Today in Wisconsin History
Cities in Wisconsin: Green Bay, WI - Madison, WI - Milwaukee
Historical Events
Results 1 - 35 of 35
1809-02-03 - Territory of Illinois organizes (including present-day Wisconsin)
1836-04-14 - Congress forms Territory of Wisconsin
1836-04-20 - Territory of Wisconsin created
1836-07-04 - Wisconsin Territory forms
1846-01-31 - After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1848-05-29 - Wisconsin becomes 30th state
1849-02-04 - University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
1855-02-03 - Wisconsin Supreme Ct declares US Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional
1871-10-08 - Gas explosion destroys Peshtigo, Wisconsin
1883-01-10 - Fire at uninsured Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin kills 71. General Tom Thumb of P T Barnum fame, escapes unhurt
1886-05-05 - The Bay View Tragedy occurs, as militia fire upon a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin killing seven.
1886-07-06 - Horlick's of Wisconsin offers 1st malted milk to public
1890-01-03 - 1st US college-level dairy school opens at University of Wisconsin
1903-05-23 - 1st direct primary election law in US adopted, by Wisconsin
1903-09-11 - The first race at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.
1911-06-16 - A 772 gram stony meteorite strikes the earth near Kilbourn, Columbia County, Wisconsin damaging a barn.
1912-11-05 - Arizona, Kansas & Wisconsin vote for female suffrage
1914-08-15 - A male servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the living quarters of the architect's Wisconsin home, Taliesin, murders seven people and burns the living quarters to the ground.
1917-11-24 - Nine police officers and one civilian are killed when a bomb explodes at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin police headquarters building.
1918-10-12 - Forest fire in Minnesota & Northern Wisconsin kills about 800
1922-01-24 - -54°F (-48°C), Danbury, Wisconsin (state record)
1932-01-28 - 1st US state unemployment insurance act enacted (Wisconsin)
1936-07-13 - 114°F (46°C), Wisconsin Dells, Wisc (state record)
1939-01-19 - Ernest Hausen of Wisconsin sets chicken-plucking record-4.4 sec
1941-03-29 - 3rd NCAA Men's Basketball Champion: Wisconsin beats Wash State 39-34
1954-11-30 - 20th Heisman Trophy Award: Alan Ameche, Wisconsin (FB)
1964-01-22 - World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured, Wisconsin
1968-04-02 - Senator E Mccarthy wins Democratic primaries in Wisconsin
1970-08-24 - Bomb kills 1 at U of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison
1985-09-06 - Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9 crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31.
1987-06-20 - Chuti Tiu, 17, of Wisconsin, crowned America's Junior Miss
1991-06-02 - Three Andrettis finished 1-2-3 in the Miller 200 at Wisconsin
1994-11-28 - In Portage, Wisconsin, convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is clubbed to death by an inmate in the Columbia Correctional Institution gymnasium.
1999-01-02 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C); 68 deaths are reported.
2005-03-13 - Terry Ratzmann shoots and kills six members of the Living Church of God and the minister at Sheraton Inn in Brookfield, Wisconsin before killing himself.
Famous Birthdays
Results 1 - 30 of 30
1855-06-14 - Robert Marion La Follette, Wisconsin, pres candidate (Progressive)
1857-04-14 - Edgar Stillman Kelley, Sparta Wisconsin, composer (Gulliver)
1881-10-12 - William Nigh, Berlin Wisconsin, director (Ape, Doomed to Die, Mr Wong)
1899-07-08 - David Eli Lilienthal, US govt organizer (Wisconsin)
1900-06-15 - Otto Clarence Luening, Milwaukee Wisconsin, composer (Sonority Canon)
1909-01-14 - Joseph Walton Losey, Wisconsin, director (Damned, Accident)
1913-06-10 - Thor Johnson, Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin, conductor (Cin Symph 1958)
1919-05-16 - [Wladziu Valentino] Liberace, West Allis Wisconsin, pianist
1926-02-17 - Lee Hoiby, Madison Wisconsin, composer (1957 Arts & Letters)
1927-02-26 - Donald Gramm, Milwaukee Wisconsin, bass-baritone
1933-03-15 - Cecil Perceval Taylor, composer/jazz pianist (U of Wisconsin)
1934-06-05 - F Curtis Michel, LaCrosse Wisconsin, astronaut
1935-02-07 - Herb Kohl, (Sen-D Wisconsin)
1938-10-03 - David R Obey, (Rep-D-Wisconsin, 1969- )
1938-10-10 - Tobias A Roth, (Rep-R-Wisconsin, 1979- )
1941-11-19 - Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Governor of Wisconsin
1943-06-14 - F James Sensenbrenner, (Rep-R-Wisconsin)
1953-03-05 - Russel D Feingold, (Sen-D Wisconsin)
1958-06-14 - Eric Heiden, Madison, Wisconsin, US speed skater (5 Olympic gold medals 1980)
1960-01-04 - Cory Everson, Racine Wisconsin, body builder (6X Ms Olympia)
1962-12-27 - Timothy Hacker, Milwaukee Wisconsin, 10k runner
1966-06-17 - Clare Look-Jaeger, Milwaukee Wisconsin, high jumper
1969-02-11 - Mary Stoker, Miss Wisconsin USA (1996)
1972-06-25 - Amy Wickus, Baraboo Wisconsin, 800m/1500m runner
1973-04-12 - Pamela Polk, Berlin Wisconsin, Miss America-Wisconsin (1996)
1973-11-08 - Tara Johnson, Miss USA-Wisconsin (1997)
1978-05-18 - Jennifer Streblow, Oshkosh Wisconsin, Miss America-Wisconsin (1997)
1979-12-16 - Nicole Werra, Miss Wisconsin Teen USA (1996)
1981-06-30 - Allison Schroeder, Miss Wisconsin Teen USA (1997)
1994-08-20 - White buffalo, Janesville Wisconsin
Famous Deaths
Results 1 - 4 of 4
1862-04-19 - Louis Powell Harvey, US governor of Wisconsin, drowns
1889-07-21 - Nelson Dewey, American politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
1947-06-24 - Emil Seidel, Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (b. 1864)
2005-12-15 - William Proxmire, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (b. 1915)
