United States Capitol Timeline of Events

Home / Timelines / United States Capitol

United States Capitol

The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...

Timeline of Events

1793

9.18.1793

The first cornerstone of the Capitol building is laid by George Washington.

1844

5.24.1844

Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a Bible quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland to inaugurate the first telegraph line.

1932

6.17.1932

Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.

1954

3.1.1954

Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.

1971

3.1.1971

A bomb explodes in a men's room in the United States Capitol: the Weather Underground claims responsibility.

1983

11.7.1983

1983 United States Senate bombing: a bomb explodes inside the United States Capitol. No people are harmed, but an estimated $250,000 in damage is caused.

1998

7.24.1998

Russell Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire killing two police officers. He is later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial.