The 12-minute-long silent film, The Great Train Robbery becomes the first narrative movie ever
The Great Train Robbery’s popularity led directly to the opening up of permanent movie theaters and the possibility of a future film industry.
United States
Clara Abbott of Abbott Laboratories becomes perhaps the first women ever to serve on a corporate board
She served on the board of Abbott Laboratories from 1900 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1924 before the company was publicly listed, blazing a trail for female business leaders for decades to come.
Mark Twain publishes “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
Set in a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist over 20 years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.
American inventor Charles Fritts created the first commercial solar panel
Though his solar panels were very inefficient and thus not economically-viable for most uses, they were a critical early step in the development of renewable energy technology.
African American men gain the right to vote in Washington, D.C.
On January 8, 1867, African American men gained the right to vote in the District of Columbia despite the veto of its most powerful resident, President Andrew Johnson.
The U.S. formally establishes Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park
Although individual countries designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of ‘wild nature’ for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. As of 2023, there are over 6500 national parks worldwide.
Abraham Lincoln delivers Emancipation Proclamation, freeing American slaves
On September 22, soon after the Union victory at Antietam, he issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.
U.S. Congress prohibits slavery in all current and future U.S. territories
By this act, they repudiated the 1857 opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred Scott Case that Congress was powerless to regulate slavery in U.S. territories.
Hermann Melville publishes Moby-Dick
It was only in the early 1900s that Moby-Dick gained attention and acclaim. During his lifetime, the novel sold a scant 3,000 copies. In modern times the novel is not only considered a great American classic, it is also heralded as one of greatest novels in the English language.
Cowboy boots become popular in the United States
Fashion magazines from 1850 and 1860 show the cowboy boot with top-stitching, cutouts of geometric or other natural elements and under-slung heel.