Sierra Club Founded: The Birth of Modern Environmentalism
John Muir and 27 others founded the Sierra Club on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, with Muir as its first president. The organization's original purpose was to "explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions of the Pacific Coast." Its first major political battle was the unsuccessful fight to prevent the damming of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, which San Francisco flooded for its water supply in 1913. Muir died the following year, heartbroken by the loss. The Sierra Club evolved into one of the most influential environmental advocacy organizations in America, playing key roles in the creation of the National Park Service (1916), the Wilderness Act (1964), the Clean Air Act (1970), and the blocking of numerous dams and development projects. It currently has over 3.8 million members and supporters.
May 28, 1892
134 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 28
The sun went dark mid-battle, and both armies dropped their weapons. Thales of Miletus had predicted it—the first recorded solar eclipse forecast in history, Ma…
Li Shimin had 3,500 cavalry. Dou Jiande brought 100,000 men to Hulao Pass in Henan. The numbers didn't matter. Shimin's father had just founded the Tang Dynasty…
They murdered the inquisitors in their sleep. William Arnaud and eleven companions were hunting heretics in Languedoc when Cathars stormed their lodgings at Avi…
They called it "everlasting." James IV of Scotland married Margaret Tudor in 1503, her father Henry VII footing the bill for a wedding that cost more than Scotl…
Cranmer didn't even have the authority yet—his papal bulls confirming him as Archbishop wouldn't arrive for another two months. But Henry needed this marriage l…
The popular narrative of the Spanish Armada's defeat in 1588 oversimplifies what was actually a drawn-out campaign. The Armada sailed from Lisbon on May 28, 158…
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