Church History
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Joseph Smith (23 Dec. 1805–27 June 1844)
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Brigham Young (1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877)
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John Taylor (1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887)
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Wilford Woodruff (1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept 1898)
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Hyrum Smith born (9 Feb.)
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Joseph Smith Sr. moved his family to Sharon, Vermont
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David Whitmer born (7 Jan.)
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Oliver Cowdery born (3 Oct.)
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Joseph Smith had leg operation
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Joseph Smith
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Brigham Young
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John Taylor
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Wilford Woodruff
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Lorenzo Snow (3 Apr. 1814–10 Oct. 1901)
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Smith family moved to Palmyra, New York, due to three successive crop failures in Vermont
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Smith family moved to Manchester, New York
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Joseph Smith had the First Vision (spring)
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Angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith three times during one night and twice the next day (21–22 Sept.)
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Joseph Smith first visited the Hill Cumorah and viewed the golden plates
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Alvin Smith died (19 Nov.)
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Joseph Smith made second visit to Hill Cumorah to receive instruction
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Joseph Smith made third visit to Hill Cumorah for instruction
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Joseph Smith made fourth visit to Hill Cumorah for instruction
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Joseph Smith and Emma Hale married (18 Jan.)
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Joseph Smith obtained the golden plates (22 Sept.; see Isaih 29:11–12)
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Martin Harris visited Charles Anthon in New York City (Feb.)
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Martin Harris lost 116 manuscript pages of the Book of Mormon (June)
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Joseph Smith regained the gift to translate the Book of Mormon (Sept.)
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Aaronic Priesthood restored (15 May); the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored about two weeks later, probably the end of May; Joseph Smith was ordained an Apostle by Peter, James, and John (see D&C 20:2; 27:12; 128:20)
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Book of Mormon translation completed; the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses were shown the golden plates
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Joseph Smith (sustained as First Elder of the Church 6 Apr. 1830)
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Brigham Young
(ordained Apostle 14 Feb. 1835)
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John Taylor
(ordained Apostle 19 Dec. 1838)
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Wilford Woodruff
(ordained Apostle 26 Apr. 1839)
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Lorenzo Snow
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Joseph F. Smith (13 Nov. 1838–19 Nov. 1918)
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Book of Mormon published
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The Church was organized (6 Apr.)
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Church members began gathering to Ohio
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Some Church members moved to Missouri
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Joseph Smith sustained as President of the High Priesthood (25 Jan.)
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Vision of the three degrees of glory (D&C 76) received (16 Feb.)
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“Prophecy on War” (D&C 87; 25Dec.) and “Olive Leaf” (D&C 88: 27–28Dec, 3 Jan.) received
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The Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) received (27 Feb.)
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Book of Commandments published
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Brigham Young baptized (14 Apr.)
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First Presidency organized (18 Mar.)
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Wilford Woodruff baptized (31 Dec.)
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First stake organized
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Zion’s Camp (May–July)
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Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Quorum of the Seventy organized (Feb.)
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Mummies and scrolls purchased from Michael Chandler (July)
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Doctrine and Covenants approved (17 Aug.)
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Kirtland Temple dedicated (27 Mar); first temple built in this dispensation
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Moses, Elias, and Elijah committed priesthood keys to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (3 Apr.)
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John Taylor baptized (9 May)
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Lorenzo Snow baptized (19 June)
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Church hymnal published (Nov.)
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First mission in the Church organized in Great Britian
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Joseph Smith received revelation on tithing (8 July)
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Governor Boggs issued “Extermination Order” in Missouri (27 Oct.)
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Haun’s Mill massacre (30 Oct.)
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Joseph and Hyrum Smith imprisoned in Liberty Jail (Dec. 1838–Apr. 1839)
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Church members moved to Illinois and Iowa
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First Church members to gather from a foreign land sailed from England
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Joseph Smith began teaching baptism for the dead (15 Aug.)
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Orson Hyde dedicated the Holy Land for the return of the Jews (24 Oct.)
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First full endowment given (4 May)
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Wentworth Letter written (spring)
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Book of Abraham published
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Relief Society organized (17 Mar.)
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Revelation on the new and everlasting covenant, marriage, and fullness of life (D&C 132; recorded on 12 July)
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Joseph and Hyrum Smith martyred in Carthage, Illinois (27 June)
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The Twelve Apostles sustained as the presiding quorum in the Church (8 Aug.)
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Church membership: approximately 280 at end of year
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16,865
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Brigham Young
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(President of the Church, 27 Dec. 1847)
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John Taylor
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Wilford Woodruff
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Lorenzo Snow
(ordained Apostle 12 Feb. 1849)
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Joseph F. Smith
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Heber J. Grant (22 Nov. 1856–14 May 1945)
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Church leaders announced plans to move to the West (Oct.)
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Saints began leaving Nauvoo (Feb.)
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Nauvoo Temple dedicated (1 May)
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Brigham Young’s Pioneer Company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley (22–24 July)
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Mormon Battalion began its 2000-mile march from Kanesville, Iowa (21 July)
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Members of Mormon Battalion discharged at Los Angeles, California (16 July)
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Brigham Young became 2nd President of the Church, with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as counselors (27 Dec.)
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Miracle of seagulls saved crops
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Utah became a U.S. territory; Brigham Young appointed its first governor (Sept.)
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Doctrine of plural marriage first publicly announced (28–29 Aug.)
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Pearl of Great Price published in Liverpool, England
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Perpetual Emigrating Fund established (Oct.)
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Sunday School organized (9 Dec.)
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Four cornerstones of the Salt lake Temple laid (6 Apr.)
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Fast day held the first Thursday of each month
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Brigham Young and Saints learned of Utah Expedition (24 July); Utah War (to 1858)
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Johnston’s Army passed through Salt Lake City (26 June)
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Pioneer handcart companies began (June); Willie and Martin companies rescued (Oct.–Nov.)
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51,839
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Brigham Young
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John Taylor
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Wilford Woodruff
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Lorenzo Snow
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Joseph F. Smith
(ordained Apostle 1 July 1866)
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Heber J. Grant
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George Albert Smith (4 Apr. 1870–4 Apr. 1951)
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Handcart era ended (last company arrived in Salt Lake in Aug.)
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Brigham Young arrested on charge of bigamy (10 Mar.); never brought to trial
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Church began use of wagon trains that left Salt Lake Valley in the spring with provisions for yearly immigration and returned in the fall with immigrants; used until 1868 (railroad came in 1869)
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Salt Lake Theatre was dedicated (6 Mar.)
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US Congress passed Morrill Act, outlawing plural marriage in US territories (8 July)
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Black Hawk War began in central Utah (9 Apr.; ended 1867)
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Settlers in many parts of Utah battled with Indians
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First general conference held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle (6 Oct.)
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Last organized “Church train” arrived in Salt Lake Valley
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Church-owned Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) opened for business (spring)
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President Brigham Young organized the Young Ladies’ Retrenchment Association (28 Nov.; later renamed the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Organization)
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Utah became one of first US states or territories to grant women the right to vote (12 Feb.)
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Location for the St. George Temple dedicated (Nov.)
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United order movement launched (Feb.); over 200 united orders established in Latter-day Saint settlements by the end of the year
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President Young called six additional counselors in the First Presidency
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Church membership: 61,082
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90,130
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Brigham Young
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John Taylor
(President of the Church, 10 Oct. 1880)
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Wilford Woodruff
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Lorenzo Snow
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Joseph F. Smith
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Heber J. Grant
(ordained Apostle 16 Oct. 1882)
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George Albert Smith
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David O. McKay (8 Sept. 1873–18 Jan. 1970)
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Joseph Fielding Smith (19 July 1876–2 July 1972)
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First Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association organized (10 June)
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Salt Lake Tabernacle dedicated (Oct.); President John Taylor, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, read the dedicatory prayer
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Brigham Young Academy founded in Provo, Utah (16 Oct.); became Brigham Young University in 1903
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Missionary work launched in New Mexico
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St. George Temple dedicated (6 Apr.); first temple since the Church moved west
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President Brigham Young died (29 Aug.)
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Primary founded; first meeting at Farmington, Utah (25 Aug.)
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Jubilee year celebration inaugurated (6 Apr.), reminiscent of Old Testament practice (see Leviticus 25)
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Assembly Hall on Temple Square dedicated (8 Jan.)
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John Taylor became 3rd President of the church, with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as counselors (10 Oct.)
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Pearl of Great Price accepted as a standard work of the Church (10 Oct.)
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First permanent branch of the Church among the Maoris organized in New Zealand (26 Aug.)
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Extensive prosecution of church members practicing polygamy continued under the Edmunds Law; President John Taylor and other Church leaders went into hiding
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Church colonies in Mexico established
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Hundreds of Church members imprisoned for the practice of polygamy
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Logan Temple dedicated (17 May); second temple since the Church moved west
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Church disincorporated and property confiscated due to prosecution under the Edmunds-Tucker Act
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President John Taylor died while in “exile” (25 July)
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Manti Temple dedicated (17, 21 May); third temple since the church moved west
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Church settlements in Canada began
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Wilford Woodruff became 4th President of the Church with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as counselors (7 Apr.)
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Missionary work began in Samoa
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133,628
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Wilford Woodruff (President of the Church, 7 Apr. 1889)
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Lorenzo Snow
(President of the Church, 13 Sept. 1898
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Joseph F. Smith
(President of the Church, 17 Oct. 1901
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Heber J. Grant
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George Albert Smith
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David O. McKay
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Joseph Fielding Smith
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Harold B. Lee (28 Mar. 1899–26 Dec. 1973)
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Spencer W. Kimball (28 Mar. 1895–5 Nov. 1985)
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Ezra Taft Benson (4 Aug. 1899–30 May 1994)
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“Manifesto” issued (24 Sept.); unanimously accepted by vote in general conference (6 Oct.; see Official Declaration 1)
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First Presidency sent letter directing that a week-day religious education program be established in every ward where there was no Church school (25 Oct.)
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Brigham Young Academy building dedicated in Provo, Utah (4 Jan.)
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Proclamation of amnesty for polygamists issued by US President Benjamin Harrison (4 Jan.)
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Church celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Relief Society
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Salt Lake Temple dedicated (6 Apr.); fourth temple since the Church moved west
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Congressional resolution signed for return of Church’s personal property (25 Oct.); 3 years later (28 Mar. 1896) a memorial was passed providing for restoration of Church’s real estate
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Genealogical Society of Utah organized (13 Nov.)
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Utah state constitution ratified and statehood approved (5 Nov.)
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Utah became a state (4 Jan.)
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First stake outside the US created in Cardston, Alberta, Canada (9 June)
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Fast day changed from Thursday to Sunday (5 Nov.)
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President Wilford Woodruff died (2 Sept.); Lorenzo Snow became 5th President of the Church, with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as counselors (13 Sept.)
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Revelation emphasizing tithing received by President Snow (17 May)
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First single, official, proselyting female missionaries set apart (spring)
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Fiftieth anniversary of the Saints’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley celebrated (24 July)
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Improvement Era began publication (Nov.)
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President Snow reaffirmed Church’s ban on plural marriage (8 Jan.)
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Mission opened in Japan (12 Aug.)
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President Lorenzo Snow died (10 Oct.); Joseph F. Smith became 6th President of the Church, with John R. Winder and Anthon H. Lund as counselors (17 Oct.)
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Children’s Friend first published (Jan.)
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President Smith issued second manifesto (6 Apr.)
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Brigham Young Academy became Brigham Young University (Oct.)
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Church purchased Carthage Jail (5 Nov.)
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Church membership: 188,263
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283,765
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Joseph F. Smith
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Heber J. Grant
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George Albert Smith (ordained Apostle 8 Oct. 1903)
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David O. McKay (ordained Apostle 9 Apr. 1906)
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Joseph Fielding Smith
(ordained Apostle 7 Apr. 1910)
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Harold B. Lee
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Spencer W. Kimball
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Ezra Taft Benson
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Howard W. Hunter (14 Nov. 1907–3 Mar. 1995)
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Gordon B. Hinckley (23 June 1910)
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Dr. William H. Groves Latter-day Saints Hospital, first in Church hospital system, opened in Salt Lake City (1 Jan.); Church turned its hospitals over to private organization in 1975
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Joseph Smith Memorial Cottage and Monument, in Sharon, Vermont, site of the Prophet’s birth, dedicated (23 Dec.)
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President Smith announced that the Church was free of debt (10 Jan.)
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President Joseph F. Smith became the first Church President to visit Europe (summer)
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Church purchased Smith farm near Palmyra, New York, including the Sacred Grove
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Priesthood programs and other organizations systematized (8 Apr.)
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Responding to debate of Darwinism and evolution, First Presidency issued official statement on origin of man (Nov.)
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Church adopted Boy Scout program
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Boy Scout program officially adopted as activity program for boys of the Church (21 May)
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Seagull Monument on Temple Square dedicated (1 Oct.)
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First seminary organized at Granite High School in Salt Lake City (Sept.)
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Correlation Committee created (8 Nov.)
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Ricks Academy, in Rexburg, Idaho, became Ricks College (fall)
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First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve issued Doctrinal exposition on the Father and the Son (30 June)
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Relief Society Magazine began monthly publication (Jan.)
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Elder James E. Talmage’s book Jesus the Christ published (Sept.)
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First Presidency inaugurated “Home Evening” program (27 Apr.)
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President Smith received vision of the redemption of the dead (3 Oct.; see D&C 138)
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President Joseph F. Smith died (19 Nov.); Heber J. Grant became 7th President of the Church, with Anthon H. Lund and Charles W. Penrose as counselors (23 Nov.)
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April general conference postponed to June 1–3 due to nationwide influenza epidemic
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Church Administration Building completed in Salt Lake City (2 Oct.)
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Laie Hawaii Temple, first out of contiguous US, dedicated (27 Nov.)
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398,478
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Heber J. Grant (President of the Church, 23 Nov. 1918)
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George Albert Smith
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David O. McKay
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Joseph Fielding Smith
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Harold B. Lee
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Spencer W. Kimball
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Ezra Taft Benson
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Howard W. Hunter
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Gordon B. Hinckley
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Elder David O. McKay and Hugh J. Cannon leave on 55,896-mile world survey of Church missions (4 Dec.; returned 24 Dec. 1921)
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Primary children’s Hospital opened in Salt Lake City (May)
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President Heber J. Grant dedicated Deseret News radio station and, for the first time in the Church’s history, delivered a message over the airways (6 May)
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Church purchased part of the Hill Cumorah
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Cardston Alberta Temple dedicated in Canada (26 Aug.)
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First radio broadcast of general conference (3 Oct.)
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First mission in South America established (6 Dec.)
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Mission home in Salt Lake City; first organized training for missionaries
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First institute of religion began in Moscow, Idaho, at University of Idaho (fall)
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Mesa Arizona Temple dedicated (23 Oct); dedicatory services broadcast by radio
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Church purchased the rest of the Hill Cumorah
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100th stake organized, in Lehi, Utah (1 July)
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Tabernacle Choir began weekly network radio broadcasts (15 July)
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Church observed the centennial of its organization (6 Apr.)
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Church News first published by Church’s Deseret News(6 Apr.)
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Church began a campaign against the use of tobacco (2 Apr.)
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Special fast day called during the Great Depression to help the poor (15 May)
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Church held a six-day commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the Word of Wisdom revelation (21–26 Feb)
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Junior Sunday School became official part of Sunday School organization
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Church membership: 525,987
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670,017
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Heber J. Grant
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George Albert Smith
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(President of the Church, 21 May 1945)
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David O. McKay
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Joseph Fielding Smith
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Harold B. Lee
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(ordained Apostle 10 Apr. 1941)
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Spencer W. Kimball
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(ordained Apostle 7 Oct. 1943)
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Ezra Taft Benson
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(ordained Apostle 7 Oct. 1943)
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Howard W. Hunter
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Gordon B. Hinckley
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Hill Cumorah Monument dedicated (21 July)
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Church introduced its formal welfare program, the Church Security Program (Apr.); later renamed the Church Welfare Program (1938)
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Hill Cumorah pageant, “America’s Witness for Christ,” began (July)
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Church purchased portion of Nauvoo Temple lot (20 Feb.)
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Church members counseled to store a year’s supply of food (Apr.)
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Genealogical Society of Utah began microfilming records (Nov.)
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First Deseret Industries store opened, in Salt Lake City (14 Aug.)
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Church purchased Liberty Jail in Missouri (19 June)
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First Presidency recalled all missionaries from Europe (Aug.–Nov.)
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First Presidency recalled all missionaries from South Pacific and South Africa
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First Presidency announced new positions of Assistants to the Twelve (6 Apr.)
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Church members urged to restrict travel to comply with wartime restrictions
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USS Joseph Smith, a Liberty class ship, was launched (22 May)
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USS Brigham Young, a Liberty class ship (to carry cargo), was christened (17 Aug.)
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Church announced purchase of Spring Hill in Missouri, (Adam-ondi-Ahman; Mar.)
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Memorial Services held to commemorate 100th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum (June)
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President Heber J. Grant died (14 May); George Albert Smith became 8th President of the Church, with J. Reuben Clark Jr. and David O. McKay as counselors (21 May)
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For the first time since 1942, general church membership invited to attend general conference (5-7 Oct.)
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Church began sending supplies to war-torn Europe (Jan.)
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Church membership passed one million
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Church celebrated 100th anniversary of Pioneers’ arrival in Salt Lake Valley (24 July)
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The Welfare Program declared a program of the Church (5 Apr.)
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The Tabernacle Choir performed its 1,000th nationally broadcast radio program (17 Oct)
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Public telecast of general conference began (Oct.)
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862,664
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George Albert Smith
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David O. McKay (President of the Church, 9 Apr. 1951)
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Joseph Fielding Smith
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Harold B. Lee
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Spencer W. Kimball
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Ezra Taft Benson
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Howard W. Hunter
(ordained Apostle 15 Oct. 1959)
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Gordon B. Hinckley
(ordained Apostle 5 Oct. 1961)
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First early morning seminary started in Southern California (Sept.)
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President George Albert Smith dedicated statue of Brigham Young at US Capital (1 June)
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President George Albert Smith died (4 Apr.); David O. McKay became 9th President of the Church, with Stephen L. Richards and J. Reuben Clark Jr. as counselors (9 Apr.)
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Missionaries began using the Systematic Program for Teaching the Gospel, inaugurating use of a standard plan for missionary work throughout the Church
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Elder Ezra Taft Benson chosen as Secretary of Agriculture by newly elected US President Dwight D. Eisenhower (31 Dec.); Elder Benson served for eight years
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Church organized its United Church School System (9 July)
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Church Building Committee organized (July)
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Church announced inauguration of Indian Placement Program (July)
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Bern Switzerland Temple (first in Europe) dedicated (11 Sept.)
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Tabernacle Choir made major concert tour of Europe (Aug.–Sept.)
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Church College of Hawaii (now BYU–Hawaii) opened (26 Sept.)
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Relief Society Building in Salt Lake City dedicated (3 Oct.)
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Semi-annual general conference cancelled because of flu epidemic (Oct.)
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Hamilton New Zealand and London England Temples dedicated (20 Apr.; 7 Sept.)
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First Presidency issued statement admonishing Church members to keep the Sabbath day holy and avoid shopping on Sundays (19 June)
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Tabernacle Choir awarded a Grammy, a national music award, for its recording of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (29 Nov.)
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President McKay issued statement “Every member a missionary” (6 Apr.)
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First stake in England organized in Manchester (27 Mar.)
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First non-English speaking stake created in The Hague in The Netherlands (12 Mar.)
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Age young men eligible for full-time missions lowered from 20 to 19 (Mar.)
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Language Training Institute for missionaries called to foreign countries established at BYU (Nov.); later became Language Training Mission (1963)
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Church purchased shortwave radio station (10 Oct.); subsequently used to transmit Church broadcasts to Europe and South America
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Polynesian Cultural Center dedicated in Hawaii (12 Oct.)
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Home teaching program inaugurated (Jan.)
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Church hosted pavilion at the New York World’s Fair (Apr.)
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Church Membership: 1,111,314
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1,693,180
-
David O. McKay
-
Joseph Fielding Smith
(President of the Church, 23 Jan. 1970)
-
Harold B. Lee
(President of the Church, 7 July 1972)
-
Spencer W. Kimball
(President of the Church, 30 Dec. 1973)
-
Ezra Taft Benson
-
Howard W. Hunter
-
Gordon B. Hinckley
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Church first published a family home evening manual (Jan.)
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Stopped in 1862, missionary work resumed in Italy (Feb.)
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First stake in South America organized in Sao Paulo, Brazil (1 May)
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Granite Mountain Records Vault dedicated (22 June)
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Two additional counselors, Joseph Fielding Smith and Thorpe B. Isaacson, were called to the First Presidency (Oct.); Alvin R. Dyer called to be third additional counselor in April 1968
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First Regional Representatives called (29 Sept.)
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Missionary work began in Thailand (Feb.)
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Some of the Egyptian papyri Joseph Smith owned were given to the Church by New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (Nov.)
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Two-month language training instituted for full-time missionaries (Jan.)
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Relief Society General President Belle S. Spafford named president of US National Council of Woman (17 Oct.); she served two years
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First missionaries arrive in Spain (June)
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President David O. McKay died (18 Jan.); Joseph Fielding Smith became 10th President of the Church, with Harold B. Lee and N. Eldon Tanner as counselors (23 Jan.)
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First missionaries sent to Indonesia (Jan.)
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Monday designated for family home evening Churchwide (Oct.)
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Publication of new Church magazines began: Ensign, New Era, and Friend (Jan.)
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Medical missionary program began (July)
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First area conference held in Manchester, England, (27–29 Aug.)
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President Joseph Fielding Smith died (2 July); Harold B. Lee became 11th President of the Church, with N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney as counselors (7 July)
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President Harold B. Lee died (26 Dec.) Spencer W. Kimball became 12th President of the Church, with N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney as counselors (30 Dec.)
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Creation of Welfare Services Department announced (7 Apr.)
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Washington D.C. Temple dedicated (19 Nov.)
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Teton Dam in Idaho burst, affecting thousands of Latter-day Saints (5 June)
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The 28-story Church Office Building was dedicated (24 July; Church departments had begun moving in Nov. 1972)
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Two revelations accepted for addition to Pearl of Great Price (3 Apr.); later moved to Doctrine and Covenants (6 June 1979; see D&C 137; 138)
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Organization of First Quorum of the Seventy announced (1 Oct.)
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Language Training Center constructed in Provo, Utah; later became Missionary Training Center and used to train all missionaries (26 Oct. 1978)
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New format for general conferences announced (1 Jan.): first Sunday in each April and October and preceding Saturday
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Sao Paolo Brazil Temple, first in South America, dedicated (30 Oct.)
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LDS edition of King James Bible published (29 Sept.)
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Revelation announced allowing worthy men of all races to receive priesthood (June; see Official Declaration 2)
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1,000th stake organized at Nauvoo, Illinois (18 Feb.)
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Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem dedicated (24 Oct.)
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2,930,810
-
Spencer W. Kimball
-
Ezra Taft Benson
(President of the Church, 10 Nov. 1985)
-
Howard W. Hunter
-
Gordon B. Hinckley
-
Church celebrated 150th anniversary (6 Apr.)
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Consolidated, 3-hour Sunday meeting schedule began in US and Canada (2 Mar.)
-
Church membership reached five million (announced 1 Apr.)
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Term of service for single elders on full-time missions reduced to 18 months (2 Apr.); later changed back to 24 months (26 Nov. 1984)
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New version of triple combination published (Sept.)
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Elder Gordon B. Hinckley called as third counselor in First Presidency (23 July)
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Threefold mission of the Church proclaimed (4 Apr.)
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Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City dedicated (4 Apr.)
-
Area Presidencies appointed (24 June)
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First regional conference held in London, England (16 Oct.)
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Freiberg Germany Temple, in then communist-controlled German Democratic Republic, dedicated (29 June)
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Church Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City dedicated (23 Oct.)
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Revised LDS hymnbook published, first in 37 years (2 Aug.)
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Seventies quorums in stakes discontinued (4 Oct.)
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President Spencer W. Kimball died (5 Nov.); Ezra Taft Benson became 13th President of the Church, with Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson as counselors (10 Nov.)
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1,500th stake organized, Ciudad Obregon Mexico Yaqui Stake, 150 years after first stake was organized in Kirtland, Ohio (28 Oct.)
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Church’s Genealogical Department renamed Family History Department (15 Aug.)
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Church members in Britain commemorated 150th anniversary of first missionary work in Great Britain (24–26 July)
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Announcement that Church granted rights for missionary work in German Democratic Republic (12 Nov.)
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Missionaries expelled from West African nation of Ghana (14 June); later allowed to return (30 Nov. 1990)
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Second Quorum of the Seventy organized (Apr.)
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First stake in West Africa organized, Aba Nigeria Stake (15 May)
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Church released FamilySearch software package to simplify family history research (2 Apr.)
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Milestone of 100 million endowments completed for the dead (Aug.)
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Tallin Estonia Branch established; first in Soviet Union (28 Jan.)
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Russian Republic, largest in Soviet Union, granted formal recognition to the Church (24 June)
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100th anniversary of founding of the Church in Tonga observed (13–27 Aug.)
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150th anniversary of founding of Relief Society celebrated (14 Mar.)
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Encyclopedia of Mormonism published by Macmillian Published by Macmillian Publishing Co.
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Literacy program sponsored by Relief Society announced (15 Dec.)
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Refurbished, remodeled Hotel Utah renamed, rededicated the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (27 June)
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TempleReady computer software announced (8 Nov.)
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President Ezra Taft Benson died (30 May); Howard W. Hunter became 14th President of the Church, with Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson as counselors (5 June)
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Church membership: 4,639,822
-
7,761,207
-
Howard W. Hunter (President of the Church, 5 June 1994)
-
Gordon B. Hinckley (President of the Church, 12 Mar. 1995)
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President Howard W. Hunter died (3 Mar.); Gordon B. Hinckley became 15th President of the Church, with Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust as counselors (12 Mar.)
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First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” (23 Sept.)
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Area Authority Seventies organized into three new quorums (5 Apr.)
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Majority of members resided outside of US (28 Feb.)
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Position of regional representative discontinued; new position of Area Authority Seventy announced (1 Apr.)
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Construction of small temples announced (4 Oct.)
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Church members throughout the world commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Mormon pioneers’ trek west
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President Hinckley announced that there would be 100 operating temples by the end of 20th century (4 Apr.)
-
Church launched the FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service (24 May)
-
First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles” (1 Jan.)
-
Membership passes 11 million (Sept.); more non-English-speaking members than English-speaking
-
Last general conference held in the Tabernacle (2–3 Oct.)
-
Perpetual Education Fund announced (31 Mar.)
-
First general conference held in new Conference Center (1–2 Apr.); Conference Center dedicated (8 Oct.)
-
Boston Massachusetts Temple, 100th operating temple, dedicated (1 Oct.)
-
The 100 millionth copy of Book of Mormon printed; Book of Mormon printed in its 100th language
-
Rebuilt Nauvoo Illinois Temple dedicated on 158th anniversary of martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum (27 June)
-
11,068,861
US History
-
The Second “Great Awakening” (religious revival) (1800–30)
-
US capital moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C.
-
Thomas Jefferson, President 1801–09
-
Louisiana Purchase negotiated with France; size of US doubled
-
Ohio became 17th state
-
Robert Fulton invented the steamboat
-
Lewis and Clark expedition, overland to Pacific Coast and back, began from St. Louis, Missouri (1804–6)
-
Lewis and Clark first saw the Rocky Mountains
-
Congressional act prohibiting African slave trade took effect
-
The Missouri Gazette became first newspaper published west of the Mississippi River
-
James Madison, President 1809–17
-
Construction began on Cumberland Road, connecting Maryland with West Virginia
-
Louisiana became 18th state
-
The War of 1812 began (1812–15)
-
British forces burned Washington, D.C.
-
Francis Scott Key wrote “Star-Spangled Banner”
-
US population: 5,308,483
-
7,239,881
-
First charter granted for a railroad in US
-
The year without a summer; crops failed in New England as a result of volcanic eruption in Indonesia the previous year
-
Indiana became 19th state
-
Mississippi became 20th state
-
Construction of Erie Canal began
-
James Monroe, President 1817–25
-
Illinois became 21st state
-
Spain ceded East Florida to US
-
Alabama became 22nd state
-
Maine became 23rd state
-
Missouri became 24th state
-
Monroe Doctrine, warning European countries about interference with countries in western hemisphere, announced
-
Jim Bridger discovered the Great Salt Lake
-
John Quincy Adams, President 1825–29
-
Erie Canal, a 363-mile-long waterway from Albany to Buffalo, New York, completed
-
Jedediah Smith, trailblazer and trapper, was the first white man to travel overland from the Mississippi River to California; he led first group from the Great Salt Lake to southern California to assess trapping potential (to 1827)
-
Noah Webster published his first dictionary
-
Andrew Jackson, President 1829–37
-
First steam-powered locomotive in US; first passenger rail line
-
9,638,453
-
President Jackson signed Indian Removal Act, moving Indians from the East to the West, making land east of the Mississippi River available for settlement
-
Cyrus McCormick introduced mechanical grain harvester
-
US tried to purchase Texas from Mexico
-
Arkansas became 25th state
-
Battle of the Alamo
-
Martin Van Buren, President 1837–41
-
Michigan became 26th state
-
Financial and economic crisis
-
More than 15,000 Indians along Missouri River die of small pox
-
Cherokee Indians “Trail of Tears” forced move
-
Charles Goodyear discovered process of “vulcanization,” making commercial use of rubber possible
-
First baseball game played, in Cooperstown, New York
-
William Henry Harrison, President for 31 days; he died of pneumonia
-
John Tyler, President 1841–45
-
Crawford W. Long used ether for surgical anesthesia
-
First large group migrated west on Oregon Trail; left from Independence, Missouri
-
Samuel Morse sent first telegraph message
-
US population: 12,866,020
-
17,068,953
-
James K. Polk, President 1845–49
-
Iowa became 29th state
-
Florida and Texas became the 27th and 28th states
-
Great Britain gave Oregon Territory to US
-
John Deere constructed steel plow
-
Wisconsin became 30th state
-
Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California
-
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended Mexican War; US gained most of present-day Southwest states
-
Zachary Taylor, President 1849–50 (died of cholera while in office)
-
Millard Fillmore, President 1850–53
-
California became 31st state
-
Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin
-
Herman Melville published Moby Dick
-
Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter
-
Franklin Pierce, President 1853–57
-
First American kindergarten began in Waterton, Wisconsin
-
Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass
-
Henry David Thoreau published Walden, or Life in the Woods
-
James Buchanan, President 1857–61
-
Minnesota became 32nd state
-
Oregon became 33rd state
-
Gold discovered at Cherry Creek, now part of Colorado (near Denver)
-
First major discovery of silver in US, the Comstock Lode, in present-day Nevada
-
23,191,876
-
Pony express began mail service to West Coast
-
US population: 31,443,321
-
Abraham Lincoln, President 1861–65
-
Civil War began (to 1865)
-
Kansas became 34th state
-
Transcontinental telegraph lines completed at Salt Lake City juncture
-
President Lincoln signed Emancipation Proclamation
-
First coins minted with “In God We Trust”
-
West Virginia became 35th state
-
Nevada became 36th state
-
Andrew Johnson, President 1865–69
-
President Lincoln assassinated
-
Thirteenth Amendment ratified, abolishing slavery
-
Nevada became 36th state
-
Nebraska became 37th state
-
US purchased Alaska from Russia
-
Louisa May Alcott published Little Women
-
Ulysses S. Grant, President 1869–77
-
America’s first transcontinental railroad completed at Promontory, Utah
-
Chicago, Illinois, fire killed 300, left 90,000 homeless, destroyed 18,000 buildings, and did $200 million in property damage
-
Yellowstone National Park established
-
P.T. Barnum opened his circus, “The Greatest Show on Earth”
-
Pressure-cooking method for canning foods introduced
-
38,558,371
-
Battle of the Little Bighorn
-
Colorado became 38th state
-
Mark Twain published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
-
Thomas Edison invented the phonograph
-
Rutherford B. Hayes, President 1877–81
-
Thomas Edison developed electric incandescent light bulb
-
Over 14,000 people killed during yellow fever epidemic in the South
-
James A. Garfield, President 1881
-
Chester A. Arthur, President 1881–85
-
Clara Barton organized American Red Cross
-
Edmunds Act, anti-polygamy legislation, signed into law
-
President James Garfield assassinated (he was shot 2 July and died 19 Sept.)
-
World’s first steel-framed “skyscraper” (10 stories high) completed in Chicago
-
Grover Cleveland, President 1885–89
-
Edmunds-Tucker Act, anti-polygamy legislation passed
-
The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, dedicated
-
Hannibal Goodwin invented celluloid film
-
George-Eastman produced coated photographic paper
-
George Eastman introduced the Kodak box camera
-
Benjamin Harrison, President 1889–93
-
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington became the 39th–42nd states
-
Dam broke near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing 5,000 people
-
50,189,209
-
Idaho and Wyoming became 43rd and 44th states
-
Battle of Wounded Knee
-
Whitcomb Judson patented the zipper
-
Elllis Island opened as an immigration station
-
Grover Cleveland, President 1893–97
-
Stock market crash resulted in four-year economic depression
-
Utah became 45th state
-
“Separate but equal” facilities for whites and blacks ruled constitutional by Supreme Court
-
Klondike gold rush began
-
William McKinley, President 1897–1901
-
Spain and US declared war on each other over Cuba (Apr.–Dec.)
-
Scott Joplin’s composition “Maple Leaf Rag” sold over 1 million copies
-
Reginald Fessenden transmitted first speech by radio
-
Walter Reed discovered that yellow fever virus is carried by mosquitos
-
President William McKinley assassinated
-
Theodore Roosevelt, President 1901–9
-
Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan
-
Wright brothers flew a manned, motorized airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
-
US population: 62,979,766
-
76,212,168
-
San Francisco earthquake killed 700 people; $400 million in property loss
-
Oklahoma became 46th state
-
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) founded
-
Henry Ford introduced Model T automobile
-
William Howard Taft, President 1909–13
-
William D. Boyce organized Boy Scouts of America
-
W. E. B. DuBois founded National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
-
New Mexico and Arizona became 47th and 48th states
-
Woodrow Wilson, President 1913–21
-
Federal income tax introduced with ratification of Sixteenth Amendment
-
Robert H. Goddard began his rocketry experiments
-
First transcontinental telephone call, between New York and San Francisco
-
US entered World War I
-
Daylight-saving plan enacted to conserve fuel
-
Eighteenth Amendment ratified, prohibiting manufacture, sale, import, export, of alcoholic beverages (ended 1933)
-
Grand Canyon National Park established
-
92,228,496
-
Nineteenth Amendment ratified, granting right to vote regardless of gender
-
Warren G. Harding, President 1921–23
-
Calvin Coolidge, President 1923–29
-
President Warren G. Harding died
-
George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue premiered
-
“Scopes-Monkey Trial” found John Scopes guilty of teaching evolution in public school
-
Charles Lindberg completed 33.5-hour solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris
-
The Jazz Singer, first talking motion picture, opened
-
Herbert Hoover, President 1929–33
-
New York stock market crashed, beginning severe economic depression (to 1941)
-
Congress confirmed “Star-Spangled Banner” as national anthem
-
Philo Farnsworth developed electronic television
-
Amelia Earhart became first woman to make solo airplane flight across Atlantic
-
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President 1933–45
-
Twenty-first Amendment ratified, ending Prohibition
-
US population: 106,021,537
-
123,202,624
-
Social Security Act signed, providing retirement pension funds and unemployment insurance; first payment was made in 1937
-
Olympic athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at Berlin games
-
Plastics first used in manufacturing
-
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco opened
-
German dirigible Hindenburg exploded and burned while landing in New Jersey
-
Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds broadcast caused radio audience hysteria
-
Television demonstrated at New York World’s Fair
-
Composer Irving Berlin released “God Bless America”
-
Mt. Rushmore National Monument completed
-
Germany attacked US ships; Japan attacked Pearl Harbor; US entered World War II
-
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical play Oklahoma! first produced
-
Polio epidemic killed almost 1,200 and crippled thousands
-
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized internment of Japanese-Americans
-
Harry S. Truman, President 1945–53
-
President Franklin D. Roosevelt died
-
US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan
-
Under “GI Bill of Rights,” over 1 million war veterans enrolled in colleges
-
Religious training in public schools ruled unconstitutional
-
The X-1 airplane, rocket-powered, made the first supersonic flight
-
Atomic Energy Commission created
-
Transistor invented at Bell Telephone Laboratories
-
132,164,569
-
Electricity produced using nuclear fuel
-
Color television first introduced
-
Lung cancer began to be linked to cigarette smoking
-
Dwight D. Eisenhower, President 1953–61
-
Jonas Stalk developed anti-polio vaccine
-
Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional
-
Interstate Highway system proposed
-
Rosa Parks, a black woman, arrested for refusing to sit at the back of a bus
-
Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California
-
Dr. Suess published The Cat in the Hat
-
US and Canada established North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)
-
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established
-
Alaska and Hawaii became 49th and 50th states
-
John F. Kennedy, President 1961–63
-
Peace Corps established
-
Alan Shepard became the first American in space
-
Lyndon Baines Johnson, President 1963–69
-
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech
-
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
-
John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth
-
British band “The Beatles” first visited the US
-
US population: 151,325,798
-
179,323,175
-
US entered Vietnam War
-
Tennessee’s “Monkey Law” repealed, allowing evolution to be taught in public schools
-
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
-
Richard M. Nixon, President 1969–74
-
Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon
-
Over 250,000 people gather in Washington, D.C. to protest US involvement in Vietnam
-
Twenty-sixth Amendment ratified, lowering voting age to eighteen
-
Two towers of World Trade Center in New York City, tallest buildings in the world, completed
-
Gerald R. Ford, President 1974–77
-
President Richard M. Nixon resigned as result of Watergate scandal
-
James Earl Carter Jr., President 1977–81
-
First space shuttle flight
-
Partial meltdown at Three-Mile Island nuclear plant released radioactivity into the air
-
U.S. bicentennial celebrated
-
Viking I and II space probes landed on Mars
-
Author Alex Haley published Roots: The Saga of an American Family
-
203,302,031
-
Mount St. Helens, in Washington, erupted, killing 57 people
-
Voyager 1 photos revealed other moons around Saturn
-
Ronal W. Reagan, President 1981–89
-
Equal Rights Amendment defeated
-
IBM introduced first home or personal computer (PC)
-
First permanent artificial heart implanted
-
Sally Ride became first US woman in space
-
Apple Computer introduced the computer “mouse”
-
Space shuttle Challenger exploded 74 seconds after liftoff
-
George H. W. Bush, President 1989–93
-
Supreme Court ruled that money given directly to missionaries is not tax deductible
-
Oil tanker Valdez hit Alaskan reef, causing one of world’s largest oil spills (11 million gallons)
-
William Jefferson Clinton, President 1993–2001
-
Floods affecting nine states in the Midwest left 70,000 homeless, $12 billion damage
-
Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed into law
-
Militants bombed World Trade Center, New York City, killing 6 people
-
US population: 226,542,199
-
248,718,301
-
Federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, bombed, 168 people killed
-
US troops in Bosnia (to 1996)
-
Tobacco companies agree to $206 billion settlement for health-related costs of smoking
-
Impeachment hearings for President William Clinton
-
Closest presidential election in US history; George W. Bush declared winner
-
George Walker Bush, President 2001–
-
After hijacking airplanes, terrorists crashed them into World Trade Center, New York City; the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; and in a field in Pennsylvania; over 3,000 people killed
-
Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah
-
281,421,906 (Apr. 2000 Census)
World History
-
Eli Whitney (US) made muskets with interchangeable parts
-
William Herschel (Brit.) discovered infrared solar rays
-
Napoleonic Wars began; they last 12 years
-
Richard Trevithick (Brit.) built first steam locomotive
-
Napoleon Bonaparte crowned emperor in Paris, France
-
Napoleon proclaimed himself King of Italy
-
Earthquake in Naples, Italy killed nearly 26 thousand people
-
British Parliament passed act outlawing slave trade
-
Ludwig van Beethoven (Ger.) debuted his 5th and 6th Symphonies
-
Argentina, Colombia, and Chile declared their independence from Spain; Mexicans began fight for their independence from Spain
-
Francois Appert (Fr.) developed method for canning foods
-
Napoleon began his invasion of Russia
-
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Ger.) published their fairy tales
-
After various defeats, Napoleon was banished to the island of Elba
-
Estimated world population: 813 million
-
Mount Tambora erupted in Indonesia, killing about 10,000; indirectly contributed to worldwide death toll over 80,000 and causing major climate changes
-
Congress of Vienna (1814–15) generated political and geographical realignments of Europe
-
Napoleon left Elba to recapture France; defeated at Waterloo
-
Argentina declared independence from Spain
-
Chile gained independence from Spain
-
Franz X. Gruber (Austria) composed the music for “Silent Night”
-
King George III of Great Britain died; his son George IV became king
-
Napoleon died on the island of St. Helena
-
Earthquake in Syria killed 20,000 people
-
Mexico became a republic
-
Simon Bolivar completed campaign for independence for Bolivia, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
-
First steam locomotive railway in England began operating
-
John Walker (Eng.) introduced sulfur friction matches
-
King George IV of Great Britian died; his brother William IV became king
-
Charles Darwin sailed on surveying expedition on H.M.S. Beagle (to 1836)
-
Louis Braille (Fr.) perfected his reading system for the blind
-
Slavery abolished in the British Empire
-
Halley’s Comet reappeared (76-year cycle)
-
Hans Christian Anderson (Dan.) published first of his children’s stories
-
After the death of her uncle, Victoria became Queen of Great Britain
-
Public announcement of Louis Daguerre’s (Fr.) form of photography
-
Kirkpatrick Macmillan (Scot.) constructed first bicycle
-
China ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain
-
Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol
-
Friedrich Gottlob Keller (Ger.) invented wood pulp paper
-
Elias Howe (US) patented first lockstitch sewing machine
-
Potato crop failure led to famine in Ireland
-
Communist Manifesto issued by Marx and Engles
-
Armand Fizeau (Fr.) determined speed of light
-
Isaac Singer (US) patented first continuous stitch sewing machine
-
R.W. Bunsen (Ger.) produced a gas burner
-
Telegraph began operating between London and Paris
-
Crimean War began (to 1856)
-
During the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale (Eng.) redefined the field of nursing
-
Commodore Matthew Perry (US) sailed to Japan (isolated for 150 years) to negotiate trade agreements
-
First transatlantic telegraph cable between the US and Britain completed
-
Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection
-
Estimated world population: 1.128 billion
-
Jean Etienne Lenoir (Fr.) demonstrated first practical internal combustion engine
-
All foreigners expelled from Japan
-
Victor Hugo (Fr.) published Les Miserables
-
Founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross
-
Louis Pasteur (Fr.) developed pasteurization
-
Lewis Carrol (Eng.) published Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
-
Alfred Nobel (Swed.) invented dynamite
-
Britain granted four Canadian provinces dominion status
-
Gustave Dore (Fr.) created his illustrations for the Bible
-
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russ.) published Crime and Punishment
-
Johannes Brahms (Germ.) composed Ein Deutsches Requiem
-
Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas, opened
-
Franco-Prussian War (to 1871)
-
Jules Verne (Fr.) published Around the World in 80 Days
-
Color photography developed
-
Count Leo Tolstoy (Russ.) published Anna Karenina
-
Alexander Graham Bell (US) patented the telephone
-
Korea became an independent nation
-
Robert Louis Stevenson (Scot.) published Treasure Island
-
Eruption of Krakatoa, volcano in Indonesia, killed almost 36,000 on nearby islands
-
Karl Benz (Ger.) built first practical automobile powered by internal combustion engine
-
Nikola Tesla (US) built first alternating current (AC) electric motor
-
Eiffel Tower opened during Paris World Exhibition
-
Earthquake in Japan killed nearly 10,000 people
-
Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s (Russ.) The Nutcracker ballet performed for the first time
-
Rudyard Kipling (Eng.) published The Jungle Book
-
First modern Olympic games held in Athens, Greece
-
Wilhelm Rontgen (Ger.) discovered x-rays
-
Guglielmo Marconi (Ital.) invented radio telegraphy
-
Jewish Zionist Congress convened in Switzerland
-
Pierre and Marie Curie (Fr.) discovered radium
-
Boer War in South Africa began (ended 1902)
-
Boxer Rebellion against foreigners in China began (ended 1901)
-
Bayer company (Ger.) patented asprin
-
First magnetic recording of sound
-
Queen Victoria of England died; succeeded by her son Edward VII
-
Mount Pelee erupted killing nearly 29,000 people
-
Aswan Dam in Egypt opened
-
First Tour de France (bicycle race) held
-
Trans-Siberian railroad completed (4,607 miles)
-
Mohandas Ghandi began non-violent resistance movement in South Africa
-
A typhoon in Tahiti killed over 10,000 people
-
Sir Robert Baden-Powell (Eng.) founded Boy Scouts
-
Robert E. Peary (US) became first person to reach North Pole
-
Sigmund Freud (Aust.) introduced his theories on psychoanalysis
-
King Edward VII of England died; succeeded by George V
-
Roald Amundsen (Nor.) became first person to reach South Pole
-
SS Titanic sank after hitting iceberg: 1,513 passengers and crew died
-
Panama Canal opened
-
Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary assassinated, triggering World War I
-
Albert Einstein (Ger.) published his General Theory of Relativity
-
Battle of Verdun results in over 1 million soldiers being killed
-
Balfour Declaration declared Palestine as homeland for the Jews
-
Czar Nicholas II and his family execut
-
ed; Russian revolution (to 1921)
-
Influenza epidemic (killed 20 million people by 1920)
-
Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I
-
Estimated world population: 1.75 billion
-
Earthquake in China killed over 180,000 people
-
The League of Nations was established
-
Mussolini established fascist dictatorship in Italy
-
King Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened in Egypt
-
Adolph Hitler published Mein Kampf
-
Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennet (US) made first airplane flight over North Pole
-
Economic system in Germany collapsed
-
Chiang Kai-shek overthrew Manchu dynasty; elected president of China
-
Josef Stalin began his Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union
-
Alexander Fleming (Brit.) discovered penicillin
-
Max Theiler (S. Afr.) developed yellow fever vaccine
-
Mohandas “Mahatma” Ghandi began a “fast unto death” and urged a boycott of British goods to protest British goods to protest British government’s treatment of India’s lowest cast, the “untouchables”; helped bring reforms
-
Hitler gained titled of Fuhrer and control of Germany
-
First concentration camps erected by the Nazis in Germany; by 1945, 8–10 million prisoners were interned, at least half of them (most of them Jews) were killed
-
Estimate: 1,860 Million
-
Estimated world population: 2.07 billion
-
Robert Watson-Watt (Scot.) built radar equipment to detect aircraft
-
Spanish Civil War began (ended 1939)
-
King George V of England died and was succeeded by his son Edward VIII; Edward VIII later abdicated and was succeeded by his brother George VI
-
Frank Whittle (Brit.) built first jet engine
-
Lajos Biro (Hung.) invented ballpoint pen
-
Germany invaded Poland; World War II began (ended 1945)
-
German blitz on London began; nearly one-third of the city destroyed by end of year
-
C. S. Lewis (Eng.) published The Screwtape Letters
-
Famine in India killed at least 1.5 million people
-
Allies launched “D-Day” invasion of Europe
-
Selman Waksman (US) discovered streptomycin
-
World War II ended
-
United Nations held first session
-
Cold War began (to 1990); British Prime Minister Winston Churchhill coined term “Iron Curtain”
-
Dead Sea Scrolls discovered
-
To prove prehistoric immigration, Thor Hyerdahl (Nor.) took raft expedition from Peru to Polynesia
-
Israel declared an independent state
-
German Democratic Republic and Federal Republic of Germany created, splitting Germany into East and West Germany
-
World Council of Churches organized
-
Independent Republic of Ireland established
-
Estimated world population: 2.3 billion
-
Korean War began (ended 1953)
-
First thermo-nuclear bomb detonated, in the Marshall Islands
-
The Diary of Anne Frank published
-
King George VI of England died; succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth II
-
First hydrogen bomb detonated
-
Sir Edmund Hillary (N.Z.) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) first to reach peak of Mt. Everest, world’s tallest mountain
-
In South Africa, armed police move 60,000 blacks from an area to be used by whites only
-
Transatlantic cable telephone service began
-
Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, first artificial satellite
-
Nikita Khrushchev became leader of USSR
-
Fidel Castro took control of Cuban government
-
Vietnam War (to 1973)
-
Bay of Pigs Invasion failed in Cuba
-
Yuri Gagarin (USSR) became the first man in space; he orbited the earth
-
East Germany built Berlin Wall
-
Cuban Missile Crisis
-
Telstar (US), first communications satellite, launched
-
Leonid Brezhnev became leader of USSR
-
Valentina Tereshkova (USSR) became the first woman in space
-
World population: 2.555 billion
-
3.04 billion
-
Six-day Israeli-Arab War
-
First human heart transplant performed in South Africa
-
First World Conference on Records was held (in Salt Lake City)
-
Aswan High Dam in Egypt completed
-
Cyclones and floods in East Pakistan killed 500,000 people
-
Earthquakes, floods, and landslides killed 30,000 people in Peru
-
Earthquake in Nicaragua killed over 10,000 people
-
Vietnam War ended, US troops pulled out
-
Oil-producing Arab nations ban export of oil to US, western Europe, and Japan (to 1974) because of their support of Israel, resulting in energy crisis
-
Author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn expelled from Soviet Union after publishing The Gulag Archipelago
-
Communists took over government of South Vietnam
-
Earthquakes in Italy, China, Philippines, Turkey, Bali, and Guatemala killed an estimated 780,000 people
-
US confirmed testing of neutron bomb
-
Mother Theresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
-
Margaret Thatcher became first woman prime minister of Britain
-
3.708 billion
-
Soviet cosmonauts returned to earth after 185 days on a space station
-
Most severe El Nino (1982–83) to date caused worldwide weather anomalies
-
Compact disk for pulic use launched
-
Toxic gas leak in Bhopal, India, killed over 2,000 people
-
AIDS virus identified
-
Mikhail Gorbachev became premier of Soviet Union
-
Nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine, exploded; 133,000 evacuated; clouds of fallout affected all of Europe
-
Earthquake in Armenia killed over 40,000 people
-
Tiananmen Square Massacre in China; 300–400 prodemocracy students killed
-
Berlin Wall dismantled
-
Soviet parliament voted to allow freedom of religious belief
-
USSR dissolved; became Russian Federation
-
Persian Gulf War
-
Cold War formally ended
-
Nelson Mandela became first black president of South Africa
-
Public Internet era began
-
Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) opened, linking England and France
-
World population: 4.454 billion Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) identified
-
5.276 billion
-
Earthquake in Kobe, Japan killed over 5,000 people
-
Control of Hong Kong returned to China
-
Panama takes over control of Panama Canal from US
-
Australians voted to retain British monarchy as head of state rather than elect president
-
6.79 billion