Index to Headlines
from THE NEW YORK TIMES: 1859-1963

NOTE: Until the 1880s the Times put the day's top story at the upper left corner of the page. And in some of the instances below -- withdrawing federal troops in 1877, for example, or ratifying the amendment that gave women the vote -- the day' s headlines don't reflect the historic significance of an event.

  • "Servile Insurrection" (18 October 1859)
    John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry


  • "The War Commenced" (13 April 1861)
    Confederates Fire on Fort Sumpter


  • "Awful Event" (15 April 1865)
    Abraham Lincoln Assassinated


  • "The Ring Felons" (17 December 1871)
    Boss Tweed Arrested in New York


  • "The Southern Question" (6 April 1877)
    Hayes Withdraws Federal Troops from South Carolina, Ending Reconstruction


  • "Into Oklahoma At Last" (23 April 1889)
    "Indian Territory" Opened to Settlers


  • "Grave Treasury Crisis" (6 February 1893)
    Panic of 1893 Beginning


  • "Strikers Shot By Troops" (8 July 1894)
    Pullman Strike Put Down By Violence in Chicago


  • "Victory at Manila" (2 May 1898)
    Adm. Dewey Defeats Spanish Fleet in Phillipines


  • "Romanoff Dynasty Ended" (17 March 1917)
    Russian Revolution Begins


  • "President Proclaims War" (7 April 1917)
    U.S. Enters "Great War"


  • "John Barleycorn Died Peacefully" (17 January 1920)
    Prohibition Begins


  • "Roberts Certifies Tennessee Action" (25 August 1920)
    Suffrage Amendment Ratified, Women Have Vote


  • "Lindbergh Does It!" (22 May 1927)
    Flies Solo Across Atlantic


  • "Stock Prices Slump $14,000,000,000" (29 October 1929)
    Stock Market Crash


  • "German Army Attacks Poland" (1 September 1939)
    World War II Begins


  • "First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan" (5 August 1945)
    Hiroshima Bombed, "New Age Ushered"


  • "U.S. Troops Enforce Peace" (26 September 1957)
    Dwight Eisenhower Sends Troops to Desegregate Arkansas Schools


  • "Soviet Fires Earth Satellite Into Space" (5 October 1957)
    Sputnik Orbits the Earth


  • "200,000 March for Civil Rights" (29 August 1963)
    Martin Luther King Leads Washington Rally


  • "Kennedy Is Killed By Sniper" (23 November 1963)
    John F. Kennedy Assassinated


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