Explorer Adolphus Washington Greely was born on March 27, 1844, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He served with the Union Army during the Civil War and later led a polar expedition. Greely was the second person in history to receive a Medal of Honor for “lifetime achievement.”
On February 23, 1540, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado embarked on a large expedition through the American Southwest in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. Though he didn’t find the mythical cities, his was the first European expedition to see a number of sights in the area.
Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson was born on November 3, 1879, in Manitoba, Canada.
On October 9, 1825, the sloop Restauration arrived in the United States, marking what is often considered the first organized emigration from Norway to the US.
On September 26, 1820, famed American pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone died in St. Charles County, Missouri.
On July 11, 1996, the USPS issued a set of four stamps honoring American Folk Heroes.
Artist Thomas Moran was born on February 12, 1837, in Bolton, Lancashire, England.
Politician and diplomat Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was born on January 29, 1761, in Geneva, Switzerland. Gallatin’s aristocratic family included physicians, statesmen, and soldiers – one of his relatives commanded a battalion at the Battle of Yorktown.
On August 1, 1882, the first International Polar Year (IPY) began.