This week in 1976, NASA’s first space shuttle, the Enterprise, was revealed to the public. And it was definitely named after Star Trek.

The Enterprise Fri, Sep 17, 1976 – Page 3 · Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas) · Newspapers.com

Space Shuttle Enterprise Thu, Sep 9, 1976 – Page 9 · Simpson’s Leader-Times (Kittanning, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Space Shuttle Enterprise Unveiled Today Fri, Sep 17, 1976 – Page 1 · The Index-Journal (Greenwood, South Carolina) · Newspapers.com

Space Shuttle Enterprise Sat, Sep 18, 1976 – Page 32 · Asbury Park Press (Asbury Park, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

The Enterprise was not built to withstand the rigors of space, but was used in atmospheric test flights in the late 1970s. It never went through the intended retrofitting that would allow for spaceflight when it became clear that it would be prohibitively expensive to do so. In 2003 the shuttle was fixed up and put on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. It was moved to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City in 2012 and remains there today.

Find more on this piece of spacey history with a search on Newspapers.com.

In the morning hours of September 11th, 2001, the world watched in horror as the twin towers of the World Trade Center were brought down by terrorist attack. This week in headlines:

Sept 11, 2001 Tue, Sep 11, 2001 – Page 47 · The Journal News (White Plains, New York) · Newspapers.com

Sept 11, 2001 Tue, Sep 11, 2001 – Page 37 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com

Sept 11, 2001 Tue, Sep 11, 2001 – 1 · The Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, New York) · Newspapers.com

Find more on the September 11th attacks on Newspapers.com.

On August 26th, 1920, the 19th Amendment is officially adopted into the constitution. Occasionally called the Anthony Amendment after Susan B. Anthony, one of the first to push for a women’s suffrage amendment, the 19th Amendment granted all women the right to vote.

19th Amendment adopted Thu, Aug 26, 1920 – Page 4 · Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, Nevada) · Newspapers.com

This historic moment reflected decades of effort by leaders in the women’s suffrage movement and the organizations they headed. The proclamation was signed without ceremony, but changed millions of lives nonetheless.

Find more headlines and articles from this historic day here, or with a search on Newspapers.com.

On August 23, 1902, Fannie Farmer opens a school to teach her methods of cooking. You may not have heard of her, but she revolutionized American cooking by introducing standardized measuring tools in her famous cookbook. Next time you measure a level teaspoon of baking soda, you know who to thank! Miss Farmer’s aptitude and nearly scientific approach to cooking made her a familiar name across the country.

Made Cooking a Science Sun, Nov 24, 1957 – Page 38 · Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) · Newspapers.com
Miss Fannie Farmer Sat, Jul 19, 1902 – 3 · New England Farmer (Boston, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.com

Miss Farmer was unique in her field for another reason, too; not only did her cookery courses focus on fancy dinners and events, but she worked to create diets catered to the ill. She taught nutritional courses to doctors and nurses and considered her work creating meals for those who are so often without appetites to be her most important contribution. But the classes taught in her cooking school focused on all of her areas of expertise.

Miss Farmer’s school of cookery Sat, Sep 6, 1902 – 3 · New England Farmer (Boston, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.com

Find more on Fannie Farmer, her cookbook, and her cooking school with a search on Newspapers.com.

On August 13, 1961, barbed wire fences are put up to divide the Soviet eastern half of the city from democratic West Berlin. This would later become the infamous concrete barrier known as the Berlin Wall.

Barbed wire barrier Mon, Aug 14, 1961 – Page 1 · The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont) · Newspapers.com

Peace Pact Now Seen Irrevocable Mon, Aug 14, 1961 – 3 · Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) · Newspapers.com

Turned Back Mon, Aug 14, 1961 – 8 · Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) · Newspapers.com

Violate Big Four Accord Mon, Aug 14, 1961 – 3 · Daily News (New York, New York) · Newspapers.com

Wire put up Mon, Aug 14, 1961 – 1 · Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) · Newspapers.com

Find more from this moment in history with a search on Newspapers.com, or by browsing the papers from this time.

This week in 1947, a balsa raft called the Kon-Tiki successfully ends its long voyage across the Pacific with a (rough) landing on the uninhabited island of Raroia. The precarious excursion was meant to prove that the Polynesian islands could have originally been settled by South Americans, a theory posited by Norwegian anthropologist and raft captain, Thor Heyerdahl.

Thor Heyerdahl Sun, Jun 1, 1947 – Page 135 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

the “why” behind the trip Thu, May 8, 1947 – Page 25 · The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

The Kon-Tiki route, and Thor (on the right) Sun, Feb 9, 1947 – 57 · The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) · Newspapers.com

The 4,300 mile trip took the six men on board the raft 101 days to complete. The voyage began in late April and was anticipated to last at least four months. The raft itself was constructed as close to the indigenous ancient Peruvian style as could be managed, and would bob along from Peru to Tahiti with the help of the Humboldt Current. As you might expect, an ocean journey on a raft no bigger than a modestly-sized living room had its share of dangers.

the six men Thu, May 8, 1947 – Page 25 · The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

sea creature dangers Sun, Feb 9, 1947 – 57 · The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) · Newspapers.com

The raft crashed into a reef off the coast of Raroia island on August 7—an almost comically bad ending to a long and difficult experiment. Fortunately, all of the crew were fine and made it back home safely afterwards. But on the bright side, they got there ahead of schedule! You win some, you lose some.

Aug 7, 1947 Mon, Aug 11, 1947 – 11 · Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

Find out more about the Kon-Tiki expedition and the men who braved it with a search on Newspapers.com.

On August 3rd, 1958, the famous nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus makes a historic journey beneath the ice caps of the North Pole. Here are a handful of clippings about the journey and crew from papers across the states during August 1958:

This Time He Made It Sun, Aug 31, 1958 – 16 · Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

Commander and crew of USS Nautilus Sun, Aug 31, 1958 – 16 · Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

Excerpt from letter of Nautilus crewman James Irvin Tue, Aug 26, 1958 – 4 · The Clinton Eye (Clinton, Missouri) · Newspapers.com

Excerpt from the letter of Nautilus crewman James Johnson Tue, Aug 12, 1958 – Page 2 · The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) · Newspapers.com

Commander Anderson awarded Legion of Merit Sat, Aug 9, 1958 – Page 1 · Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, Nevada) · Newspapers.com

Find more on this unprecedented journey, the many records of the Nautilus, and Commander Anderson with a search on Newspapers.com.

This week in 1911, Hiram Bingham discovered the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. “Discovered” is, in this case, a bit inaccurate; those living in the region already knew about the ruins nestled in the dizzying mountain heights. It was one of these locals who pointed Bingham in the right direction and spoke the name by which the settlement is known.

Lost City Found Sun, Jun 22, 1913 – Page 41 · Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) · Newspapers.com

Machu Picchu Discovered Fri, Dec 22, 1911 – Page 6 · The Daily Notes (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Bingham’s expedition Fri, Dec 22, 1911 – Page 2 · The New York Times (New York, New York) · Newspapers.com

Bingham’s explorations and excavations of the city, and the subsequent publicity, brought it into headlines across the world. Its stony remains and the thousands of steps one must climb to reach them have since become one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions.

Try a search on Newspapers.com for more on Bingham and Machu Picchu.

Story on the Romanovs, May 1918 Thu, May 16, 1918 – 8 · Cherokee Harmonizer (Centre, Alabama) · Newspapers.com

In the early morning hours of July 17, 1918, the exiled Romanov family and loyal servants were murdered by Bolshevik guards under the orders of Vladmir Lenin. The executions were so concealed and misinformation so thoroughly woven around the event that for years no one knew what happened to the czar and his family.

Rumors of the death of the ex-czar Sun, Dec 22, 1918 – Page 7A · The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) · Newspapers.com

Suspicious details, but no proof Sun, Dec 22, 1918 – Page 7A · The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) · Newspapers.com

Nearly a decade later Soviet leaders confessed to the murders, though they absolved themselves of direct involvement and responsibility. The truth came out in patchy pieces. It wasn’t just the czar who had met a violent end, but his family as well, a fact which didn’t sit well even with detractors. The following clipping shares a (slightly graphic) account of the family’s last moments.

Graphic description of Romanov murders Sun, Nov 11, 1928 – 119 · The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) · Newspapers.com

It took decades for the bodies to finally be found. In 1998, 80 years after their deaths, the family was buried together in St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg.

Find more on the rough politics leading up to this moment and on the deaths of the Romanovs with a search on Newspapers.com. And of course there is much to be found about the youngest daughter, Anastasia, and the many impersonations that would follow speculations of her survival.

Found in a July 13, 1942 Connecticut paper, this article warns that 1944 would be the earliest possible end date for the ongoing war.

Long Hard War Being Predicted Mon, Jul 13, 1942 – Page 1 · Naugatuck Daily News (Naugatuck, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

This was just one of many articles printed in papers throughout WWII that foresaw a slow end to the deadliest conflict in history, a war that had already been going on for years and promised to last for several more. As we know, the estimates were pretty accurate; Japan’s official surrender ended the war at last in August, 1945.

Find more on WWII and important headlines from the time with a search or browse on Newspapers.com.