50 Years Ago

September 24, 1955 In Denver, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers a heart attack that will keep him hospitalized for seven weeks.

100 Years Ago

August 5, 1905 Japanese and Russian diplomats join President Theodore Roosevelt onboard the presidential yacht, the Mayflower, and sail to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where they will attempt to resolve the war they are fighting. On September 5 the two sides sign a peace treaty that is less unfavorable to Russia than observers had feared, though the parties agree to place Korea under Japanese “protection.” Roosevelt will receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the settlement.

150 Years Ago

September 3, 1855 William Walker, an American who had previously led an army into Mexico in an attempt to set up his own state, declares himself emperor of Nicaragua. Backed by a company that hopes to establish a canal or railroad across the isthmus, he will rule for two years.

September 5, 1855 Antislavery settlers in Kansas Territory meet in Big Springs and form their own legislature. They refuse to recognize the official legislature, a proslavery body that was elected fraudulently.

225 Years Ago

August 16, 1780 At Camden, South Carolina, 3,000 Americans led by Gen. Horatio Gates are defeated by 2,000 British troops led by Gen. Charles Cornwallis.

350 Years Ago

September 26, 1655 In a hard-fought battle between colonial also-rans, Dutch forces re-take Fort Casimir, in present-day Delaware, from the Swedish, ending Sweden’s experiment with American colonization.