On this day in  1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge,
as workers started excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the
structure’s huge anchorages. The bridge would span the Golden
Gate, a narrow, 400-foot deep strait, connecting the San Francisco
Peninsula with the southern end of Marin County. 

The Golden Gate bridge took over four years to construct and 
officially opened May 27, 1937. The longest bridge span in the
world at the time. The first public crossing had taken place on
the day before, when 200,000 people walked, ran and even
roller skated over the new bridge.

Pedestrian walk over day on May 27, 1937, vehicle traffic followed the next day (below).

The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, as seen from north of Alcatraz
Island.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 2000, America’s Presidential vote faced limbo. There
was no winner named until more than a month later.

A Florida election official tries to figure out a voter’s intentions.

Also on this day in 2000, Hillary Rodham Clinton made history when
she became the first president’s wife to win public office. The state
of New York elected her to the U.S. Senate. (New York).

Hillary Rodham Clinton is sworn in as a United States Senator by
Vice President Al Gore in the Old Senate Chamber, as President
Clinton and daughter Chelsea look on, January 3, 2001.

The middle section of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington
state collapsed during a windstorm on this day in 1940. The third
longest suspension span in the world opened to traffic on July 1,
1940.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge as it looks today.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

In California on this day in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was opened
to pedestrian traffic. The bridge connected San Francisco and Marin County.

In The Hague, Netherlands on this day in 1999, a war crimes tribunal indicted Slobodan Milosevic along with four others for atrocities in Kosovo. It was the first time that a sitting head of state had been
charged with such a crime. He was found dead at age 64 from an apparent heart attack in his prison cell on March 11, 2006.

The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by British naval and air
forces on this day in 1941. A total of 2,300 people were killed.

It was on this day in 1936.

In Charlottesville, VA, on this day in 1995, actor Christopher Reeve
was paralyzed after being thrown from his horse during a jumping
event.

ROSS SIMPSON

Samuel F.B. Morse formally opened America’s first telegraph line on
this day in 1844. The first message was sent from Washington, DC,
to Baltimore, MD. The message was "What hath God wrought?"

Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872)

On this day in 1994, the four men convicted of bombing the New
York’s World Trade Center were each sentenced to 240 years in
prison.

Queen Victoria of England was born in London on
this day in 1819. 

This painting by Frederick Winterhalter shows Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert with 5 of their children.

After 14 years of construction the Brooklyn Bridge was opened to
traffic on this day in 1883.

Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman)

Legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan revolutionized folk music in the
1960’s with albums such as The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Highway 61
Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde and songs such as "The Times They
Are a-Changin’," "Like a Rolling Stone," and "Positively 4th Street."

On October 13, 2016 the Nobel Prize committee announced it had awarded Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created
new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

CAMILLE BOHANNON

The Golden Gate Bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic on this
day in 1937. The bridge connected San Francisco and Marin
County in California.

In The Hague, Netherlands, on this day in 1999, a war crimes tribunal indicted Slobodan Milosevic and four others for atrocities in Kosovo.

It was the first time that a sitting head of state had been charged with such a crime.

On this day in 1941. the German battleship Bismarck was sunk by
British naval and air forces. 2,300 people were killed.

Queen Mary sailed on her maiden voyage on this day in 1936 captured the
Blue Riband in August of that year; she lost the title to SS Normandie in 1937
and recaptured it in 1938, holding it until 1952 when she was beaten by the
new SS United States. With the outbreak of the Second World War, she was
converted into a troopship and ferried Allied soldiers for the duration of the
war.

It was on this day in 1995.