Every Year SWAP IDEAS DAY 1600s 1608: JAMESTOWN COLONY IN VIRGINIA RECEIVED A NEW PRESIDENT, JOHN SMITH 1740s 1742: FANEUIL HALL WAS GIVEN TO THE TOWN OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1770s 1776: NATHAN HALE VOLUNTEERED TO SPY BEHIND ENEMY LINES 1790s 1794: BLOUNT COLLEGE WAS CHARTERED […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). Her father ascended the throne on […]

Every Year INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY 1150s BORN 1157: KING RICHARD I OF ENGLAND (THE LION-HEARTED) 1500s 1504: MICHELANGELO’S DAVID STATUE WAS UNVEILED IN FLORENCE, ITALY 1560s 1565: DON PEDRO MENÉNDEZ DE AVILÉS FOUNDED WHAT BECAME ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA 1565: THE FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT IN WHAT […]

1530s BORN 1533: QUEEN ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND 1540s DIED 1548: CATHERINE PARR (WIDOW OF HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND) 1860s BORN 1860: GRANDMA MOSES (PAINTER) BORN 1867: J. P. MORGAN JR. (FINANCIER) 1880s 1888: EDITH ELEANOR MCLEAN WAS THE FIRST BABY TO BE PLACED IN […]

LABOR DAY Always the first Monday in September, Labor Day is meant as a tribute to the American worker to whom the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country is made possible. The holiday started modestly in cities and towns, with the first celebration on […]

Every Year BE LATE FOR SOMETHING DAY (UNITED STATES) 1180s BORN 1187: LOUIS VIII OF FRANCE 1560s BORN 1568: TOMMASO CAMPANELLA (PHILOSOPHER) 1660s 1666: GREAT FIRE OF LONDON ENDED 1690s 1698: RUSSIA’S PETER THE GREAT IMPOSED A TAX ON BEARDS 1730s BORN 1735: JOHANN CHRISTIAN […]

1780s 1781: LOS ANGELES FOUNDED BY SPANISH SETTLERS 1800s BORN 1803: SARAH CHILDRESS POLK (U.S. FIRST LADY) 1820s 1821: RUSSIAN DECREE ISSUED CONCERNING NORTHWEST AMERICA200 Years Ago BORN 1824: ANTON BRUCKNER (COMPOSER) 1830s 1833: TEN-YEAR-OLD BARNEY FLAHERTY BECAME FIRST NEWSBOY IN THE U.S. HE WORKED […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Search for Tomorrow is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focused primarily on the […]

COURTESY WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Diana Nyad/ˈnaɪˌæd/ (née Sneed; born August 22, 1949) is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and long-distance swimmer. Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan (28 mi or 45 km) and in 1979 when she swam from North Bimini, The Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida (102 mi (164 km)). In 2013, […]

Every Year MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 1550s DIED 1557: JACQUES CARTIER (EXPLORER) 1710s DIED 1715: LOUIS XIV, KING OF FRANCE 1730s 1730: DEBORAH READ ROGERS BECAME THE COMMON-LAW WIFE OF BEN FRANKLIN 1790s BORN 1792: CHESTER HARDING (PAINTER) BORN 1795: JAMES GORDON BENNET (FOUNDER OF NEW […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Quincy Jones. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and he […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Vicki Keith Munro, CM, O.Ont (born 26 February 1961 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian marathon swimmer. She currently holds 16 world records and has received over 41 honours and awards, having crossed many of the world’s most challenging bodies of water. To date, she has raised over […]

1630s BORN 1632: JOHN LOCKE (PHILOSOPHER) 1800s BORN 1809: OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, SR. (AUTHOR) 1860s 1866: FIRST PEPPERSASS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE DEMONSTRATION ON THE MOUNT WASHINGTON COG RAILWAY TOOK PLACE DIED 1868: CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH SCHÖNBEIN (CHEMIST) 1870s DIED 1877: BRIGHAM YOUNG (MORMON LEADER) 1910s BORN 1915: […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, SC, (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country’s parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person born in what would become the United States to […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock band Double Trouble. Other associated acts include singer David Bowie and multi-instrumentalist Chente Vasquez (Chente Vasquez Experience). […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single “Gloria“, stayed on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking at No. 2. It also reached number one […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title (the French Championships). The following […]

ST. BARTHOLOMEW One of the original 12 Apostles, St. Bartholomew is commemorated on August 24. In England, many fairs were held on this day, including the famous St. Bartholomew Fair in Smithfield. Eventually, the saint’s feast day appeared in weather lore, such as “At St. […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed “Old Sarge“, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of […]

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS Ann Smith Franklin (October 2, 1696 – April 16, 1763) was an American colonial newspaper printer and publisher. She inherited the business from her husband, James Franklin, brother of Benjamin Franklin. She published the Mintunt, printed an almanac series. She was the country’s first female newspaper editor, the first woman to write […]