This Day In History

On November 9, 1731, Benjamin Banneker was born on a farm in Baltimore County, Maryland. He later built a wooden clock, made astronomical calculations, published almanacs, and helped survey the boundaries of the new federal district.

Norman Rockwell died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on November 8, 1978. His career included decades of Boy Scout illustrations, hundreds of Saturday Evening Post covers, and the Four Freedoms paintings.

On November 7, 1921, President Warren G. Harding ordered 2,200 Marines to guard the mail in the wake of a series of daring mail robberies.

On November 6, 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America. By then, Southern states had seceded, formed the Confederacy, and the Civil War was underway.

Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa was established on October 25, 1949. The monument protects and interprets the history behind about 200 mounds built by Native Americans centuries ago.

The American Forestry Association was founded on September 10, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. It’s one of America’s oldest national conservation organizations, with a mission of “Creating Healthy and Resilient Forests, from Cities to Wilderness, that Deliver Essential Benefits for Climate, People, Water and Wildlife.”

On August 9, 1944, the US Forest Service created Smokey Bear to encourage people to prevent forest fires. The Wildfire Prevention Campaign is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in US history, and Smokey has become an icon recognized around the globe.

The Olympic Mountains are not especially tall. Mount Olympus, the park’s highest peak, rises 7,980 feet. But the range stands close to the Pacific Ocean, and that location shapes nearly everything in the park. Moist air from the ocean moves inland and is pushed upward by the mountains. As the air cools, it drops rain in the valleys and snow on the peaks.

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany. He would grow up to challenge one of the most powerful institutions in the world—the Roman Catholic Church—and ignite the Protestant Reformation, a movement that forever changed Christianity and European society.

The forerunner of the United States Marines was established on November 10, 1775, in the midst of the American Revolutionary War. The Marines have fought in every major US-involved war since, making over 300 landings on foreign shores.

On November 10, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over the dedication and official opening of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial.

On November 10, 1919, the American Legion held its first convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Legion has been a champion for military service members for over a century.