Inventor Ottmar Mergenthaler was born on May 11, 1854, in Hatchel, Kingdom of Württemberg (present-day Baden-Württemberg). Mergenthaler invented the linotype machine, which made it quicker and easier to set complete lines of type for printing presses, revolutionizing printing in the 19th century.
The American City Planning Institute (ACPI) was founded on May 7, 1917. Later becoming the American Planning Association (APA), the organization promotes urban planning – the building or improving of parks, highways, roads, and residential developments.
Horace Mann was born on May 4, 1796, in Franklin, Massachusetts. Mann was a pioneering educational reformer who improved public education in his home state. Many of his ideas were quickly adopted by several other states.
On May 3, 1911, Wisconsin passed America’s first worker’s compensation program. This law provided financial security for workers injured on the job. By 1948, all the then-48 US states had passed such laws. Alaska and Hawaii had workmen’s compensation laws when they joined the Union.
On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the creation of a town that would become Alexandria, Virginia. George Washington helped plan the town’s street systems and Alexandria was part of the US capital for several years.
On May 1, 1924, the US Post Office issued a set of three stamps known as the Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Issue. The stamps honored the role of Protestant immigrants in settling America.
On April 30, 1957, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee opened its first meeting. The committee receives tens of thousands of stamp proposals every year and passes on their recommendations to the US Postmaster General who makes the final decision.
The first continuously-published newspaper in the American colonies, The Boston News-Letter, published its first issue on April 24, 1704. It was the only continuously-produced paper in the colonies for 15 years and ceased publication in 1776 due to the American Revolution.
The forerunner of the US Army Reserve was established on April 23, 1908. It was the nation’s first federal reserve – providing fully-trained and prepared troops in times of need. Today, there are over 815,000 reservists across all the military branches.