Education

On August 1, 1946, President Harry Truman signed legislation establishing the Fulbright Program. An international exchange program, the Fulbright Scholarship is considered one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.  

Robert Robinson Taylor was born on June 8, 1868, in Wilmington, North Carolina.  He was the first African American student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the first fully accredited African American architect in the US.

Reverend Theodore Martin Hesburgh was born on May 25, 1917, in Syracuse, New York.  He served as president Notre Dame University for 35 years, transforming it into one of the best colleges in America.

On May 23, 1895, the New York Public Library was established. Exactly 16 years later, on May 23, 1911, the main branch of the library opened its doors to the public. Today, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the country and the fourth largest in the world.

Johns Hopkins was born on May 19, 1795, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. A successful businessman, he donated $7 million for the creation of schools and hospitals, the largest philanthropic gift in America up to that time.

Eugenie “Genie” Clark was born on May 4, 1922, in New York, New York.  Nicknamed “The Shark Lady,” she was a world-renowned marine biologist best known for her work with sharks and trailblazing in the field of scuba diving for marine research.

On March 21, 1826, the Rensselaer School was incorporated in Troy, New York.  Later named the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, it’s considered the oldest continuously operating technological college in America and the English-speaking world.

Fred McFeely Rogers was born on March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Hosting Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for over 30 years, he helped transform children’s television.

Botanist and inventor George Washington Carver died on January 5, 1943, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Carver worked to help poor Southern farmers and is most famous for developing more than 300 uses for peanuts, earning the nickname, “Peanut Man.”