Happy Birthday, William Saroyan
Author William Saroyan was born on August 31, 1908, in Fresno, California. He’s been called “one of the most prominent literary figures of the mid-20th century.”
Famous Americans
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Birth of Roy Wilkins
Civil Rights activist Roy Ottoway Wilkins was born on August 30, 1901, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a leader in the Civil Rights movement and a major figure in the NAACP for over 20 years.
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Birth of Albert Sabin
Albert Saperstein was born on August 26, 1906, in Białystok, Russian Empire (present-day Poland). Sabin developed one of the vaccines that helped to nearly eradicate polio worldwide.
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Happy Birthday, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard (Louis) Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. One of the most famous conductors of his time, he was the first American conductor to earn international praise.
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Start of the Distinguished Americans Series
On August 24, 2000, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Distinguished Americans Series. Over the course of more than two decades, the series has honored 20 Americans from all walks of life.
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Birth of Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, on August 20, 1833. America’s 23rd president, he was also a Civil War veteran and lawyer.
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Happy Birthday Orville Wright
Aviator and inventor Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. He and his brother would go on to become aviation pioneers.
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Birth of Gerty Cori
Biochemist Gerty Theresa Radnitz Cori was born on August 15, 1896, in Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire. She was the first woman to earn a Nobel Prize In Physiology or Medicine.
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Death of Edith Wharton
Noted author Edith Wharton died on August 11, 1937. Best known for her novel The Age of Innocence, she was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
