On May 23, 1918, Katherine Stinson became the first woman hired by the post office to deliver airmail in the US. She had several other notable firsts and records in her short flying career.
Artist Mary Stevenson Cassatt was born on May 22, 1844, in Allegheny City (present-day Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. She was called one of the three great ladies of Impressionism, and is credited with helping popularize the art style among American art collectors.
General John Leonard “Birdie” Hines was born on May 21, 1868, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. During World War I, Hines successively commanded a regiment, brigade, division, and corps in combat. He was the first person to do that since the Civil War.
On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic by a female, five years to day after Charles Lindbergh first made the same trip.
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.
On April 29, 1947, the United States issued its first aerogram, then called an air letter sheet. It was a simple folded sheet of paper, but it offered Americans a cheaper and faster way to send personal messages overseas in the growing age of air travel.
On April 15, 1926, Charles Lindbergh made his first airmail flight, launching a new contract route between Chicago and St. Louis. Just over a year later, that same young pilot would become world famous—but on this morning, he was focused on carrying the mail safely and on schedule.
On January 7, 1785, the sky briefly became part of the postal system. In a daring balloon flight watched by astonished crowds, mail was carried through the air for the first time, marking a bold experiment in communication and transportation that captured the imagination of the world.
On August 17, 1923, the US Post Office issued its fifth Airmail stamp, #C5. Picturing the Air Service emblem, it was also the first US…
On May 23, 1788, South Carolina ratified the Constitution, making it America’s eighth state.
Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman was born on May 23, 1883 in Denver, Colorado. Better known as Douglas Fairbanks, he was one of Hollywood’s top stars of the 1920s, known as “Everybody’s Hero.”
On May 23, 1895, the New York Public Library was established. Exactly 16 years later, on May 23, 1911, the main branch of the library opened its doors to the public. Today, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the country and the fourth largest in the world.
Physicist John Bardeen was born on May 23, 1908, in Madison, Wisconsin. Bardeen helped develop the transistor, which made possible the invention of almost every modern electronic device.
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