This Day In History

On November 3, 1994, the USPS issued a souvenir sheet honoring the 100th anniversary of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing producing US postage stamps. A relatively small number of sheets were discovered with a rare double transfer.

James Knox Polk was born on a North Carolina farm on November 2, 1795. By 1849, he had led the country through war with Mexico and expanded its territory to the Pacific, but his presidency left a bitter question unresolved: whether slavery would spread into the new lands.

On November 1, 1957, the Mackinac Bridge opened, giving Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas a direct road connection. It was then the world’s longest suspension bridge between cable anchorages, replacing a busy ferry route with a five-mile crossing.

On October 31, 1940, the Battle of Britain came to an end. For nearly four months, RAF pilots and ground crews had fought to prevent Germany from gaining the air superiority needed to invade.

Baseball pitcher Walter “The Big Train” Johnson was born on November 6, 1887, in Humboldt, Kansas. Today, he is remembered not only as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history but also as a model of sportsmanship and character—an enduring symbol of the game’s early golden age.    

On April 18, 1923, the Yankees played their first game in “The House that Ruth Built.”

On December 26, 1919, Babe Ruth was sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, ushering in the long-standing superstitious Curse of the Bambino.

Andrew “Rube” Foster died on December 9, 1930. Known as the “Father of Black Baseball,” he created the Negro National League, the first major professional baseball league for African American athletes.

On November 4, 1924, Wyoming once again lived up to its nickname, “The Equality State,” when voters elected Nellie Tayloe Ross as the first female governor in American history. Her election was another milestone in Wyoming’s long record of advancing women’s rights and political equality.

William Penn Adair Rogers was born on November 4, 1879, in Oologah, Cherokee Nation (present-day Oklahoma). A popular actor and humorist, he was called “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son” and “America’s Favorite Cowboy.”

Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone was born on November 4, 1916, in Buffalo, New York. Basilone earned the Medal of Honor for his heroics at Guadalcanal and a Navy Cross for actions at Iwo Jima.

On November 4, 1986, the Northern Marianas became a territory of the United States. Having previously been a UN Trust Territory of the United States, this change made eligible residents US citizens.