Abolitionist and Suffragist Lucy Stone was born on August 13, 1818, in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. Stone dedicated her life to helping women receive the same rights as men. She was the first woman from her state to earn a college degree and is considered the “heart and soul” of the women’s rights movement.
On August 11, 1939, Congress established Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. The monument honors and preserves this historic fort where our national anthem was born. It’s also the only place in the National Park system to be designated a Historic Shrine.
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.”
On August 9, 1944, the US Forest Service created Smokey Bear to encourage people to prevent forest fires. The Wildfire Prevention Campaign is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in US history, and Smokey has become an icon recognized around the globe.
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.
On August 4, 1790, President George Washington passed a new Tariff Act that created the United States Revenue Cutter Service, the forerunner of the US Coast Guard. The Revenue Cutter Service was America’s only armed maritime service until the Navy was formed in 1798.
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.
On July 23, 1999, NASA launched the Chandra X-Ray Observatory to observe x-rays from outside the Earth’s radiation field. The mission was originally intended to last just five years, but Chandra is still orbiting the Earth and making discoveries today, more than 20 years after launch.
On July 19, 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill officially established the “V” for Victory campaign. The letter “V” became a rallying cry for people in occupied nations as well as Germans who opposed the Nazis.