This Day In History

On August 30, 1967, the US Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall as the first African American justice of the Supreme Court. His appointment followed three decades in which he used the law to challenge racial segregation and expand constitutional rights.

On August 29, 1960, the Fifth World Forestry Congress opened in Seattle, Washington. Nearly 2,000 participants gathered to consider how forests could supply timber while also protecting water, wildlife, grazing land, and places for outdoor recreation.

On August 28, 1864, the US Post Office Department created the Railway Mail Service. It revolutionized mail delivery for a century.

On August 27, 1894, the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act became law and established the nation’s first federal income-tax exemption for charitable, religious, and educational organizations. Although much of the law proved short-lived, its basic distinction between commercial profits and nonprofit work became a lasting part of the federal tax system.

On August 23, 1784, an American merchant ship unfurled the Stars and Stripes for the first time in China. The Chinese dubbed it the “Flower Flag,” and its passengers, “flower flag countrymen,” a name that endures today.

On August 21, 1770, James Cook landed on the eastern coast of Australia and named the land New South Wales.

Military and political leader Simón Bolívar was born on July 24, 1783, in Caracas, New Granada (present-day Venezuela). He led a campaign that freed Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia from Spanish rule, earning him the nickname El Libertador (The Liberator). His birthday is also a national holiday in Venezuela. 

On July 19, 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill officially established the “V” for Victory campaign. The letter “V” became a rallying cry for people in occupied nations as well as Germans who opposed the Nazis.

On August 31, 1852, the US passed the Postal Act 1852, which required private express companies to use envelopes created by the Post Office.

On August 31, 1957, the US Post Office issued an 8¢ stamp honoring Ramon Magsaysay, the first stamp in a new Champions of Liberty Series. The stamps honor patriots who struggled courageously to protect their homelands from tyranny and further the cause of freedom.

Author William Saroyan was born on August 31, 1908, in Fresno, California. He’s been called “one of the most prominent literary figures of the mid-20th century.”

On August 31, 1894, the Electrobat, one of the world’s first successful electric automobiles, was patented by Henry G. Morris and Pedro G. Salom. They developed their first prototype in just two months, but improved on the design several times over the following year.