On August 8, 1929, the Graf Zeppelin departed the airfield in Lakehurst, New Jersey, to return 21 days later. The popularity of this trip created “Zeppelin Mania” and inspired several later flights.
On May 16, 1919, Albert Cushing Read departed Newfoundland, beginning the first transatlantic flight. On May 27, he touched down in Portugal, successfully crossing the Atlantic.
On May 14, 1918, stamp collector William Robey discovered the rare Inverted Jenny error sheet. One of the most famous US stamp errors, he found the only known sheet to reach public hands.
On April 18, 1942, Jimmy Doolittle led a daring raid against the Japanese in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
On February 19, 1936, Billy Mitchell died in New York City. He’s often considered the father of the United States Air Force, having dedicated much of his career promoting air power in warfare.
On February 15, 1926, the first contract airmail flight was made between Michigan and Ohio. Three stamps were issued for this service during its first two years.
The first person to break the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager was born on February 13, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia. He was also a WWII dogfighter and commanded fighter squadrons in Vietnam.
Aviation pioneer Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and helped to promote and expand aviation and airmail.
The first US Airmail coil stamp was issued on January 15, 1948, in Washington, DC. Only a few more coil stamps would be issued over the next 30 years, but the DC-4 SkyMaster would appear on more than a dozen postal items.