-old girl in the car was unhurt.
(AP, 10/4/13)
2013 Oct 4, In Washington DC a man set himself on fire in the National Mall. Passers-by rushed over to douse the flames. John Constantino (64) had suffered from mental illness and died of his burns at a hospital.
(SFC, 10/5/13, p.A6)(SSFC, 10/6/13, p.A10)(SFC, 10/9/13, p.A6)
2013 Nov 20, Members of Congress took part in a ceremony bestowing the Congressional Gold Medal to honor 33 tribes tribes for their WWI and WWII contributions as code talkers. Today’s ceremony was for tribes not included in the initial 2008 Gold Medal awards.
(SFC, 11/21/13, p.A5)
2013 Dec 8, In Washington DC the Kennedy Center Honors were awarded to Carlos Santana, Billy Joel, Herbie Hancock, Martina Arroyo and Shirley McClaine for their impact on Amereican culture.
(SFC, 12/9/13, p.A8)
2014 Jan 14, The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed the FCC’s online access rules arguing that Internet providers built their networks and therefore have the right to manage their costs and services.
(SFC, 1/15/14, p. A1)
2014 Jan 16, Albrecht Muth (49), an eccentric German who pretended to be an Iraqi general, was convicted in DC of killing his socialite and journalist wife, Viola Drath (91) in August, 2011. On April 30 Muth was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
(SFC, 1/17/14, p.A7)(SFC, 5/1/14, p.A8)
2014 Apr 2, Washington DC Councilwoman Muriel Bowser defeated Mayor Vincent Gray in a mayoral primary leaving Gray to serve nine months as a lame duck. Weeks earlier federal prosecutors said Gray knew of an illegal $668,000 slush fund that helped him defeat incumbent Adrian Fenty in 2010.
(SFC, 4/3/14, p.A11)
2014 Apr 12, The 188-nation IMF concluded weekend meeting in Washington, DC, with pledges to work for faster growth to alleviate unemployment.
(SSFC, 4/13/14, p.A6)
2014 Apr 13, In Washington DC a G20 official said reforms to the International Monetary Fund have hit a deadlock despite a declaration from global financial chiefs that they would move forward without the United States if it fails to ratify the changes by year-end.
(Reuters, 4/13/14)
2014 May 15, A US federal judge upheld registration requirements that are part of gun laws in Washington DC.
(SFC, 5/16/14, p.A5)
2014 May 22, US politicians, federal officials and gay activists celebrated the first day issue of a US Postal Service stamp in honor of Harvey Milk, on what would have been his 84th birthday.
(SFC, 5/23/14, p.A1)
2014 Jul 26, A US federal judge ruled that a ban on citizens carrying handguns in public in the US capital Washington DC is unconstitutional.
(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Aug 4, Pres. Obama opened a 3-day summit in Washington DC for more than 40 African heads of state as hundreds gathered outside the State Dept. to denounce some of the leaders as torturers and killers.
(SFC, 8/5/14, p.A6)(Econ, 8/2/14, p.19)
2014 Aug 5, The Obama administration announced $14 billion in commitments from US businesses to invest in Africa, a representatives from nearly 100 American and African companies gathered at a US-Africa summit in Washington DC.
(SFC, 8/6/14, p.A6)
2014 Sep 19, In Washington DC Omar Gonzalez (42), carrying a knife, climbed a fence of the White House, ran inside and reached the East Room before he was apprehended.
(SFC, 9/29/14, p.A12)
2014 Sep 23, The District of Columbia city council reluctantly voted to allow people to carry concealed handguns for the first time in 40 years to comply with a court ruling that struck down the district’s ban on carrying handguns outside the home.
(SFC, 9/24/14, p.A8)
2014 Oct 21, Ben Bradlee (93), the hard-driving editor who reigned over the Washington Post, died. His work included guiding young reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they traced a 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office and apartment complex back to the Nixon White House.
(AP, 10/22/14)
2014 Nov 4, Oregon and Washington DC voted to legalize marijiana use by adults.
(SFC, 11/5/14, p.A10)
2014 Nov 23, Marion Barry (b.1936), the scandal-plagued former mayor of Washington, DC, died. Barry was elected mayor 4 times (1978, 1982, 1986 and 1994). He was jailed in 1990 for smoking crack cocaine, but made a surprising return to office in 1994.
(Reuters, 11/23/14)(SFC, 11/24/14, p.A6)
2014 Dec 8, Protesters with signs bearing names of black Americans killed by police marched outside the US Capitol and the Justice Department in peaceful demonstrations demanding a human rights investigation.
(AP, 12/9/14)
2014 Dec 13, Thousands of protesters paralyzed parts of New York and Washington, stepping up demonstrations across the United States demanding justice for black men killed by white police.
(AFP, 12/14/14)
2015 Jan 12, In Washington DC a woman died and dozens of people were injured after thick smoke filled a subway tunnel during the evening rush hour.
(AFP, 1/13/15)
2015 Jan 26, The House Freedom Caucus, a congressional caucus consisting of conservative and libertarian Republican members of the US House of Representatives, was formed.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Caucus)
2015 Feb 26, In Washington DC a new law went into effect legalyzing possession of marijuana for recreational purposes, following a voter approved initiative last November.
(SFC, 2/27/15, p.A10)
2015 Mar 21, In Washington, DC, a new museum complex opened on the campus of George Washington Univ. It joined the Textile Museum with the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection.
(SSFC, 3/8/15, p.L2)
2015 Apr 15, Douglas Hughes of Florida landed a one-person gyrocopter on the lawn of the Capital in Washington DC. On April 21, 2016, Hughes was sentenced to 120 days in jail for operating a gyrocopter without a license.
(SFC, 4/22/16, p.A6)
2015 May 14, In Washington DC businessman Savvas Savopoulos, president and CEO of American Iron Works, a building materials company in Maryland, his wife Amy, their 10-year-old son Philip and the family's housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa -- were found bound and bludgeoned after a fire gutted the millionaire's mansion. On May 21 Daron Dylon Wint (34) was arrested along with three other men and two women following a DNA lead gleaned from a pizza crust.
(AFP, 5/22/15)
2015 May 15, Washington DC rabbi Bernard "Barry" Freundel (63), who admitted setting up cameras to spy on women as they prepared for Jewish ritual baths, was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
(AFP, 5/16/15)
2015 May 31, The Washington Post reported that US police have killed people at a rate of more than two a day this year, using its own tally for lack of complete federal statistics.
(AFP, 5/31/15)
2015 Jul 15, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, groundbreaking actresses Rita Moreno and Cicely Tyson, singer Carole King, rock band the Eagles and acclaimed music director Seiji Ozawa will receive this year's Kennedy Center Honors.
(AP, 7/15/15)
2015 Sep 22, Pope Francis (78) arrived Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, where he was greeted by US President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters. His historic six-day trip will focus on consumerism, poverty and the marginalized.
(AFP, 9/23/15)
2015 Sep 23, In Washington, DC, Pope Francis celebrated the canonization of Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
(SFC, 9/23/15, p.A1)
2015 Sep 24, In Washington, DC, Pope Francis issued a ringing call to action on behalf of immigrants, urging US lawmakers to embrace "the stranger in our midst" as he became the first pontiff in history to address a joint meeting of the legislators.
(AP, 9/24/15)
2015 Sep 25, US President Barack Obama welcomed China's Xi Jinping to the White House with pointed remarks about human rights, cyber espionage and Beijing's territorial ambitions.
(AFP, 9/25/15)
2015 Oct 18, Eddie Murphy was honored as the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 10/19/15, p.A7)
2015 Oct 30, Paul Ryan (45) of Wisconsin was sworn in as the 54th speaker of the US House of Representatives.
(SFC, 10/30/15, p.A6)
2015 Nov 5, In Washington DC controversial Russian media mogul Mikhail Lesin (57), who helped found the RT English-language television network, was found dead at the Dupont Circle Hotel.
(AFP, 11/7/15)
2016 Jan 23, A deadly blizzard walloped the eastern United States, paralyzing Washington and other cities under a heavy blanket of snow as officials warned millions of people to remain indoors until the storm eases up. At least 8 people were killed in three states in road accidents: 6 in North Carolina, one in Kentucky and one in Virginia.
(AFP, 1/23/16)
2016 Jan 24, Millions of Americans began digging out from a mammoth blizzard that set a new single-day snowfall record in Washington and New York City. At least 42 deaths were blamed on the weather.
(AP, 1/24/16)(SFC, 1/26/16, p.A5)
2016 Mar 28, In Washington DC Larry Dawson (66) was shot by police after he entered the Capitol visitor center brandishing a weapon. He was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
(AFP, 3/29/16)
2016 Mar 31, President Barack Obama hosted a nuclear security summit of world leaders in Washington.
(AP, 3/31/16)
2016 Apr 12, On Equal Pay Day Pres. Obama designated the iconic home and headquarters of the National Woman’s Party as a national monument to highlight the push for women's equality. The currently named Sewall-Belmont House and Museum in Washington, D.C., will become the new Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument.
(CSM, 4/12/16)
2016 Apr 19, District of Columbia law makers voted to enact a permanent ban on smoking marijuana in private clubs.
(SFC, 4/20/16, p.A6)
2016 May 20, The White House was placed on lockdown for more than an hour and heavily armed Secret Service agents deployed around the building after a man brandished a weapon nearby. Jesse Oliveri of Ashland, Pa., was shot once by a Secret Service agent and taken into custody.
(AP, 5/21/16)(SFC, 5/23/16, p.A6)
2016 Jun 7, Washington DC lawmakers approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to sign it.
(SFC, 6/8/16, p.A4)
2016 Jul 2, The Washington Wizards agreed to pay Ian Mahinmi $64 million over four years, according to a person familiar with the deal.
(AP, 7/2/16)
2016 Jul 10, Seth Rich (b.1989), an American employee for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), died after he was fatally shot in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Police suspected he may have been killed in an attempted robbery.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Seth_Rich)
2016 Jul 28, Washington DC prosecutors said they will not retry Ingmar Guandique, a Salvadoran immigrant charged in the 2001 murder of Chandra Levy, due to unforeseen recent developments.
(SFC, 7/29/16, p.A6)
2016 Sep 12, The five-star Trump Int’l. Hotel opened in Washington, DC, in the Old Post Office building.
(Econ, 1/14/17, p.77)
2016 Sep 24, Pres. Barack Obama opened National Museum of African-American History & Culture in Washington, DC. It had been approved by Pres. George W. Bush in 2003.
(Econ, 1/14/17, p.77)
2016 Nov 15, The rebuilt cast-iron dome of the US Capitol, a soaring symbol of national unity since the 19th century, was formally completed after a $60 million overhaul that included repairing rust-choked gutters and more than 1,300 cracks.
(Reuters, 11/15/16)
2016 Nov 18, President-elect Donald Trump tapped arch-conservative Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (69) to be attorney general and hawkish congressman Mike Pompeo (52), a strident opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, as his CIA director. Trump turned to Lieutenant General Michael Flynn (57) as national security adviser.
(AFP, 11/18/16)
2016 The 555-foot Washington Monument, completed in 1884, closed in order to replace the elevator and upgrade security systems. The D.C. monument reopened in 2019.
(SFC, 9/18/19, p.A5)
2017 Jan 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, ushering in a new political era that has been cheered and feared in equal measure. Washington DC was rocked by violent protests against the businessman-turned-politician, with black-clad anti-establishment activists smashing windows, setting vehicles on fire and fighting with riot police who responded with stun grenades.
(AFP, 1/20/17)(Reuters, 1/21/17)
2017 Jan 20, In Washington, DC, at least six journalists were charged with felony rioting after they were arrested while covering violent protests that took place just blocks from the inauguration parade of Pres. Trump. The journalists were among 230 people detained in the anti-Trump protests.
(SFC, 1/26/17, p.A6)
2017 Jan 21, Large crowds of women, many wearing bright pink knit hats, poured into downtown Washington a march in opposition to US President Donald Trump. Legions of women flooded parks, streets and city squares from Sydney to Paris to Philadelphia, marching in solidarity as a show of empowerment and a stand against Donald Trump.
(Reuters, 1/21/17)(AP, 1/21/17)
2017 Mar 14, Winter Storm Stella dumped snow and sleet across the northeastern United States, forcing airlines to ground flights and schools to cancel classes. Airlines canceled about 5,700 flights across the United States. Airports in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia were hit the hardest.
(AP, 3/14/17)(AFP, 3/14/17)
2017 Apr 6, US Rep. and House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes recused himself from the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation of Russian influence in last November’s elections.
(SFC, 4/7/17, p.A10)
2017 Apr 12, In Washington, DC, Sharafat Ali Khan (32), a Pakistani national former resident of Brazil, pleaded guilty to helping smuggle dozens of people from Pakistan and Afghanistan into the US through Brazil and Latin America from 2014-2016.
(SFC, 4/13/17, p.A5)
2017 Apr 22, US scientists staged an unprecedented protest in Washington, DC. The March for Science was provoked by steep cuts President Donald Trump has proposed for science and research budgets, and growing disregard for evidence-based knowledge. Similar events took place around the world.
(Reuters, 4/22/17)
2017 Apr 28, US officials said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is proposing to eliminate 2,300 jobs as part of a plan to cut more than a quarter of the State Department's budget for the next fiscal year.
(AP, 4/28/17)
2017 Apr 29, Tens of thousands of protesters turned out in Washington, DC, to voice concern over climate change in a mass demonstration dubbed the “Peoples Climate March" and also marking the 100th day of Donald Trump's presidency.
(Reuters, 4/29/17)
2017 May 11, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, while under questioning at a Senate hearing, agreed to refrain from updating the White House about an investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election.
(AP, 5/11/17)
2017 May 17, The US Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead the investigation of allegations that the Trump campaign collaborated with Russia to sway the 2016 election. Mueller will have sweeping powers and the authority to prosecute any crimes he uncovers.
(AP, 5/18/17)
2017 May 26, A US federal judge tossed out two life sentences for DC sniper lee Boyd Malvo and ordered Virginia courts to hold new sentencing hearings. Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed 10 people.
(SFC, 5/27/17, p.A6)
2017 Jun 8, Former FBI Director James Comey began his much-anticipated congressional testimony under oath. Comey accused the White House of lies and defamation, beginning explosive testimony against Donald Trump that threatens the future of his young presidency.
(AP, 6/8/17)(AFP, 6/8/17)
2017 Jun 11, Supporters of LGBT rights mobilized in Washington, DC, and other cities across the US for the Equality March for Unity and Pride."
(SFC, 6/12/17, p.A4)
2017 Jun 12, Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit alleging that Pres. Donald Trump’s failure to shed his private businesses has undermined public trust and violated constitutional bans against self-dealing.
(SFC, 6/13/17, p.A7)
2017 Jun 14, In Washington, DC, Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah met with US Defense Sec. James Mattis and signed a deal for F-15 fighter jets worth some $12 billion.
(SFC, 6/16/17, p.A4)
2017 Jul 10, Pres. Donald Trump’s commission on election fraud told states to hold off on providing detailed voter information until a judge rules on a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington.
(SFC, 7/12/17, p.A4)
2017 Jul 21, White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned in protest at a major shake-up of Donald Trump's scandal-tainted administration, as pressure mounted from a broadening investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
(AFP, 7/22/17)
2017 Jul 21, Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier, began his job as Pres. Donald Trump’s new communications chief. The next day he cleared up his Twitter trail of remarks in which he differs from Trump on illegal immigration, climate change, Islam and even gun control.
(AFP, 7/23/17)
2017 Aug 19, Dick Gregory (b.1932), pioneering black satirist and civil rights campaigner, died in Washington, DC.
(SSFC, 8/20/17, p.A6)(Econ, 9/9/17, p.86)
2017 Aug 31, The US State Dept. ordered Russia to shutter its San Francisco consulate on Green St. in Pacific Heights and close trade offices at its missions in Washington and New York. It gave Moscow 48 hours to comply.
(AP, 9/1/17)(SSFC, 7/15/18, p.C9)
2017 Sep 20, Chinese bike-sharing giant Mobike launched in the US capital, bringing its "dockless" system which has swept China and is used in some 180 cities worldwide. Mobike, allows users to unlock the bicycle with a smartphone app and tracks the location of the bikes with GPS.
(AP, 9/20/17)
2017 Oct 27, The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website with strong ties to the Republican establishment, confirmed it originally retained the political research firm Fusion GPS to scour then-candidate Trump's background for negative information. the Democratic National Committee continued funding Fusion's work after the original GOP source lost interest.
(AP, 10/28/17)
2017 Dec 24, Marcus Raskin (83), a co-founder of the liberal Institute for Policy Studies think tank (1963), died at his home in Washington, DC.
(SFC, 12/28/17, p.D5)
2018 Jan 19, The US House and Senate failed to break a deadlock over a fourth stopgap spending bill since the fiscal year ran out last fall.
(SFC, 1/20/18, p.A1)
2018 Jan 20, Parts of the US federal government shut down early today as the House and Senate failed to break a deadlock over a fourth stopgap spending bill since the fiscal year ran out last fall.
(SFC, 1/20/18, p.A1)
2018 Jan 22, The US three-day government shut down ended as Senate Democrats voted for a stopgap spending bill with a promise by Republican leaders to hold debates on immigration that will provide legal status for the 690,000 Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigrants.
(SFC, 1/23/18, p.A1)
2018 Feb 6, The White House confirmed Pres. Donald Trump’s order for a large-scale military parade with soldiers marching and tanks rolling. Critics said it would be a waste of money and was akin to events organized by authoritarian regimes.
(AP, 2/7/18)(SFC, 2/7/18, p.A5)
2018 Feb 6, The US House of Representatives passed a resolution prohibiting members from engaging in sexual relationships with staff.
(AP, 2/9/18)
2018 Feb 20, In Washington, DC, attorney Alex van der Zwann (33), a Dutch national, pleaded guilty to lying to the special counsel investigation Russian election interference.
(SFC, 2/21/18, p.A6)
2018 Feb 21, In Washington, DC, students and parents appealed to Pres. Donald Trump to set politics aside and protect America’s school children from gun violence. Trump promised to be strong on background checks and suggested support for teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons.
(SFC, 2/22/18, p.A7)
2018 Mar 2, Amtrak canceled all trains between Boston and Washington because of hazardous conditions as storms pounded the US East Coast, and later in the day also said it was canceling all trains southbound from Washington because of downed trees.
(Reuters, 3/2/18)
2018 Mar 3, In Washington, DC, a man (26) shot himself to death outside the White House. He was later identified as Cameron Ross Burgess of Maylene, Ala.
(SSFC, 3/4/18, p.A12)(SFC, 3/5/18, p.A6)
2018 Apr 16, At the request of Speaker Paul Ryan, House Chaplain Rev.Patrick Conroy resigned, with May 24 being his last day in office. US Republicans later said Ryan fired Rev. Patrick Conroy (b.1950) because he didn't do a very good job, and not because of Conroy's political leanings.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_J._Conroy)(SFC, 4/28/18, p.A5)
2018 May 3, US House Speaker Paul Ryan reinstated Rev. Patrick J. Conroy as chaplain of the House of Representatives after Conroy sent him a letter intimating that the speaker did not have the authority to fire him..
(SFC, 5/4/18, p.A5)
2018 Jun 28, Police in Washington, DC, arrested nearly 600 people after hundreds of chanting women demonstrated inside a Senate office building against Pres. Donald Trump's treatment of migrant families.
(SFC, 6/29/18, p.A14)
2018 Jul 26, In Washington, DC, Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed oversaw the reunification of feuding wings of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church, one of the world's oldest Christian churches. The 2 Synods were reunited into one Holy Synod after 27 years.
(AFP, 7/27/18)
2018 Jul 28, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (88), the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who has been at the center of a widening sexual abuse scandal.
(Reuters, 7/28/18)
2018 Aug 12, In Washington, DC, a white supremacist rally outside the White House fizzled out after only a handful of neo-Nazis showed up and were massively outnumbered by hundreds of counter-protesters.
(AFP, 8/12/18)
2018 Sep 10, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said US has notified the Palestinians it's closing their mission in Washington.
(AP, 9/10/18)
2018 Nov 8, The White House suspended CNN reporter Jim Acosta after he and Pres. Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference a day earlier.
(SFC, 11/9/18, p.A7)
2018 Nov 30, At the American Health Summit in Washington DC former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $50 million donation to help ten states fight the nation's opioid epidemic.
(SFC, 12/1/18, p.A8)
2018 Dec 4, In Washington DC a sentencing recommendation late today from Russia probe head Robert Mueller, that Flynn spend no time in jail, explained that the retired three-star general had given "substantial assistance" to his and other secret, high-level investigations.
(AFP, 12/5/18)
2018 Dec 5, In Washington DC international dignitaries gathered with US leaders at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush.
(AP, 12/5/18)
2018 Dec 22, An air of chaos enveloped Washington as the US government kicked off the holidays by partially shutting down, following the failure of leaders to pass a federal spending bill as negotiations stalled over Donald Trump's demand for money to build a US-Mexico border wall.
(AFP, 12/22/18)
2019 Jan 3, Democrats took over the US House of Representatives, ushering in a new era of divided government in Washington with the goal of checking Donald Trump's turbulent presidency.
(AP, 1/3/19)
2019 Jan 19, A Catholic diocese in Kentucky apologized after videos emerged showing students from an all-male high school mocking Native American Nathan Philips after a rally in Washington DC. Many of the youths were wearing "Make America Great Again" hats. One student said African American protesters were insulting them. Philips said he approached the students to keep the peace.
(SSFC, 1/20/19, p.A10)(SFC, 1/21/19, p.A4)
2019 Jan 28, It was reported that Freedom Forum is selling its Newseum, a Washington DC museum devoted to journalism and the First Amendment, to Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Univ. for $372.5 million.
(SFC, 1/28/19, p.A4)
2019 Feb 27, Michael Cohen, Pres. Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, spoke before the US House Oversight and Reform Committee and accused Pres. Trump of an expansive pattern of lies and criminality.
(SFC, 2/28/19, p.A7)
2019 Feb 28, Michael Cohen, Pres. Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, returned to Capitol Hill for hours of questioning before the US House Intelligence committee.
(SFC, 3/1/19, p.A6)
2019 Apr 4, Pope Francis named Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory (71) as the new archbishop of Washington DC, choosing a moderate, and the first African-American, to lead the archdiocese.
(AP, 4/4/19)
2019 Apr 26, In Washington DC Maria Butina, the only Russian arrested and convicted in the three-year investigation of Moscow's interference in US politics, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
(AP, 4/27/19)
2019 Jun 3, Twenty-two journalists killed in 2018 had their names added to a Washington memorial as media rights defenders warned of growing threats to freedom of the press around the world.
(AFP, 6/4/19)
2019 Jul 4, Donald Trump’s “Salute to America" took place in Washington, DC, as the country celebrated Independence Day. Trump became the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day.
(SFC, 7/5/19, p.A6)
2019 Aug 15, Washington DC Catholic priest Urbano Vazquez (47) was convicted after a weeklong trial for sexually abusing two children in his parish. He faced up to 45 years in prison.
(AP, 8/16/19)
2019 Aug 16, Washington, DC, encted emergency regulations to stop the federal government's plan to house unaccompanied migrant children there. Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration approved regulations that prohibited licensing facilities housing more than 15 residents.
(SFC, 8/22/19, p.A7)
2019 Aug 27, In Washington, DC, a military contractor, whose top executive was killed in Iraq under mysterious circumstances 15 years ago, won a judgment of roughly $140 million against Iraq to reimburse the contractor for funds it never received.
(AP, 8/27/19)
2019 Sep 5, Three former private security guards for the former security firm Blackwater were given new sentences by a federal court for convictions in the 2007 massacre of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a traffic stop. They were convicted in 2014 of multiple counts of manslaughter for their roles in the massacre and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The federal district court for the District of Columbia resentenced the men, ordering Paul Slough to serve 15 years, Evan Liberty to serve 14 years and Dustin Heard to serve 12 years.
(Reuters, 9/6/19)
2019 Sep 13, Outside the DC White House Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg (16), who has shot to global fame for inspiring worldwide student strikes to promote action against climate change, took her mission to President Donald Trump’s doorstep. Hundreds of mostly young people joined her across the street.
(Reuters, 9/13/19)
2019 Sep 18, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg appeared for a second straight day before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The hearing was part of a series of events intended to raise awareness of global warming before a planned “climate strike" on September 20.
(Yahoo News, 9/18/19)
2019 Sep 23, In Washington, DC, activists seeking to pressure US politicians to fight climate change blocked major traffic hubs as they sought to draw attention to a UN Climate Summit.
(AP, 9/23/19)
2019 Oct 30, The DC Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-2 at Minute Maid Park coming from behind in the last two games to take the first championship in the history of the organisation. It was DC’s first baseball title since 1924, when the Washington Senators won.
(http://tinyurl.com/y3o96r5b)
2019 Nov 9, Militias and conservative activists rallied in Washington DC to demand protection of gun ownership rights, term limits for lawmakers in Congress, and tighter US borders against immigrants, among other things.
(Reuters, 11/11/19)
2019 Nov 15, It was reported that Giles Daniel Warrick (60), suspected of being the “Potomac River Rapist," is now awaiting extradition from Horry County, South Carolina. He was accused of raping 10 women and killing one of them between 1991 and 1998 in Washington, D.C. and its surrounding suburbs.
(AP, 11/15/19)
2019 Dec 1, Allan Gerson (74), a lawyer who pursued Nazi war criminals, died at his home in Washington, DC. He pioneered the practice of suing foreign government in US courts for complicity to terrorism.
(AP, 12/3/19)
2019 Dec 18, The US House gaveled in for a historic session to impeach President Donald Trump on charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress, votes that will leave a lasting mark on his tenure at the White House. Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The historic vote split along party lines.
(AP, 12/18/19)(AP, 12/19/19)
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Subject = DC
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