Lincoln Memorial Issue
On February 12, 1909, the US Post Office issued a set of stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. These were America’s first definitive-sized commemoratives.
This Day in History
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Birth of Josiah W. Gibbs
Scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs was born on February 11, 1839, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a Yale professor, inventor, and formulated the laws of thermodynamics.
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Birth of Lon Chaney Jr
Lon Chaney Jr. was born Creighton Tull Chaney on February 10, 1906, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory. He gained fame for portraying horror characters such as the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and the Mummy, but he broke out of that mold later in his career to explore other genres.
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Creation of the U.S. Weather Bureau
On February 9, 1870, Ulysses S. Grant created the US Weather Bureau. Still in operation today as the National Weather Service, it provides weather forecasts and warnings for hazardous weather.
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Birth of William T. Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. His tough “scorched earth” policy was a severe blow to morale in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
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Happy Birthday Laura Ingalls Wilder
Acclaimed author Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, in Pepin County, Wisconsin. She retold stories from her childhood in the wildly popular Little House on the Prairie series, which went on to become a popular TV series as well.
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Happy Birthday Babe Ruth
George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the sports world’s most famous players, he set and broke numerous records during his career and is a legend of baseball.
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Birth of Adlai Stevenson II
Politician Adlai Stevenson II was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California. He was a popular governor of Illinois and US ambassador to the United Nations.
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Happy Birthday Lucky Lindy!
Aviation pioneer Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and helped to promote and expand aviation and airmail.
