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.
This Day in History
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British Recapture Fort Ticonderoga
On July 6, 1777, British forces re-took Fort Ticonderoga, two years after Americans had captured it in a surprise attack. The victory seemed important at first, but it soon became one step in a campaign that ended in disaster for Britain at Saratoga.
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Birth of David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was born in Campbell’s Station (now Farragut), Tennessee, on July 5, 1801. A Civil War naval commander, the rank of admiral was created specifically for him.
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America’s Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. One of America’s founding documents, it explained why the 13 colonies were at war with Great Britain and that they declared themselves to be independent sovereign states no longer under British rule.
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Birth of George M. Cohan
The father of American musical comedy, George Michael Cohan was born on July 3, 1878, in Providence, Rhode Island. He later became so closely associated with patriotic music that many Americans believed he had been born on the Fourth of July, a story Cohan himself enjoyed encouraging.
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, fulfilling a goal set by his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. The law did not end discrimination by itself, but it gave the federal government stronger tools to challenge segregation and unequal treatment.
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Teachers of America Issue
On July 1, 1957, the Teachers of America stamp was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Education Association. Released in Philadelphia, where the organization began, the stamp honored a century of teachers working to build and improve American education.
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Pure Food and Drug and Meat Inspection Acts
On June 30, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act into law, to help improve the quality and labeling of America’s food and medicines.
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Olympic National Park
The Olympic Mountains are not especially tall. Mount Olympus, the park’s highest peak, rises 7,980 feet. But the range stands close to the Pacific Ocean, and that location shapes nearly everything in the park. Moist air from the ocean moves inland and is pushed upward by the mountains. As the air cools, it drops rain in the valleys and snow on the peaks.
