This Day In History

On July 13, 1930, the inaugural FIFA World Cup began in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thirteen national teams gathered for a new competition designed to determine soccer’s world champion outside the Olympic Games.

Artist Andrew Wyeth was born on July 12, 1917, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. By studying weathered farms, quiet rooms, and familiar neighbors, he found mystery and emotion in places others might overlook.

On July 11, 1996, the USPS issued four stamps honoring larger-than-life American Folk Heroes. The colorful set celebrated a mighty baseball slugger, a giant lumberjack, a legendary steel driver, and the wildest cowboy in the West.

On July 10, 1943, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, with troops dropping from the sky and ships crowding the coast. The attack opened the road to mainland Italy, but it also showed how hard the next stage of the war would be.

On April 4, 1925, the US Post Office issued the first three stamps in a multi-year series honoring important events and people from the American Revolution. The stamps were issued for the sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of the Revolution.

The 1933 World’s Fair opened in Chicago, Illinois, on May 27, 1933. The fair was so popular, it ran for two years and was the first international fair to pay for itself.

On April 17, 1958, the Brussels World’s Fair, also known as Expo ’58, opened its doors. It was the first major official world’s fair after WWII.

On February 20, 1915, the Panama-Pacific Exposition opened in San Francisco, California. The expo was a celebration of the city and the Panama Canal.

On July 14, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt committed $30,000 toward a monument to botanist and inventor George Washington Carver.

On July 14, 1932, the International Peace Garden was dedicated, representing the peaceful relationship between the United States and Canada. The park sits on the border between North Dakota and the Canadian province of Manitoba.

On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille in Paris, marking the start of the decade-long French Revolution. The end of the revolution would mark the start a constitutional monarchy.

Leslie Lynch King Jr., better known as Gerald Rudolph Ford, was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska.  He was the only US president not elected to the presidency or vice presidency.