Sitting Bull to Phil Jackson, cattle to prairie dogs, knoephla to lefse. North Dakota's legacy includes many strange stories of eccentric towns, war heroes, and various colorful characters. Hear all about them on Dakota Datebook, your daily dose of North Dakota history.
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Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You can find all Dakota Datebooks from 2018-today below. Our archive of Datebooks from 2003-2017 can be found here.
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The 1950s are remembered fondly by most U.S. history textbooks. Known as the Eisenhower era, the post-war years were considered a new height of prosperity, with median family purchasing power increasing as much as 30%. -
In 1904, seven men met in Chicago and laid the foundation for the International Workers of the World. Attendees included radicals and trade unionists from across the United States.
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President Abraham Lincoln began considering emancipation for slaves in states that were in rebellion, which would exempt border states that remained in the Union, like Kentucky. This would be the first step on the road to abolition while keeping the border states loyal to the Union.
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How often do you get to experience a UFO, or unidentified flying object, in your backyard? On this date in 1966, newspapers from the state reported on an 11-year-old boy in Sargent County who got to do just that.
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The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers was the climax of the subprime mortgage crisis. When attempts to negotiate financing for reorganization failed, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy involving more than $600 billion. On this date in 2008, the Dow Jones fell by more than 500 points, a drop of 4½ percent. Other financial institutions began to feel the uncertainty, and the result was a financial panic that spread across the globe.
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In 1819, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun authorized an expedition to the American frontier. Calhoun’s goal was to establish a military outpost at the mouth of the Yellowstone River in present-day North Dakota.
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Fire was always a danger in early North Dakota. Early firefighting often consisted of community members responding and forming bucket brigades. The first organized firefighters were volunteers who trained together and collected rudimentary equipment. But as clusters of homes grew into towns, and towns grew into cities, communities realized they had to develop a serious plan to respond to the danger of fire.
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The hardest variety of wheat is durum. Its high protein content makes it ideal for producing pasta. In fact, it is often called “pasta wheat.” While common wheat, also known as bread wheat, is valued for its elasticity and bread-making properties, durum is renowned for its exceptional hardness, which defines the quality of premium pasta. Durum wheat originated in the Fertile Crescent, an area encompassing modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. It was domesticated between 9,000 and 12,000 years ago.
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Social media has become an important part of modern life. Although the technology that allows for two-way communication is modern, the concept of social media is nothing new. People have always been interested in what other people are doing, and they have always had ways of finding out.
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The 1916 presidential campaign occurred during the Mexican Revolution and World War I. Americans wanted no part of foreign wars. Woodrow Wilson campaigned with the slogan, “He kept us out of war.” But Wilson was a practical man. He knew he had to have a plan in case it became impossible for the United States to remain neutral, and that plan had to include financing.
Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.