On August 5, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation creating the National Cancer Institute. The institute researches cures and treatments for cancer and is the oldest and largest institute of the National Institutes of Health.
Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz musicians in American history. His distinct gravelly voice, skill in improvising lyrics, and mastery of the trumpet helped make jazz music a popular art form.
On August 3, 1927, the US Post Office issued two stamps honoring significant events from the Revolutionary War in 1777.
On August 2, 1873, Clay Street Hill Railroad inaugurated San Francisco’s now-famous cable car system.
On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established Hawaii National Park – America’s 11th national park and the first established in a US territory. The name was later changed to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
Civil rights leader Whitney Moore Young, Jr., was born on July 31, 1921, in Shelby County, Kentucky. He served as Executive Director of the National Urban League, helped organize the March on Washington, and advised several presidents.
On July 30, 1932, the Games of the X Olympiad opened in Los Angeles, California. The games’s opening ceremonies were the largest up to that time, breaking the previous attendance record by 25,000.
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was born on July 29, 1905, in Jönköping, Sweden. Serving as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961, he’s still considered one of the greatest diplomats in history.
On July 28, 1984, the Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles, California. They were the first games to be opened by a sitting US president, which was one of many highlights…