Martha Jane Hill (born 1841)

In 1841, in the year that Martha Jane Hill was born, on August 16th, President John Tyler vetoed a bill to re-establish the Second Bank of the United States - America's Central Bank. President Jackson had previously dissolved the bank and Tyler's veto angered the Whig Party (his own party). Rioters gathered outside the White House and burned Tyler in effigy, threw stones at the White House, and fired guns. It may have been the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.

In 1874, on September 14th, the Battle of Liberty Place occurred in New Orleans - the capital of Louisiana. Some members of the previous Confederate Army assembled for the purpose of "driving the usurpers from power" and the Republican Governor - William P. Kellogg - was physically driven from his office. The former Confederates temporarily replaced him with (the former) Democratic Governor John McEnery. Federal forces arrived, put down the insurrection, and five days later the legally elected government was restored.

In 1880, on August 26th, P. T. Barnum and James A. Bailey signed a contract in Bridgeport, CT, creating the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Twenty-seven years later, the Barnum and Bailey would merge with another circus, Ringling Brothers.

In 1918, on November 1, an elevated train on the Brooklyn line of the subway - driven by an inexperienced operator because of a strike - tried to navigate a turn at 30mph. The limit on the curve was 6 mph. The 2nd and 3rd cars of the 5 car wooden train were badly damaged and at least 93 people were killed, making it the deadliest crash in New York subway history.

In 1929, on October 29th (Black Tuesday), the stock market crashed in the United States. Billions of dollars were lost and some investors committed suicide as a result, having lost their fortunes. This ushered in the 12 year, worldwide Great Depression.