Constant Oakman (born 1803)

In 1803, in the year that Constant Oakman was born, on March 1st, Ohio became the 17th state of the United States. Because Congress never passed a resolution declaring Ohio a state, however, it wasn't until 1953 that Ohio retroactively became an official state.

In 1826, on July 4th, former US Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died. It was the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson died a few hours before Adams. Adams, unaware of Jefferson's death - who was both a friend and a rival - said as he was dying ""Thomas Jefferson survives."

In 1890, on January 2nd, Alice Sanger became the first female staffer to work in the White House. She was hired as a stenographer and, as such, took dictation.

In 1904, the Russo-Japanese war began. The Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire began fighting over the territories of Manchuria and Korea. Russia wanted a warm water port on the Pacific Ocean while Japan feared growing encroachment from Russia into Asia. So the Japan fleet launched a surprise attack on the Russian Navy and a one year war began. President Roosevelt of the United States brokered peace between the two nations. It was the first time in the modern era that an Asian power showed its dominance over a European power.

In 1954, from April 22 through June 17th, the Army v. McCarthy hearings were held. The U.S. Army accused Roy Cohn (chief counsel to Senator McCarthy and later trusted mentor of Donald Trump) of blackmail. McCarthy and Cohn accused the U.S. Army of harboring communists. The Army allegations were found to be true. The U.S. Senate later censured McCarthy.