Birth of Dorothy Fields
Lyricist Dorothy Fields was born on July 15, 1904, in Allenhurst, New Jersey. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway and film, including “The Way You Look Tonight” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
This Day in History
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First Major US World’s Fair
On July 14, 1853, President Franklin Pierce opened a glass-and-iron palace in New York City filled with machinery, art, and manufactured goods from around the world. The Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations became the first major world’s fair in the United States and tested whether New York could rival London as a center of industry and culture.
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Inaugural FIFA World Cup
On July 13, 1930, the inaugural FIFA World Cup began in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thirteen national teams gathered for a new competition designed to determine soccer’s world champion outside the Olympic Games.
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Birth of Andrew Wyeth
Artist Andrew Wyeth was born on July 12, 1917, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. By studying weathered farms, quiet rooms, and familiar neighbors, he found mystery and emotion in places others might overlook.
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Folk Heroes Stamps
On July 11, 1996, the USPS issued four stamps honoring larger-than-life American Folk Heroes. The colorful set celebrated a mighty baseball slugger, a giant lumberjack, a legendary steel driver, and the wildest cowboy in the West.
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Allied Invasion of Sicily
On July 10, 1943, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, with troops dropping from the sky and ships crowding the coast. The attack opened the road to mainland Italy, but it also showed how hard the next stage of the war would be.
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Death of President Zachary Taylor
On July 9, 1850, President Zachary Taylor died just 16 months after taking office. His sudden death ended the presidency of a career soldier who had won national fame on the battlefield, then faced one of the most dangerous political crises in the nation’s history.
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First Women Inducted into the US Air Force
Staff Sergeant Esther McGowin Blake raised her right hand in the very first minute women were allowed to join the US Air Force on July 8, 1948. Her enlistment did not make the Air Force equal overnight, but it marked a clear first step toward a permanent place for women in the nation’s newest military branch.
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China Resistance Stamp
On July 7, 1942, the United States issued its first stamp with foreign characters as part of the design. The stamp honored China’s fight against Japan and used a small design detail to show a larger wartime friendship.
