On July 13, 1584, the first of three Roanoke voyages arrived in present-day North Carolina. These were attempts to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America. While the settlement saw the first English child born in America, all of the settlers disappeared and their fate is still unknown today.
On July 12, 1922, the US Post Office Department issued its first stamp with an announced first day of issue. Prior to this event, the Post Office Department didn’t usually designate specific dates for the issue of new stamps.
William Howard Taft always dreamed of being a Supreme Court justice. After a term as president, the time was finally right for Taft to take his dream job – on July 11, 1921.
Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Austrian Empire (present-day Croatia). A brilliant inventor, engineer, and physicist, his experiments and research changed the world.
On July 9, 1863, Confederate forces surrendered Port Hudson, Louisiana, ending a 48-day siege. The longest siege in American history, the victory returned control of the Mississippi River to the Union.
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 9, 1534, Jacques Cartier became the first European explorer to travel the St. Lawrence River.
On April 17, 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano became the first European to see New York harbor.
On February 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto after nearly a year of searching. It would be another 85 years before the US sent its first space probe there – inspired by a postage stamp!
Monsignor Edward Joseph Flanagan was born on July 13, 1886, in Leabeg, Ireland. He was the founder of Boys Town, an organization dedicated to helping orphaned and troubled young boys.
Explorer and soldier John C. Frémont died on July 13, 1890, in New York City. Nicknamed “The Pathfinder,” Frémont led several expeditions to the American West, served in the Civil War, and was a promising presidential candidate.
The United States passed the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787 to establish a set of steps all future states would have to follow. It was ground breaking at the time and led to the organized and rapid expansion of America.
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