This Day In History

On April 26, 1990, the USPS issued the first booklet in its Lighthouse stamp series. The series would last over 30 years and result in some of our most beautiful modern stamps.

On April 25, 1938, the first stamp in the Presidential Series (also known as the Prexies) was issued featuring George Washington. The popular series pictured every deceased US president up to that time, marking the the first postal appearances for 12 US presidents.

On April 24, 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Telescope from the Space Shuttle Discovery. Sending back amazing images from the furthest reaches of space, Hubble has given us a better understanding of our universe.

James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791, in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to Irish immigrants.

On April 25, 1938, the first stamp in the Presidential Series (also known as the Prexies) was issued featuring George Washington. The popular series pictured every deceased US president up to that time, marking the the first postal appearances for 12 US presidents.

James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791, in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, to Irish immigrants.

On April 22, 1878, the White House hosted its first official Easter Egg Roll on Easter Monday. It’s a beloved tradition that has continued to this day.

On April 21, 1962, the Seattle World’s Fair, also known as the Century 21 Exposition, opened to the public. The fair’s themes of space and the future helped to make it a tremendous success – one of the few to turn a profit.

Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Morse is credited with inventing the telegraph and the communication system used for the device, which bears his name: Morse code.

On April 27, 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the first US president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus – the right to be released from unlawful detention. He took this controversial move in the hopes it would prevent Maryland from joining the Confederacy.

On April 27, 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Soil Conservation Act. The act established the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) to reduce and repair the damage caused by soil erosion. The SCS’s work was expanded and continues today as the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Rogers Hornsby, Sr., was born on April 27, 1896, in Winters, Texas.