This Day In History

On May 18, 1990, the USPS issued an experimental plastic stamp to test the popularity of selling stamps through Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs). While the plastic stamp proved unpopular, especially with environmentalists, the ATM format proved to be a success.

On May 17, 1865, the International Telegraph Union (ITU), which later became the International Telecommunication Union, was founded. The first international standards organization, it established basic principles for international telegraphy.  It later became an agency of the United Nations.

Henry Jaynes Fonda was born on May 16, 1905, in Grand Island, Nebraska.  Known for his roles in The Grapes of Wrath, 12 Angry Men, and On Golden Pond, among many others, Fonda was one of the most successful actors of his era.  He was named the sixth greatest male screen legend of the Classic Hollywood era.

Katherine Anne Porter was born Callie Russell Porter on May 15, 1890, in Indian Creek, Texas. Porter was best known for her long short stories written in flawless prose, which have a texture and complexity usually found only in novels.

Katherine Anne Porter was born Callie Russell Porter on May 15, 1890, in Indian Creek, Texas. Porter was best known for her long short stories written in flawless prose, which have a texture and complexity usually found only in novels.

On May 3, 2003, the Old Man of the Mountain rock formation in New Hampshire collapsed.  It had been the official state emblem for decades, and continues to appear on license plates and other items.

On April 24, 1800, President John Adams officially established the Library of Congress.  It’s America’s oldest federal cultural institution, and one of the largest libraries in the world, with more than 171 million items.

Harlem Renaissance novelist Nellallitea “Nella” Walker Larsen was born on April 13, 1891, in Chicago, Illinois. Though her writing career was brief, Larsen produced some of the first groundbreaking works to focus on mixed race identity and the feeling of not belonging.

On May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act. The act allowed private printers to produce their own postcards with the same postage rate as government-issued cards.

On May 19, 1883, the first Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show opened in Omaha, Nebraska.

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.

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