This Day In History

On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic by a female, five years to day after Charles Lindbergh first made the same trip.

American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, while on a trip with former president Franklin Pierce to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

On May 18, 1863, the key Siege of Vicksburg began. The fight for this Mississippi River stronghold became one of the longest and most demanding Union operations of the Civil War.

On May 17, 2010, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Butterfly Series.  The stamps were created for use on envelopes that couldn’t be sorted on the USPS’s automated equipment, otherwise known as “nonmachinable.”  They’re often used for greeting cards. 

On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the British ocean liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. The ship sank in about 18 minutes, killing nearly 1,200 people and pushing the United States closer to World War I.

On April 20, 1918, Manfred von Richthofen—known around the world as the Red Baron—shot down his 80th enemy aircraft, setting a record for World War I. Within a day, his remarkable career would come to an abrupt end, cementing his place as the war’s most recognized flying ace.

On April 17, 1897, playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Over the next several decades, he would become one of America’s most respected writers, known for works that explored everyday life with unusual clarity and structure.

On February 21, 1916, one of the longest battles on the Western Front began at Verdun. The nearly 10-month battle ended in a French victory, but at a high cost of lives on both sides. 

On May 21, 1966, the Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition opened in Washington, DC. It was planned in just 18 months and saw the issue of some interesting postal firsts!

On May 21, 1804, Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery departed St. Charles on the Missouri River to begin their exploration of the American West. Traveling 8,000 miles over 28 months, they provided the first accurate mapping of the US west of the Mississippi River.

Glenn Hammond Curtiss was born on May 21, 1878, in Hammondsport, New York.  He designed the planes flown by most American WWI pilots, which were also used to carry the first airmail deliveries.

On May 21, 1881, Clara Barton established the American Red Cross.  With locations in every US state and territory, it’s grown to become one of the most recognizable crisis response organizations in the country.