Birth of Anna Julia Cooper
Author and activist Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was born on August 10, 1858, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She fought for education for women and African Americans and is often called the “Mother of Black Feminism.”
Famous Americans
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Wright Brothers’ First Public Flight
On August 8, 1908, the Wright Brothers conducted their first public flight at the Hunaudieres racecourse near Le Mans, France. The flight, and the others that followed, helped the brothers earn international recognition as the inventors of the airplane.
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The Guadalcanal Campaign
On August 7, 1942, Allied troops landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands. The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as Operation Watchtower, was the Allies’ first major offensive against the Japanese Empire.
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Birth of Henry Knox
Henry Knox was born on July 25, 1750, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was George Washington’s right-hand man during the American Revolution and participated in most of the war’s major battles.
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Birth of Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells was born July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, just before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. Wells was an early leader in the Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage movements, as well as a founder of the NAACP.
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Birth of Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American folk music, writing over 1,000 songs, including his most famous, “This Land is Your Land.”
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Birth of Henry David Thoreau
Naturalist, author, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau valued simple living, nature and the importance of protesting injustice through civil disobedience. As one of America’s most famous transcendentalists, his works have influenced some of the greatest leaders in modern history.
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Birth of George W. Norris
Senator George W. Norris was born on July 11, 1861, in York Township, Sandusky County, Ohio. He was a champion of farmers and homesteaders and best remembered for his promotion of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).
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Birth of Mary McLeod Bethune
Educator and activist Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina. She founded a private school for African Americans and was a member of several African American women’s organizations, sometimes called the “Female Booker T. Washington.”
