This Day In History

On July 7, 1898, President William McKinley signed legislation annexing Hawaii, paving the way for it to become a US state.

On July 6, 1894, a San Francisco businessman operated a short-lived bicycle mail route in San Francisco, complete with his own stamps.

On July 5, 1950, US forces had their first fight of the Korean War at the Battle of Osan.

Future President John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on Independence Day, July 4, 1872.  He would serve as America’s 30th president, taking the office upon the unexpected death of President Warren Harding.

On June 13, 2002, the USPS issued the final sheet in the Classic Collection Series. The popular series ran for 6 years and included 11 stamp sheets, including one of the most famous stamp errors of modern history.

On May 24, 1940, Igor Sikorsky successfully flew the first single-rotor helicopter. Sikorsky developed the world’s first mass-produced helicopter and one of the first American helicopters used in World War II.

On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh began his famous flight across the Atlantic aboard the Spirit of St. Louis. Flying alone for 33 hours across 3,600 miles in stormy weather, he became an instant celebrity and American legend.

On May 15, 1918, America’s airmail service began when two Curtiss Jennys departed New York and Washington, DC. In the months that followed, pioneering aviators expanded airmail service over the treacherous Allegheny Mountains to Chicago and eventually the west coast.

On July 8, 1993, the first Summer World University Games to be hosted in the US opened in Buffalo, NY.  The World University Games is the largest multi-sport event in the world after the Olympics. 

On July 8, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created Sieur de Monts National Monument, which later became Acadia National Park.  The park is located on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, Isle Au Haut, on the Schoodic Peninsula.

On July 8, 1776, the Liberty Bell was rung to announce the reading of the Declaration of Independence.  

Robert F. Panara was born on July 8, 1920, in the Bronx, New York. Panara was one of America’s leading deaf educators. His work helped pioneer the field and promote the idea that deafness is not a disability, but a different way to view the world.