Today in 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court established a constitutional “right to privacy” for Americans by overturning a 92-year-old Connecticut law that outlawed the use of birth control. Back in 1873, during the apex of the Victorian era in the United States, Congress passed the Comstock Law, which outlawed “the circulation of obscene literature…
Tag: 20th century
June 6: Seconds Before Jumping, A D-Day Message From Home
In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, Private Robert C. Hillman became one of over 13,000 American paratroopers to leap out of a plane over Normandy as part of the “D-Day” invasion of occupied France — one of the largest offensives of World War II. A member of the legendary 101st Airborne…
June 5: Mandatory “Registration Day” for the Great War.
The United States’ entry into World War I on April 6, 1917 marked the end of a long period of military non-intervention, resulting in a scramble to recruit men to fill the ranks of America’s army and navy before engaging the enemy in Europe. After a national volunteer recruitment drive only attracted a fraction…
June 4: Connecticut Passes the Nation’s First “Lemon Law”
On this day in 1982, in response to an increasing number of consumer complaints concerning the purchase of defective new automobiles (colloquially known as “lemons”), the Connecticut legislature passed the nation’s first “Lemon Law.” Introduced by freshman representative John J. Woodcock III of South Windsor, the law was loosely modeled on a set of…
June 3: The U S President Speaks at Coast Guard Academy’s 78th Graduation
While the commencement ceremonies at the United States Coast Guard Academy are always filled with a dazzling amount of pomp and circumstance, the Academy’s 78th commencement, which took place on June 3, 1964, was especially memorable. For the first time in history, the President of the United States would be delivering the commencement speech….
June 2: “Connecticut Symphony” debuts at Norfolk Music Shed
Today in 1935, a packed house of 1,500 enthusiastic music lovers in Norfolk, Connecticut heard the world premiere of internationally-renowned conductor and composer Henry Hadley’s latest work: The Connecticut Symphony, written to celebrate the Constitution State’s tercentenary. Hadley’s half-hour-long work was played by a 65-piece orchestra at the Norfolk Music Shed, a venue built…
May 30: 12,000 Bridgeport Workers Mobilize to Support Striking Trolleymen
On this day in 1922, Bridgeport’s Central Labor Union issued a formal call to all of its 12,000 members to support the striking trolleymen who worked for the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, triggering months of labor unrest in one of Connecticut’s largest cities. The Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company was the primary operator…
May 28: Preparing Connecticut Women for Full Citizenship
On May 21, 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation that would give American women the right to vote — legislation that would eventually become the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Even though the legislation still had to be approved by the U.S. Senate and ratified by 3/4…
May 25: Chester Bowles: Connecticut’s Civil Rights-Era Governor
Chester Bliss Bowles was one of Connecticut’s most accomplished and ambitious politicians of the 20th century. Born in Massachusetts in 1901, he attended private school in Connecticut and graduated from Yale in 1924. After college, he worked as a copywriter at an advertising agency in New York City before co-founding his own ad firm which,…
May 23: Vaccine to Prevent Polio Distributed Across Connecticut
On this day in 1955, hundreds of schoolchildren in the town of Stafford Springs lined up to be vaccinated against polio, as part of a massive statewide effort to protect young Connecticans from getting the deadly childhood disease. Polio was the most feared childhood illness of the early 20th century. An untreatable virus which…
May 21: First Speed Limit Law in the U.S.
Today in 1901, Connecticut became the first state in America to pass a law governing the speed of automobiles. According to the new law, cars were not to exceed 12 miles per hour within city limits and 15 miles per hour on rural or suburban roads, and were required to slow down whenever they…
May 19: America’s World War I Flying Ace Killed In Action
Today in 1918, one of America’s greatest and most colorful World War I flying aces was killed in action after being shot down over France by a German triplane. Raoul Lufbery, a proud Franco-American who had lived in Connecticut before joining the Allied war effort, was only 33 years old at the time. Born…