Category Archives: Presidential History

September 4 is:

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.

Newspaper Carrier Day
Eat an Extra Dessert Day
National Wildlife Day
National Macadamia Nut Day
Per foodimentary.com:

• Macadamia nuts are native to Australia. They are named for John Macadam, a Scottish born physician and chemist who promoted the nuts cultivation in Australia.
• The Macadamia Nut is one of Australia’s few contributions to the world’s food plants, and this rich, buttery nut is considered by many to be the most delicious of all nuts.
• The Macadamia was introduced into Hawaii around 1881 and used as an ornamental. The first commercial orchards of macadamias in Hawaii were not planted until 1921.
• Most of the world’s macadamia nuts are grown on the island of Hawaii.
• Today Macadamias are cultivated in many areas, including Indonesia, Central America, South Africa, the West Indies, Mediterranean countries and California.

Birthday of the City of Los Angeles in 1781. A group of forty-four settlers known as “Los Pobladores” founded the pueblo called “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula”; in English it is “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Porciúncula River”. Two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820 the population had increased to about 650 residents. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the historic district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street, the oldest part of Los Angeles.

Birthday of Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802), American pioneer and missionary physician who, along with his wife Narcissa Whitman, started a mission to the Cayuse in what is now southeastern Washington state in 1836. The area later developed as a trading post and stop along the Oregon Trail, and the city of Walla Walla, Washington developed near there. A measles epidemic in 1847 killed all the Cayuse children and about half of the Cayuse adults. The Indians held the Whitmans responsible and killed Marcus, Narcissa, and 12 other settlers.

Birthday of Sarah Childress Polk (September 4, 1803), wife of James Knox Polk, first lady 1845-1849. From Biography of Sarah Childress Polk:

Sarah Polk is said to have been serious, religious, a proper lady in every way except in her love of politics and gentlemanly conversation. She was known to remain behind with the men to talk, rather than retire to the parlor with the ladies. Humor was never a strong point with her (or with her husband). She… eventually took on the duties of an unpaid secretary to her husband.

From Today in Science
Box Camera
In 1888, George Eastman was issued a landmark U.S. patent No. 388,850 for his box camera. On the same date, he registered the trademark name: Kodak. The Eastman Kodak company was formed 24 Apr 1888. This design was the first Kodak mass-produced camera, and brought photography to the mass market. As described in its advertising, the operation was simple: “Pull the String, Turn the Key, Press the Button.” Now anyone could take pictures family, events, indoor and outdoor scenes, and vacations, without needing special skills. Only 22-ounces in weight, it required no tripod or table for support. It used a fixed-focus lens which was still fast enough to take practically instantaneously exposures. Its roll film was enough to take 100 pictures, each 2½ inches diameter.

From Today in Science
In 1906, U.S. patent No. 830,115 was issued to Robert Eugene Turner of Norfolk, Virginia, for his invention of a “Type Writing Machine,”(typewriter) with a carriage powered by a motor to “return automatically when the end of the writing-line is reached, also to return same by pressing a key-lever on the keyboard to return the carriage at any point of its stroke.” Also, line spacing was provided by manual or automatic means. A low-powered motor was adapted to feed the carriage in the printing direction, a high-powered motor for returning the carriage in the reverse direction, and the necessary mechanism to control their action. A buffering mechanism was included to reduce the impact of the returning carriage at the end of its reverse stroke.

From Today in Science
Transcontinental Television
In 1951, President Harry Truman inaugurated transcontinental television service in the U.S. when AT&T carried his address to the opening session of the Japanese Peace Convention in San Francisco. The conference would formalize the end of hostilities with Japan, opening the door for Japan’s economic recovery. The largest single television audience to date, estimated at over 30 million people, viewed President Harry Truman, some as far away as New England. Eighty-seven stations all over the U.S. received and broadcast Truman’s speech, the result of a $40 million infrastructure investment by AT&T. Microwave radio technology transmitted the television signal from San Francisco to Chicago. From there, it was carried on existing coaxial cables to the East Coast.

September 2 is:

National Blueberry Popsicle Day
National Grits for Breakfast Day
From: Foodimentary.com

• Grits (also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee word) are a food of Native American origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast.
• They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn (hominy).
• Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta, or the thinner farina.
• Grits are usually prepared by adding one part grits to two-to-three parts boiling water, sometimes seasoned with salt or sugar.
• They are usually cooked for 5–10 minutes for “quick” grits or 20 or more minutes for whole kernel grits, or until the water is absorbed and the grits become a porridge-like consistency.

Anniversary of the historic Great London fire of 1666 which left four-fifths of London in ashes. The fire of began in the shop of the King’s baker. After burning for four days, more than 13,000 buildings had been destroyed.

From Today in Science
Julian Calendar
In 1752, today was the last day of the Julian calendar in Great Britain, Ireland and the British colonies, including those on the East coast of America. Eleven days were skipped to adopt the Gregorian calendar, designed to realign the calendar with equinoxes. Hence the following day was 14 Sep. For more than a century and a half before, following the decree by Pope Gregory XIII, Italy, and three other Catholic countries (Spain, Portugal and Poland) used the Julian calendar for the last time on 4 Oct 1582. France followed, ending Julian calendar use on 9 Dec 1582. Russia did not change until the early 20th century: 31 Jan 1918 was the last Julian date, followed the next day by 14 Feb 1918. Parts of China changed in 1912, but the Communist revolution, 1949, established Gregorian calendar use in all China.

Birthday of Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha, (September 2, 1838), last Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, overthrown in 1893. Remembered as the author of several songs including “Aloha Oe” (Farewell to Thee).

Birthday of Eugene Field (September 2, 1850), American jounalist; author of children’s verses such as “Little Boy Blue” and “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod”.

Little Boy Blue

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket molds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new
And the soldier was passing fair,
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

“Now, don’t you go till I come,” he said,
“And don’t you make any noise!”
So toddling off to his trundle-bed
He dreamed of the pretty toys.
And as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue,–
Oh, the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true.

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place,
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face.
And they wonder, as waiting these long years through,
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue
Since he kissed them and put them there.

Comment: I don’t know why but this was one of my mother’s favorite poems and probably the first one I ever learned.

1944 Future US President George H. W. Bush bailed from a burning plane during a mission in the Pacific.

September 2, 1945: Vietnam became independent, with Ho Chi Minh as leader.

The first automatic teller machine in the United States was installed on September 2, 1969 in Rockville Center, New York.

Frankenstein Day, to honor the birthday of Mary Wollenstone Shelley (August 30, 1797), author of Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818.

Melbourne, Australia was founded on August 30, 1835.

Houston, Texas was founded by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen in 1836. Named after former General Sam Houston, former president of the Republic of Texas. Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States.

Birthday of Huey Pierce Long (August 30, 1893), Louisiana politician and lawyer.  He was the 40th Governor of Louisiana and a member of the U. S. Senate from 1932 until his assassination in 1935.

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opened on August 30th, 1956.  It is listed by Guinness World Records as the longest bridge over water (continuous).

Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1967.

1979 President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit while on a canoe trip in Georgia. He beat it away with a paddle.

August 27 is:

Global Forgiveness Day, sometimes celebrated July 7th.
National Pots de Creme Day
Pot de crème is a loose French dessert custard dating to the 17th century.
The name means “pot of custard” or “pot of creme”, which also refers to the porcelain cups in which the dessert is served.

Just Because Day – Finally, you have a chance to do something without a rhyme or reason. Most often in life, we do things because we have to, or it’s expected of us. None of those reasons apply today.

Anniversary of the death of Titian (August 27, 1576), Italian painter famous for “The Assumption of the Virgin”. For more samples of Titian’s works, see Wikiart.

1776 – Battle of Long Island: in what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeated Americans under General George Washington.

1859 – Petroleum was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, leading to the world’s first commercially successful oil well. The first oil millionaire was Jonathan Watson, a resident of Titusville. He owned the land where Col. Edwin L. Drake’s (of Seneca Oil Company) well was drilled. He had been a partner in a lumber business prior to the success of the Drake well. At one time it was said that Titusville had more millionaires per 1,000 population than anywhere else in the world.

Birthday of Lyndon B Johnson (August 27, 1908), 36th President of the United States. According to FunFacts.com:

1. Johnson was the only president to take Oath of Office on an airplane from a woman.
2. Almost every family member’s name was initialed LBJ-Lyndon Baines,Lady Bird,Lynda Bird,and Luci Baines.
3. LBJ was the youngest senate majority leader.
4. Johnson had loved the soda Fresca that a fountain was installed in the Oval Office that would dispense it.
5. He was named after W.C. Linden,a lawyer and a family friend.
6. His favorite foods were canned green peas and tapioca.
7. LBJ died one mile from the house he was born in.
8. He rejected his portrait,saying that it was “the ugliest thing he ever saw.”
9. He and his wife were married with a $2.50 wedding ring bought at Sears.
10. During the 1964 election LBJ had lead with the most electoral votes(486) until Ronald Reagan(525).

The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war was signed by the first 15 nations to do so in 1928. Ultimately sixty-one nations would sign it.

1964 – The Walt Disney musical film Mary Poppins was released.

August 27, 2008, Barack Obama became the first African-American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States.

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August 22 is:

Be an Angel Day
National Tooth Fairy Day – and/or February 28
National Pecan Torte Day
National “Eat a Peach” Day
Georgia is ‘The Peach State’. “The World’s Largest Peach Cobbler” is made in Georgia every year. This dessert measures 11 feet by five feet.

Saint Columba was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. On August 22, 564, Columba reports seeing a monster in Loch Ness, Scotland.

1848 – The United States annexed New Mexico . Following the Mexican-American War, from 1846–1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico ceded its mostly unsettled northern holdings, today known as the American Southwest and California, to the United States of America.

1864 – Twelve nations signed the First Geneva Convention. The First Geneva Convention, for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, is one of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It defines “the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts.”

Theodore Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to ride in an automobile in 1902.

From Today in Science
In 1906, the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey, began to manufacture the Victrola record player. The hand cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200. Unlike previous phonographs, which were toy-like turntables with a large speaker horn to amplify the sound, this was housed in an elegant wood cabinet in several contemporary (for the time) furniture styles. The speaker horn and turntable mechanism were totally concealed, and there were convenient storage compartments for records thus transforming the phonograph into a popular household item, and setting the pattern of wood cabinetry enclosures later imitated by radios and television sets well into the 1950s.

Nolan Ryan struck out Rickey Henderson to become the first Major League Baseball pitcher to record 5,000 strikeouts on August 22, 1989.

August 22, 2007 – The Texas Rangers rout the Baltimore Orioles 30–3, (in the first game of a double-header), the most runs scored by a team in modern MLB history.

August 20 is:

National Radio Day
National Bacon Lovers Day
National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day
A handful of Pecans provide nearly 10 percent of the recommended Daily Value for zinc. If the body does not get enough zinc, it may have difficulty producing testosterone – a key hormone in initiating sexual desire in both men and women.
Texas adopted the pecan tree as its state tree in 1919. In fact, Texas Governor James Hogg liked pecan trees so much that he asked if a pecan tree could be planted at his gravesite when he died. His wish was carried out.

August 20 – Feast day of Stephen I of Hungary who, in 1000 set the foundation of the Hungarian state. Celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.

August 20, 1775 – The Spanish established the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.

Birthday of Oliver Hazard Perry (August 20, 1785), American naval officer famous for the statement “We have met the enemy and they are ours”.

1858 – Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace’s same theory.

President Andrew Johnson formally declared the American Civil War over in 1866.

Tchaikovsky‘s 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow, Russia in 1882.

August 20, 1940: In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky, was fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He died the next day.

1989 – The pleasure boat Marchioness sank on the River Thames following a collision. 51 people were killed.

1993 – After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Accords were signed, followed by a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following month.

Augusst 20, 1998, U.S. embassy bombings: the United States military launched cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was destroyed in the attack.

August 19 is:

National Soft-Serve Ice Cream Day
The Häagen-Dazs brand was established by two Americans – Reuben and Rose Mattus – and the name was made up to sound Danish and sophisticated. The Danish language does not actually use umlauts.

Aviation Day (Birthday of Orville Wright in 1871)

August 19, 43 BC: Augustus became Roman consul.
August 19, 14: Augustus died.

From Today in Science:
In 1839, Louis Daguerre announced the invention of the daguerreotype photographic process, the first process to allow an image to be chemically fixed as a permanent picture. On 7 Jan 1839 an announcement was made of the discovery, but details were not divulged until 19 Aug, when the process was announced publicly, and the French government having bought the rights to the process from him, freely gave them to the world. However, this process had also been patented in England and Wales on 14 Aug 1839, only five days previously.

From Today in Science:
Birthday of Charles E Hires (August 19, 1851). American manufacturer, the inventor of his brand of root beer, sold by the Hires Co., which then dominated the market. Root beer dates all the way back to colonial settlers. As a Philadelphia pharmacist, he sampled a herb tea while visiting New Jersey. Upon his return, he created a similar drink, “Hires’ Herb Tea,” with sassafras as the main flavoring ingredient. He sold the mixture at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in tiny packets that contained his mixture of various herbs, barks, and berries, for housewives to brew as “root beer.” In 1880, Hires introduced a “new and improved” liquid version which was more convenient. He began advertising in an 1884 issue of Harper’s Weekly. By 1892 almost 3 million bottles were sold each year.

From Today in Science:
In 1856, Gail Borden of Brooklyn, NY, was issued a U.S. patent for his process for condensed milk (No. 15,553). Condensed milk could be preserved for long periods of storage, and in this form milk became more readily available in large cities than had been possible before. His company’s advertising slogan “The milk from contented cows” was one of the great American advertising campaigns. The Borden company is today one of the largest dairy product concerns in the world. The familiar flat-topped cans of Borden’s condensed milk are still available, as are Borden’s ice cream, cheese and other products – all with the seal of approval by Borden’s famous mascot, Elsie, the cow.

From Today in Science:
Birthday of Orville Wright (August 19, 1871), American aviator and inventor who with his brother, Wilbur, invented the first powered airplane, Flyer, capable of sustained, controlled flight (17 Dec 1903). At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville made the first ever manned powered flight, airborn for 12-sec. By 1905, they had improved the design, built and and made several long flights in Flyer III, which was the first fully practical airplane (1905), able to fly up to 38-min and travel 24 miles (39-km). Their Model A was produced in 1908, capable of flight for over two hours of flight. They sold considerable numbers, but European designers became strong competitors. After Wilbur died of typhoid in 1912, Orville sold his interest in the Wright Company in 1915.

American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, was shot from behind and killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas on August 19, 1895.

August 19, 1919: Afghanistan became independent.

Birthday of William J. Clinton (August 19, 1946), 42nd president of the United States.

Aug 19, 2010 – Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.

August 18 is:

Bad Poetry Day
National Ice Cream Pie Day
Per Foodimentary.com

• In the U.S., all ice cream needs to have a minimum of 10% milkfat if it is to be labeled “ice cream”. This includes custard based (French Style) ice creams.
• The udder of a cow can hold between 25-50 lbs. of milk.
• An average dairy cow can produce enough milk in her lifetime to make a little over 9,000 gallons of ice cream.

Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, became the first English child born in the Americas on August 18, 1587.

Birthday of Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774), American explorer who, with William Clark, led an expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific.

Birthday of Lucy Webb Hayes (August 18, 1831), wife of Rutherford B Hayes; first lady 1877-1881. Lucy Hayes became known as “Lemonade Lucy” because she forbade the serving of alcohol in the White House. It is reported that the President and Lucy began each day by kneeling for morning prayers and ended each day in the singing of hymns. Hayes had a firm conviction that government officials should conduct themselves at all times with discretion and dignity.

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920, guaranteeing women’s suffrage.

Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Birthday of Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (August 18, 1927), wife of Jimmy Carter, first lady 1977-1981. She was politically active during her White House years, sitting in on Cabinet and policy meetings as well as serving as her husband’s closest adviser. She died Nov 19, 2023.

1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Birthday of Benney D. Davis (August 18, 1943), co-editor of this website and love of my life.

2008 – President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, resigned due to the threat of impeachment.

August 17 is:

National Thriftshop Day
National Vanilla Custard Day

In 1585 – A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Ralegh under the charge of Sir Richard Grenville landed in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina.

Grenville decided to leave Ralph Lane and 107 men to establish the colony at the north end of Roanoke Island, promising to return in April 1586 with more men and fresh supplies. Lane built a small fort on the island and ordered the exploration of the surrounding areas.

As April 1586 passed, there was no sign of Grenville’s relief fleet. Meanwhile in June, bad blood resulting from their destruction of the village spurred an attack on the fort, which the colonists were able to repel. Soon after the attack, when Sir Francis Drake paused on his way home from a successful raid in the Caribbean and offered to take the colonists, including the metallurgist Joachim Gans, back to England, they accepted. On this return voyage, the Roanoke colonists introduced tobacco, maize, and potatoes to England.

Robert Fulton‘s North River Steamboat left New York, New York, for Albany, New York, August 17, 1807, on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

Pike Place Market, a popular tourist destination and registered historic district in Seattle, Washington, opened on August 17, 1907.

1978 – Double Eagle II became first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.

1986 A bronze statue of a pig was dedicated at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. See Parent Map.com for facts about Rachel, the pig.

August 17, 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an “improper physical relationship” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the same day he admitted before the nation that he “misled people” about the relationship.

August 16 is:

National Tell a Joke Day
National Rum Day Rum was manufactured, distilled, and made long before any other spirit. It’s history is a vast one filled with stories, and fables. It was the first branded spirit made. Rations of rum were given to sailors in the British Army to be mixed with lime juice because it fought off the scurvy.
National Bratwurst Day

1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoed a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members rioted outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.

1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurated the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forced a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.

On August 16, 1896, an American prospector named George Carmack, his Tagish wife Kate Carmack (Shaaw Tláa), her brother Skookum Jim (Keish) and their nephew Dawson Charlie (K̲áa Goox̱) discovered gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. It is not clear who discovered the gold: George Carmack or Skookum Jim, but the group agreed to let George Carmack appear as the official discoverer because they feared that mining authorities would be reluctant to recognize a claim made by an Indian.

In 1920 – Ray Chapman, shortstop for the Cleveland Indians, was hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and died early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909. Chapman’s death was one of the examples used to emphasize the need for wearing batting helmets (although the rule was not adopted until over 30 years later).

on August 16, 1927 – The Dole Air Race began from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crashed or disappeared.

The Dole Air Race, also known as the Dole Derby, was a tragic air race across the Pacific Ocean from northern California to the Territory of Hawaii in August 1927. Of the 15-18 airplanes entered, eleven were certified to compete but three crashed before the race, resulting in three deaths. Eight eventually participated in the race, with two crashing on takeoff and two going missing during the race. A third, forced to return for repairs, took off again to search for the missing and was itself never seen again. In all, before, during, and after the race, ten lives were lost and six airplanes were total losses. Two of the eight planes successfully landed in Hawaii.

The first issue of Sports Illustrated was published in 1954.

August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley died. He was 42 years old.