Posted by ESMERELDA EMERALD ESPINO
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
The Great Seal is a principal national symbol of the United States. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The obverse of the Great Seal depicts the national coat of arms of the United States while the reverse features an unfinished pyramid topped by an Eye of Providence. The year of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776, is noted in Roman numerals at the base of the pyramid. The seal contains three Latin phrases: E Pluribus Unum (“Out of many, one”), Annuit cœptis (“Providence has favored our undertakings”), and Novus ordo seclorum (“New order of the ages”).
Largely designed by Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, and William Barton, and first used in 1782, the seal is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the federal government of the United States. Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal have appeared on the reverse of the one-dollar bill. The coat of arms is used on official documents—including United States passports—military insignia, embassy placards, and various flags. The seal of the president of the United States is directly based on the Great Seal, and its elements are used in numerous government agency and state seals.
Today’s official versions from the Department of State are largely unchanged from the 1885 designs. The current rendering of the reverse was made by Teagle & Little of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1972. It is nearly identical to previous versions, which in turn were based on Lossing’s 1856 version.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
West Virginia Day celebrates the statehood of West Virginia. The 35th state was formed when several northwestern counties of Virginia objected to that state’s decision in 1861 to join the Confederacy during the Civil War. These counties worked for two years to form their own state and join the Union. They succeeded on June 20, 1863. Since 1927, West Virginians have officially celebrated this event on June 20 each year.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Errol Flynn (actor) –
- Martin Landau (actor) –
- Brian Wilson (singer) –
- Anne Murray (singer) –
- Bob Vila (handyman) –
- Lionel Richie (singer) –
- John Goodman (actor) –
- Nicole Kidman (actress) –
- Josh Lucas (actor) –
- Shefali Chowdhury (actress; plays Parvati Patil in the Harry Potter movies) –
Died
- Bugsy Siegel (gangster) –
- Jack Kilby (the man who pioneered the development of the microchip and helped to create the first hand-held calculator) –
Events
- Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States–
- Queen Victoria gained the British throne–
- A patent for the telegraph was granted to Samuel Morse–
- West Virginia was admitted to the Union as the 35th state–
- Queen Victoria’s 2-day Golden Jubilee celebration began–
- First “Baby Bonus” checks were sent to Canadian families–
- The microgroove, long-playing, Vinylite record, called the LP, was formally introduced at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City by CBS (Columbia Records)–
- Fred H. Howard received a patent for a hybrid tea rose with clear rose red color which does not fade or turn blue”“–
- The U.S. and the Soviet Union signed an agreement in Geneva to establish a so-called hot line emergency communication system, linking Washington and Moscow–
- New National Library of Canada building officially opened in Ottawa, Ontario–
- The first oil from Alaska’s frozen north slope began flowing into the trans-Alaska pipeline system (TAPS)–
- In Russia, Sir Paul McCartney performed his 3,000th gig–
- A minor earthquake (magnitude 1.0) shook the New Hampshire seacoast–
Weather
- Tornado hit Fargo, North Dakota, destroying 1,364 homes and killing 10–
- Baseball-sized hail was reported in parts of New England–
- Lightning from Friday night storms (June 20) sparked more than 800 fires in northern California. Storms on Friday night produced an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 lightning strikes. Thousands of firefighters, including those from neighboring states, worked to put the fires out from ground and air over the next few days. Tens of thousands of acres were consumed over several days. On Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard helicopters performed an emergency airlift of 8 endangered California condors (7 juveniles, 1 adult) from a wildlife center to the Monterey airport. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared state of emergency for Monterey and Trinity Counties on Monday.–
- Newark, New Jersey, had a record high temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit–
- Burlington, Vermont, had a record high temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit–
- New York City had a record high temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit–
- Hartford, Connecticut, had a record high temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit–
- Danielle formed, setting a record for the earliest fourth tropical storm in the Atlantic basin–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
