Subjects –
Speaker of the House
The Oath of Office Bill
May 18, 1789
The Oath of Office Bill, the first legislative act of Congress, passed the House of Representatives on this date.
The 1824 “American System” speech by Speaker Henry Clay of Kentucky
March 30, 1824
– March 31, 1824
On this date, Speaker Henry Clay of Kentucky addressed the House from the well to support targeted protective tariffs and to proclaim his ideal of an “American system” of national development that would benefit all sections of the United States.
The Opening of the 34th Congress
December 03, 1855
On this date, Representatives badly divided over the slavery issue convened in the Old House Chamber (present-day Statuary Hall) to commence the 34th Congress (1855–1857).
The creation of the Congressional Record
March 05, 1873
The Government Printing Office (GPO) published the first issue of the Congressional Record, detailing House and Senate proceedings from the prior legislative day.
Speaker of the House Samuel Randall of Pennsylvania
October 15, 1877
On this date, Representative Samuel Randall of Pennsylvania was re-elected Speaker of the House by a 17-vote margin for the 45th Congress (1877–1879) over Representative James Garfield of Ohio.
Bay State Day in the House of Representatives
January 19, 1888
The State of Massachusetts presented, with much fanfare, portraits of four former Speakers of the House, transforming the House Chamber into a veritable picture gallery.
The historic 54th Congress
December 02, 1895
The 54th Congress convened a little more than a year after what proved to be a historic midterm election.
The Speaker’s broken gavels
June 23, 1906
On this date, Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon of Illinois broke a gavel while putting the House into the Committee of the Whole for further consideration of a bill.
The “Comebacks” of the 64th Congress
December 05, 1915
As the 64th Congress (1915–1917) began to organize itself, the House of Representatives experienced a monumental return of former Members to the House as more than nearly one-third of its Membership had not served is the prior Congress.
A historic change in the Oath of Office
April 15, 1929
On this date, Speaker Nicholas Longworth of Ohio changed the tradition of swearing in new Members by state delegations to swearing in all Members simultaneously.
The opening of the 72nd Congress
December 07, 1931
On this date, the 72nd Congress (1931–1933) convened as Clerk William Tyler Page called the House to order at noon on opening day.
Speaker of the House William Bankhead of Alabama
June 04, 1936
On this date, the House elected Majority Leader William Bankhead of Alabama as Speaker of the House following the unexpected death of Speaker Joseph Byrns of Tennessee earlier that morning.
The first major radio broadcast of a Joint Meeting
March 04, 1939
On this date, more than 400 radio broadcasters from the United States and Canada covered the proceedings in the House Chamber marking the 150th anniversary of the first meeting of Congress.
The 1946 House elections
November 05, 1946
Riding widespread discontent with the postwar economic policies of the Harry Truman administration, Republicans on this date recaptured majority control of the House from Democrats for the first time in 15 years.
The naming of the House Office Buildings
May 21, 1962
On this date, the House Office Buildings were named to honor three famous Speakers of the House: Joseph Cannon of Illinois, Nicholas Longworth of Ohio, and Sam Rayburn of Texas.
The Apollo 11 crew members appear before a Joint Meeting of Congress
September 16, 1969
When Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts introduced the Apollo 11 crew members before a Joint Meeting of Congress on this date, the moment marked the culmination of a determined American effort to defeat the Soviet Union in a “space race” that began with the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets in 1957.
Vice President Spiro Agnew’s impeachment request
September 26, 1973
On this date, Speaker Carl Albert of Oklahoma denied Vice President Spiro Agnew’s request to commence an impeachment investigation into charges that he had received bribes from construction companies while serving as Governor of Maryland and as Vice President.