ROBERT B. THOMAS’S BIRTHDAY Founder of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Born in Grafton, Massachusetts, nine years before the start of the American Revolution, Thomas was brought up on a farm in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He was fascinated by science and at age 16 read Ferguson’s Astronomy, […]

Every Year WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY ST. GEORGE’S DAY (N.L., CAN.) 1530s 1533: CHURCH OF ENGLAND ANNULLED THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN CATHERINE OF ARAGON AND KING HENRY VIII 1560s BORN 1564: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (PLAYWRIGHT) 1610s DIED 1616: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (PLAYWRIGHT) 1790s BORN 1791: JAMES BUCHANAN […]

EARTH DAY Earth Day is April 22 of every year. April 22, 2020, will mark 50 years of Earth Day! On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans—10% of the U.S. population at the time—protested to bring attention to the very concerning environmental issues of the […]

Every Year SAN JACINTO DAY SAN JACINTO DAY (TEX.) TRADITIONAL DATE WHEN ROME WAS FOUNDED BY ROMULUS, IN 753 B.C. 1500s DIED 1509: KING HENRY VII OF ENGLAND 1550s DIED 1552: PETER APIANUS (ASTRONOMER) 1780s 1789: JOHN ADAMS SWORN IN AS THE FIRST VICE PRESIDENT […]

PATRIOTS DAY By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, from “Concord Hymn” Patriots Day commemorates the events of April 19, […]

ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE At 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, an earthquake woke up residents of San Francisco and tossed them from their beds. Little did they know that it was going to be one of the deadliest natural disasters […]

Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock (From Wikipedia Commons) Geraldine “Jerrie” Fredritz Mock (November 22, 1925 – September 30, 2014) was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world, which she did in 1964. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 (registered N1538C) christened the “Spirit of Columbus” and nicknamed “Charlie.”  The […]

Every Year DOCTOR’S DAY 1130s BORN 1135: MOSES MAIMONIDES (RABBI) 1790s 1791: PRESIDENT WASHINGTON PROCLAIMED BOUNDARY OF NEW CAPITAL CITY ON POTOMAC RIVER 1820s BORN 1820: ANNA SEWELL (AUTHOR) 1840s 1842: DR. CRAWFORD LONG OF JEFFERSON, GA, PLACED AN ETHER-SOAKED TOWEL OVER THE FACE OF […]

1450s BORN 1452: LEONARDO DA VINCI (ARTIST) 1810s 1817: AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF FOUNDED IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 1850s 1854: FIRST STATE ENTOMOLOGIST POSITION APPROVED, NEW YORK 1860s 1861: PRESIDENT LINCOLN CALLED FOR 75,000 UNION MILITIA VOLUNTEERS DIED 1865: ABRAHAM LINCOLN (16TH U.S. PRESIDENT) 1870s […]

1560s 1561: THE SKY WAS FULL OF UNKNOWN MOVING OBJECTS IN NUREMBERG, GERMANY 1820s 1828: NOAH WEBSTER’S AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRINTED 1860s 1865: PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS SHOT BY JOHN WILKES BOOTH AT FORD’S THEATER, WASHINGTON, D.C. BORN 1866: ANNE SULLIVAN (TEACHER […]

THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BIRTHDAY Born in 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia, Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He began his political career in 1769 in the Virginia legislature. Forty years later, he retired as president […]

Every Year NATIONAL LICORICE DAY 1790s BORN 1792: JOHN GEORGE LAMBDON (GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA) 1830s 1833: CHARLES A. GAYLER RECEIVED A PATENT FOR A FIREPROOF SAFE 1850s 1859: FIRST U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP BILLIARDS GAME 1860s 1861: THE US CIVIL WAR BEGAN 1910s DIED 1912: […]

1860s 1865: PRESIDENT LINCOLN MADE HIS LAST PUBLIC SPEECH. HE GAVE THE SPEECH AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND SPOKE OF THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH, IN PARTICULAR LOUISIANA 1870s DIED 1875: SAMUEL HEINRICH SCHWABE (GERMAN ASTRONOMER) 1900s 1900: U.S. NAVY BOUGHT ITS FIRST COMMISSIONED SUBMARINE, […]

1840s BORN 1847: JOSEPH PULITZER (NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER & FOUNDER OF PULITZER PRIZE) 1849: SAFETY PIN PATENTED BY WALTER HUNT 1860s BORN 1865: JACK MINER (NATURALIST) 1866: THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS WAS INCORPORATED 1870s 1872: FIRST ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION HELD […]

THE CONCEPTION OF THE ASTRODOME (FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS) Major League Baseball expanded to Houston in 1960 when the National League agreed to add two teams. The Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Astros in 1965) were to begin play in 1962, along with their expansion brethren New York Mets. Roy Hofheinz, […]

1750s 1751: WILLIAM PIGOTT OPENED FIRST INN IN NOVA SCOTIA (IN HALIFAX) 1860s 1864: GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY FOUNDED IN WASHINGTON, D.C. 1910s BORN 1912: SONJA HENIE (FIGURE SKATER) BORN 1918: BETTY FORD (U.S. FIRST LADY) 1920s BORN 1921: FRANCO CORELLI (OPERA SINGER) 1926: SECOND DAY OF […]

Every Year WORLD HEALTH DAY 1770s BORN 1770: WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (POET) 1890s BORN 1890: MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS (AMERICAN CONSERVATIONIST) DIED 1891: PHINEAS TAYLOR (“P. T.”) BARNUM (CIRCUS OWNER) BORN 1893: IRENE CASTLE (DANCER) BORN 1897: WALTER WINCHELL (COLUMNIST & BROADCASTER) 1910s BORN 1915: BILLIE HOLIDAY […]

1190s DIED 1199: KING RICHARD I (ENGLISH MONARCH, CALLED “RICHARD THE LIONHEART”) 1480s BORN 1483: RAPHAEL (ARTIST) 1520s DIED 1520: RAPHAEL (ARTIST) 1860s 1868: BRIGHAM YOUNG, THE MORMON CHURCH LEADER, MARRIED HIS 27TH AND LAST WIFE 1869: SNOW-MELTING APPARATUS PATENTED 1890s 1896: THE FIRST MODERN […]

1610s 1614: POCAHONTAS MARRIED ENGLISHMAN JOHN ROLFE 1760s 1768: NEW YORK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FORMED 1850s BORN 1856: BOOKER T. WASHINGTON (EDUCATOR & ACTIVIST) BORN 1858: WASHINGTON ATLEE BURPEE (BOTANIST, SEEDSMAN) 1880s 1887: ANNE SULLIVAN MADE A BREAKTHROUGH WITH BLIND/DEAF STUDENT HELEN KELLER, BY CONVEYING […]