This Day In History

On July 23, 1867, the United States opened its first post office in Alaska— months before the US formally took possession of the territory.  While Alaska’s official transfer was still being prepared, the US was already laying down its presence—and the post office was a powerful symbol of that.

Stephen Vincent Benét was born on July 22, 1898, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he’s best known for his historically inspired poems, short stories, and novels.

Standing in the dusty town square of Springfield, Missouri, on July 21, 1865, Wild Bill Hickok fired a single shot, killing Davis Tutt in what’s considered America’s first Western showdown.

On July 20, 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver held the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago, Illinois.

On July 23, 1867, the United States opened its first post office in Alaska— months before the US formally took possession of the territory.  While Alaska’s official transfer was still being prepared, the US was already laying down its presence—and the post office was a powerful symbol of that.

Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin was born on July 8, 1838, in Konstanz, Grand Duchy of Baden (now part of Germany). He developed the airships that bear his name and would later travel the world.

On June 29, 1995, the US Space Shuttle Atlantis docked the Russian space station Mir for the first time. The mission, STS-71, was the third in the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir program. It began on June 27, 1995, when the Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the 100th US human space launch from Cape Canaveral.

On June 28, 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Bosnia Serb nationalist, sparking World War I.

After 17 months of travel searching for a new home for his persecuted people, Brigham Young found Utah’s Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847 and proclaimed, “This is the place.”

Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. Earhart advanced the role of women in aviation during the early days of flight.  She was the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo (and the first person to do it twice), receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, and fly nonstop coast-to-coast across the US.

On July 24, 1701, French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established a fort on the site of what would become the city of Detroit.

Military and political leader Simón Bolívar was born on July 24, 1783, in Caracas, New Granada (present-day Venezuela).  He led a campaign that freed Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia from Spanish rule, earning him the nickname El Libertador (The Liberator).  His birthday is also a national holiday in Venezuela.