Barbara Charline Jordan was born on February 21, 1936, in Houston, Texas. She was the first African-American woman elected to the Texas Legislature and the first African American woman from a southern state to serve in the US Congress.
Politician Adlai Stevenson II was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California. He was a popular governor of Illinois and US ambassador to the United Nations.
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.
On January 19, 1840, US Naval captain Charles Wilkes became the first American to explore the coast of Antarctica. His two year expedition circumnavigated the globe and is credited with playing a significant role in the development of 19th-century science.
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 (or 57 – the year is unknown), in Nevis in the British West Indies. He was a hero of the Revolutionary War and first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
On January 2, 1949, Luis Muñoz Marín became Puerto Rico’s first independently-elected governor. The stamp issued to celebrate the even includes this, his inauguration date.
Author and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier was born on December 17, 1807, at his family’s rural homestead in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Fiorello La Guardia, was born December 11, 1882, in Greenwich Village, New York. He was voted the best former mayor in America for his 12 years of leadership of New York City.
Though the District of Columbia has served as our nation’s capital since 1791, its residents didn’t get to vote in their first presidential election until November 3, 1964.