This Day In History

Otis Ray Redding Jr. was born on September 9, 1941, in Dawson, Georgia. Despite his brief career, it’s been said that his marriage of traditional R&B with folk music in the 1960s took soul to a new level.

Singer Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia. When she was 13, she was hospitalized for a throat infection and rheumatic fever, which she said gave her a “booming voice like Kate Smith.”

On September 7, 1813, a newspaper referred to the United States as “Uncle Sam.” The name reportedly came from Troy, New York’s Uncle Sam Wilson, and has since become one of America’s most enduring national symbols.

The First Battle of the Marne began on September 6, 1914. An important Allied victory, it was one of the most decisive battles in history and inaugurated the start of trench warfare that would last for much of the war.

While searching for fossils in South Dakota, fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson made a colossal discovery on August 12, 1990. Bones protruding from an eroded bluff proved to be part of an exceptionally complete Tyrannosaurus rex, soon known simply as Sue.

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.

The Olympic Mountains are not especially tall. Mount Olympus, the park’s highest peak, rises 7,980 feet. But the range stands close to the Pacific Ocean, and that location shapes nearly everything in the park. Moist air from the ocean moves inland and is pushed upward by the mountains. As the air cools, it drops rain in the valleys and snow on the peaks.

Daniel “Uncle Dan” Beard was born on June 21, 1850, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His childhood adventures along the rivers and woods of Kentucky later helped shape the activities and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America.

Pioneering American educator, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, died on September 10, 1851, in Hartford, Connecticut. Best known for his groundbreaking work in the education of the deaf, his efforts in the early 19th century helped bring language, communication, and opportunity to people who had long been excluded from mainstream society. Gallaudet’s vision, determination, and compassion led to the founding of the first permanent school for the deaf in the United States and laid the foundation for modern deaf education.

On September 10, 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry won an important War of 1812 victory on Lake Erie. That victory helped change the course of the war, leading to America’s absolute independence from Britain.

After eight years of tinkering, Elias Howe was awarded the first US patent for a practical lockstitch sewing machine on September 10, 1846.

Baseball player Roger Eugene Maris was born on September 10, 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota.  He went on to break Babe Ruth’s home run record – and his own record stood for over 35 years.