Category Archives: State History

Tidbits of History, February 6

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February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Quote from Ayn Rand:

Rights are not a matter of numbers – and there can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob.

Read more at brainyquote.com

 
National Chopsticks Day

Massachusetts Salem-MaritimeMassachusetts Ratification Day. In 1788 Massachusetts became the sixth state.

  • Capital: Boston
  • Nickname: Bay State/Old Colony
  • Motto: By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
  • Artist – Norman Rockwell
  • Beverage – cranberry juice
  • Bird: Chickadee
  • Building and Monument Stone – granite
  • Cookie – chocolate chip cookie
  • Dessert – Boston cream pie
  • Flower: Mayflower
  • Gem – rhodonite
  • Historical Rock – Plymouth rock
  • Inventor – Ben Franklin
  • Sport – basketball
  • Tree: American Elm

See our page on the state of Massachusetts for more interesting facts and trivia about the state of Massachusetts

Babe Ruth, born February 6Birthday of George Herman (Babe) Ruth (February 6, 1895), American baseball player.

Birth of Ronald Reagan, February 6, 1911Birthday of Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911), 40th president of the United States.

1918 Per The Fact Site In the United Kingdom, women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote.

91st Birthday of my sister, a very good reason to celebrate this day!

February 6, 1952 – Queen Elizabeth II, February 6, 1952Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom became Queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, (Albert Frederick Arthur George) Per BBC.co.uk:

King George VIThe King had suffered a coronary thrombosis – a fatal blood clot to the heart – soon after falling asleep. He was also revealed to have been suffering from lung cancer.

He had always been a frail, nervous man, and had not expected to become King: but he was catapulted onto the throne by the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII.

Three years later, he was leading the country through the Second World War. His steadfastness won him the hearts of the people, most notably when he and his wife, Elizabeth, (who became the Queen Mother on his death), insisted on sharing the dangers of the Battle of Britain with the people of London.

However, the stressful nature of his accession to the throne, and the particularly traumatic times through which he led the country left him physically exhausted, and are thought to have contributed to his failing health and his early death.

Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007. She died Sept 8, 2022 and was succeeded by her son, Charles.

2012- The U.N. General Assembly announces February 6 as the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. Senator Rand Paul talked at length about the ills of genital mutilation, saying it “is recognized internationally as a violation of international human rights,” and drew a comparison between that and gender confirmation surgeries.

January 29

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January 29 is:

National Puzzle Day

National Corn-chip Day

Birthday of Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737), American Revolutionary, author of “Common Sense”, “The Rights of Man”, and “The Age of Reason”

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #46: The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared written by James Madison in 1788. Madison writes of the advantages that State governments have over the Federal government in popular support and in resisting encroachments. He claims that the hypothetical conflicts put forward by the Anti-Federalists are “chimerical” or highly improbably, illusory. He points out that the ultimate control of both state and federal governments resides with the people. On the subject of a possible military takeover by the federal government, Madison proposes that the standing Army of the United States should be no more than 1% of the population (In 1790 the population was about 3 million so he proposed an Army of 30,000); or no more than 4% of the number able to bear arms; and that state militias would have about 500,000 men. The force of the federal government encroaching on the people could not stand up to the might of an armed citizenry.

Britain’s King George III died at Windsor Castle on January 29, 1820. He is believed to have been insane at the time of his death.

President McKinley shot, September 6, 1901Birthday of William McKinley (January 29, 1843), twenty-fifth president of the United States.

He was shot September 6, 1901 and died a week later. He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.
Assassination of William McKinley

The Raven was published in the New York Evening Mirror on this date in 1845; the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door—
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.

Anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross in 1856 to reward individual acts of bravery.

Header-KansasKansas Day, on this day in 1861 Kansas became the thirty-fourth state.

  • Capital: Topeka
  • Nickname: Sunflower State
  • Motto: To the stars through difficulties
  • Amphibian – barred tiger salamander
  • Animal – American buffalo (bison)
  • Bird: Western meadowlark
  • Flower: Sunflower
  • Grass – little bluestem
  • Insect – honeybee
  • Language – English
  • Reptile – ornate box turtle
  • Soil – Harney silt loam
  • Kansas State Song – “Home on the Range” by Dr. Brewster Higley and Dan Kelly
  • Tree: Cottonwood

See our page for the state of Kansas for more interesting facts and trivia about Kansas.

Birthday of W.C. Fields (January 29, 1880), American comedian

The American League, consisting of eight baseball teams, was organized in Philadelphia on this day in 1900.

Anniversary of the establishment of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. The first five honorees were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Babe Ruth.

On January 29, 1963, poet Robert Frost died in Boston.

January 26

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January 26 is:

Spouse’s Day

National Peanut Brittle Day

1564 – The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. It is considered to be one of the Church’s most important councils. It specified Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon. The precepts agreed to have been affirmed by recent Popes.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #45: The Alleged Danger From the Powers of the Union to the State Governments Considered written by James Madison in 1788. Madison declares that the Primary Purpose of government is the happiness of the people. He shows that states will “retain extensive portion of active sovereignty”. The federal government will be involved in war, peace, immigration, taxation, and trade. The states retain all other powers. Madison fortells the 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights which states that the federal government has only those powers delegated to it; all remaining powers are reserved for the states or the people. He refers to “Achaean League” and “Lycian Confederation” which were associations of Greek city-states which enjoyed “home rule”.

From Turkish Coalition of America:

In summary, the Lycian confederacy made three contributions to the American Constitution. First, it was a model of a federal union the strength of whose parts in the national councils is proportionate to their size. Second, it showed the possibility of popular government that was representative. Third, it offered the example of a strong national government with its own strong officers and the power to make laws that applied directly to individual citizens.

Madison never viewed a national government which would be involved in social issues (abortion, drinking and drug use, gay rights, etc.), education, minimum wages, fuel efficiency, global warming, light bulbs, seat belts, and all the other issues currently discussed at a federal level.

born January 26Birthday of Julia Grant (1826), wife of Ulysses S Grant; First Lady 1869-1877. Per Wikipedia:

As First Lady it was suggested to her that she have an operation to correct her crossed eyes, but President Grant said that he liked her that way.

Header-Michigan-Isle RoyaleMichigan Day On Jan 26, 1837 Michigan became the twenty-sixth state.

  • Capital: Lansing
  • Nickname: Great Lakes State/Wolverine State/Water Wonderland
  • Motto: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.
  • Bird: Robin
  • Fish – brook trout
  • Flower: Apple blossom
  • Fossil – mastodon
  • Game Mammal – white-tailed deer
  • Gem – Isle Royal greenstone
  • Reptile – painted turtle
  • Stone – Petoskey stone
  • Tree: White Pine
  • Wildflower – dwarf lake iris

See our page for the state of Michigan for more interesting facts and trivia about Michigan.

Tennessee enacted the first prohibition law in the United States on Jan 26, 1838.

1855 – Point No Point Treaty was signed in Washington Territory. Point No Point is on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. The treaty was with the S’Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish tribes which ceded ownership of their land in exchange for a small reservation and payment of $60,000 from the federal government. The land is now owned jointly by the U. S. Coast Guard and a private landowner and is one of the best birdwatching sites in the state of Washington.

On January 26, 1870, the state of Virginia rejoined the Union.

On Jan. 26, 1880, Douglas MacArthur, the American general who achieved acclaim as a grand strategist in World War II and in Korea, was born.

The Rocky Mountain National Park was established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1915.

1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launched the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.

Actor Paul Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio on January 26, 1925. He died Sept 26, 2008 in Westport, Connecticut. As well as acting and directing, Paul Newman was a professional race car driver and enthusiast and co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which all profits are donated to charity.

1956 – At Decca Records’ Nashville studios, Buddy Holly‘s first official recording session took place. “Blue Days, Black Nights” was recorded and became his debut single.

1988 The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running show in Broadway history, opened at the Majestic Theater in New York.

January 9

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January 9 is the 9th day of the year.

Play God Day What would you do if you were god for a day?

National Apricot Day

1349 – The Basel massacre – The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, was rounded up and incinerated.

ConnecticutConnecticut Ratification Day; in 1788 Connecticut became the fifth state.

  • Capital: Hartford
  • Nickname: Constitution State
  • Aircraft – Corsair F4U
  • Animal – Sperm Whale
  • Bird: Robin
  • Composer – Charles Edward Ives
  • Flower: Mountain Laurel
  • Folk Dance – Square Dance
  • Fossil – Eubrontes Giganteus dinosaur tracks
  • Hero – Nathan Hale
  • Heroine – Prudence Crandall
  • Insect – Praying Mantis
  • Mineral – Garnet
  • Motto: He Who Transplanted Still Sustains
  • Poet Laureate – John Hollander
  • Shellfish – Eastern Oyster
  • Ship – USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
  • Song – “Yankee Doodle”
  • Tall Ship – Freedom Schooner Amistad
  • Tree: White Oak

See our page Connecticut for more interesting facts and trivia about Connecticut.

The Daguerrotype photo process was announced in 1839.

1902 – New York State introduced a bill to outlaw flirting in public.

January 9 Birthday
Birthday of Richard Nixon (January 9, 1913), born in Yorba Linda, California, thirty-seventh President of the United States.

In 1942 Joe Louis achieved the heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Buddy Baer in the first round.

“Dear Abby” advice column by Abigail Van Buren first appeared in newspapers in 1956.

Birthday of Catherine “Kate” Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, (January 9, 1982) wife of Britain’s Prince William.

On January 9, 2007, Steven P. Jobs introduced Apple’s long-awaited entry into the cellphone world, the iPhone.

January 6

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January 6 is the sixth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Bean Day Wondering why National Bean Day is held on January 6? That’s the same day as the famous geneticist, Gregor Mendel, died in 1884. Mendel used bean plants and pea plants to develop theories on genetics in plants. So the formation of National Bean Day has more to do with scientific development than how good bean recipes taste. But don’t let that deter you from enjoying eating beans on this holiday!

Cuddle Up Day Link includes suggestions for cuddling.
National Shortbread Day Link includes history of shortbread.

Feast of the Epiphany. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles.

Birthday of Joan of Arc (January 6, 1412), the Maid of Orleans, national heroine of France.

Birthday of Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878), American poet, historian, biographer of Abraham Lincoln.

New MexicoNew Mexico Admission Day On this day in 1912 New Mexico became the forty-seventh state.

  • Capital: Santa Fe
  • Nickname: Land of Enchantment
  • Aircraft – Hot air balloon
  • Amphibian – New Mexico Spadefoot Toad
  • Animal – Black Bear
  • Bird: Roadrunner
  • Butterfly – Sandia hairstreak butterfly
  • Colors – Red and Yellow
  • Cookie – Biscochito
  • Cowboy Song – Under The New Mexico Skies
  • Fish – NM cutthroat trout (Rio Grande cutthroat trout)
  • Flower Yucca flower
  • Fossil – Coelophysis (small late Triassic dinosaur)
  • Gem – Turquoise
  • Grass – Blue grama grass
  • Guitar: New Mexico Sunrise guitar
  • Insect – Tarantula hawk wasp
  • Motto: It Grows as it Goes
  • Necklace: Native American squash blossom necklace
  • Reptile – New Mexico whiptail lizard
  • Slogan – “Everybody is somebody in New Mexico”
  • Tie – Bola tie
  • Tree: Pinon
  • Vegetables – chile and frijole

See our page for New Mexico for more interesting facts and trivia about New Mexico.

1853 – President-elect of the United States Franklin Pierce and his family were involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts while on their way to his Inauguration. Their son, Benjamin Pierce (April 13, 1841 – January 6, 1853), died at the age of 11.

German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presented his theory of continental drift in 1912.

T. Roosevelt, died January 6On January 6, 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60. He became president following the assassination of William McKinley.
According to Wikipedia:

On the night of January 5, 1919, Roosevelt experienced breathing problems. He felt better after treatment from his physician, Dr. George W. Faller, and went to bed. Roosevelt’s last words were “Please put out that light, James” to his family servant James Amos. Between 4:00 AM and 4:15 AM the next morning, Roosevelt died in his sleep at Sagamore Hill as a result of a blood clot detaching itself from a vein and entering his lungs. Upon receiving word of his death, his son Archibald telegraphed his siblings simply, “The old lion is dead.” Woodrow Wilson’s vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, said that “Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.”

Four Freedoms Day commemorating FDR’s message to Congress in 1941 defining national goals as Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.

January 4

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January 4, is:

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . eleven pipers piping.
For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Good Housekeeping.com The 11 Pipers Piping are the eleven faithful apostles. – Peter, Andrew, James, John, Phillip, Nathanael (also called Bartholomew), Matthew (also called Levi), Thomas, James the Less, Simon, and Jude (also called Thaddeus).

World Braille Day in honor of Louis Braille (1809), French educator of the blind, developer of the Braille system of printing and writing.

National Spaghetti Day

Birthday of Sir Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643), physicist and mathematician; leader in the seventeenth century scientific revolution; discoverer of the law of gravity.

Birthday of Jacob Grimm (January 4, 1785), German writer who, with his brother, William, published the famous Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #34: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. Hamilton’s aim is to demonstrate that a government must have unlimited power of taxation for such circumstances as war and natural disaster. He argues that the state governments, which share taxation rights with the federal government, will serve as a balance and prevent abuse of such powers. He argues, further, that the federal government will always incur the greatest expenses, should have the greatest body to draw taxes from, and require a “greater power of taxation than the states.”

Samuel Colt sold his first revolver pistol to the United States government in 1847.

Header-UtahUtah Admission Day.  On this date in 1896 Utah became the forty-fifth state.

  • Capital: Salt Lake City
  • Nickname: Beehive State
  • Animal: Rocky Mountain Elk
  • Astronomical Symbol: Beehive Cluster
  • Bird: Seagull
  • Cooking Pot: Dutch Oven
  • Dance: Square dance
  • Firearm: Browning M1911
  • Fish: Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
  • Flower: Sego Lily
  • Fossil: Allosaurus
  • Fruit: Cherry
  • Gem: Topaz
  • Grass: Indian Ricegrass
  • Hymn: Utah, We Love Thee
  • Insect: Honey Bee
  • Language: English
  • Mineral: Copper
  • Motto: Industry
  • Rock: Coal
  • Snack: Jell-O
  • Tree: Quaking Aspen
  • Vegetable: Spanish sweet onion

See our page for Utah for more interesting facts and trivia about Utah.

1925 – French psychologist Emil Coué brought his self-esteem therapy to US “Every day in every way I am getting better and better”.

1954: A young truck driver named Elvis Presley entered the Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, TN, ostensibly to record a song for his mother’s birthday (which was, in reality, many months away). He recorded “Casual Love Affair” and “I’ll Never Stand in Your Way.” It was this recording that would lead MRS head Sam Phillips to call Presley back to record for his Sun Records label.

1958 – SputnikSputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in Oct. 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.

1965 – United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed his “Great Society” during a speech at Ohio University, then unveiled the program in greater detail at an appearance at University of Michigan. The main goals were the elimination of poverty and the elimination of racial injustice.

Nancy Pelosi Jan 4, 20072007 – The 110th United States Congress convened electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.

January 3

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January 3 is:

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . ten lords a-leaping.
For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Good Housekeeping.com. The 10 Lords A-leaping are the ten commandments.

Fruitcake Toss Day Yes, it’s time to toss out left-over fruitcake.

Festival of Sleep Day

Perihelion, the point during the year when the Earth is closest to the Sun, occurs on January 3rd in the year 2022 per Time and Date.com

January 3, 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #32: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. Hamilton describes the rights of sovereignty held by the states and the specifically designated rights of the federal government. One area of jurisdiction of the Union is the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises. The constitution explicitly says that states cannot place duties on exports or, unless approved by congress, imports but says nothing about taxing other items so therefore the power to do so remains with the States.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #33: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. Hamilton returns to his argument that the national government is allowed to made any laws needed for operating the federal government. His discussion includes the “Necessary and Proper Clause” (“to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers by that constitution vested in the government of the United States or in any department or officer thereof”) Article 1, Section 8; and the “Supremacy Clause” (“the constitution and the laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof and the treaties made by their authority shall be the supreme law of the land; any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding”) Article VI, Clause 2. He makes sure that the audience understands that this will not take away their liberty.

Birthday of Joseph Damien de Veuster (1840), known as Father Damien, missionary to the lepers on Molokai Island in the Hawaiian archipelago.

January 3Birthday of Grace Coolidge (January 3, 1879), wife of President Calvin Coolidge; first lady 1923-1929. At the time of their marriage, Grace Anna Goodhue was a teacher at a school for the deaf.

Birthday of J. R. R. Tolkien (1892), Oxford professor, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Alaska headerAlaska Admission Day; on January 3, 1959 Alaska became the forty-ninth state.

  • Capital: Juneau
  • Nickname: Last Frontier State; Land of the Midnight Sun; Seward’s Icebox
  • Animal: Moose
  • Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
  • Dog: Alaskan Malamute
  • Fish: Giant King Salmon
  • Flower: Forget-me-not
  • Gem: jade
  • Mineral: gold
  • Motto: North to the Future
  • Tree: Sitka Spruce

See our page Alaska for more interesting facts and trivia about Alaska.

Anniversary of the establishment of the March of Dimes in 1938, an effort to raise money for polio research.
Originally known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, it was established by Franklin Roosevelt. The charity focused on collecting dimes. With entertainer Eddie Cantor coining the phrase “March of Dimes”, the White House received more than $85,000 in donations. With the discovery of the Salk vaccine, the organization changed its focus to maternal and infant mortality, especially the prevention of premature births.

On this date in 1952 “Dragnet” with Jack Webb premiered on NBC-TV.

The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba on January 3, 1961.

Jan 3, 1977 – Apple Computers was incorporated.

January 2

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January 2 is:

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . nine ladies dancing.
For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Good Housekeeping.com
The 9 Ladies Dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. The nine fruits of the spirit signify good character traits to observe and maintain in oneself and embrace in your own life. They are Faithfulness, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Kindness, Love, Patience, Peace, and Self-Control.

Cream Puff Day
Cream Puffs made their debut in the United States in 1880. However, the first cream puff originated in Europe sometime during the 1540s when Catherine de Medici’s pastry chef created the baked puffed shells for Catherine’s husband, Henry II of France.

In Switzerland: Berchtoldstag (Berchtold’s Day). This day honors the founding of Bern in 1191, by Duke Berchtold V. Legend claims that he went hunting and said he would name the city for the first animal he killed, which was a bear (‘bern’).

Birthday of James Wolfe (1727), English general who died at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec between England and France.  Effectively ended French rule in North America.

Georgia header Georgia Ratification Day, commemorating Georgia’s entry into the Union in 1788 as the fourth state.

  • Capital: Atlanta
  • Nickname: Peach State; Empire State of the South
  • Bird: Brown Thrasher
  • Flower: Cherokee Rose
  • Tree: Live Oak
  • Motto: Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation
  • Amphibian: American Green Tree Frog
  • Butterfly: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Dance: Square dance
  • Fish: Largemouth bass
  • Food: Grits, Peach, Vidalia onion
  • Fossil: Shark tooth
  • Gem: Quartz
  • Insect: European honey bee
  • Mammal: Right whale
  • Mineral: Staurolite
  • Reptile: Gopher tortoise
  • Rock: Granite
  • Shell: Knobbed Whelk
  • Soil: Tifton
  • Song: “Georgia on My Mind”

See our page Georgia for more interesting facts and trivia about Georgia.

In 1811, Senator Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, became the first senator to be censured when the Senate approved a censure motion against him by a vote of 20 to seven. Pickering was accused of violating congressional law by revealing secret documents communicated by the President to the Senate.

Birthday of Isaac Asimov (January 2, 1920), the immensely popular science fiction writer.

On this date in 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph.

Also in 1974, Tex Ritter (born Woodward Maurice Ritter), died in Nashville, Tenn. Some of his greatest hits were “Rye Whiskey,” “Wayward Wind,” and “You Are My Sunshine.” His performance of “High Noon,” from the movie of the same name, won an Oscar in 1952. Ritter appeared in eighty-five movies and starred in the television series “Ranch Party” (1959-1962). In 1964 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. John Ritter, his youngest son, starred in the popular series “Three’s Company.” – See more at: Texas Day by Day

Tidbits of History, December 29

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December 29 is:

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . five gold rings.
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

National “Get on the Scales” Day

Pepper Pot Day

Johnson born December 29 1808Birthday of Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808) 17th President of the United States.  He became President upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Texas headerTexas was admitted as the 28th U.S. state in 1845.

  • Capitol: Austin
  • Nickname: Lone Star State
  • Bird: Mockingbird
  • Flower: Bluebonnet
  • Tree: Pecan
  • Motto: Friendship

See our page Texas for more interesting facts and trivia about Texas.

President James K. Polk, born Nov 2, 1795 U.S. President James Polk turned on the first gas light at the White House in 1848.

Bowling ball was invented in 1862.

Birthday of Henry P. DeForest (December 29, 1864),
According to Today in Science: Henry Pelouze deForest was an American gynecologist and surgeon who in 1902 established the first fingerprint file in the U.S., and invented the dactyloscope, a measuring device to analyze finger print patterns. Shortly after becoming its chief medical examiner, he was requested by the New York Civil Service Commission, to devise a system of personal identification to combat fraud at civil service examinations for police and fire department jobs. Hired stand-ins had been taking the test on behalf of candidates. A scandal resulted when a particular stand-in revealed he had taken the test for a dozen different candidates. DeForest first thought of utilizing the Bertillon anthropometric method, but instead adopted the simpler fingerprinting procedure used by Scotland Yard. This fingerprint file thus began for bureaucratic rather than criminal purposes. The first record was created on 19 Dec 1902.

December 29, 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the US Army.

In 1896, “Lava” soap was trademarked by William Waltke & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample:


It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)

Tidbits of History, December 28

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December 28 is:

“On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . four calling birds.”
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

Card Playing Day

National Chocolate Day
From Foodimentary.com
The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word, “Xocolatl”, which ironically means “bitter water”.
The biggest bar of chocolate ever made was created in 2000 and weighed 5,000 pounds. Turin is the city in Italy that can be proud of this accomplishment.
While the US produces the most chocolate and consume the most pounds every year, the Swiss consume the most per capita, followed closely by the English.
Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40% of the world’s almonds and 20% of the world’s peanuts.
Every Russian and American space voyage has included chocolate bars.

Feast day of the Holy Innocents – The Massacre of the Innocents is the biblical narrative of infanticide by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. Historians can find no evidence that the massacre occurred. According to historian Raymond Brown, based on Bethlehem’s estimated population of 1,000 at the time, the largest number of infants that could have been killed would have been about twenty.

Westminster Abbey was consecrated in 1065 as St. Edward’s Church. In 1245 Henry III pulled down the whole of Edward’s church (except the nave) and replaced it with the present abbey church in the pointed Gothic style of the period.

Galileo observed Neptune December 28 Galilei in 1612 became the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly cataloged it as a fixed star.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #30: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. Hamilton says that the federal government needs revenue to pay for the raising of troops, the building and equipping of fleets, and other expenses connected with the defense of the country. He says there are other obligations of the federal government such as payment of national debts. Therefore, the government must have a power of taxation.

Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario, Canada) in 1795.

John C Calhoun resigned December 28John C. Calhoun became the first Vice President of the United States to resign, stepping down in 1832 over differences with President Andrew Jackson.

Iowa headerIowa Day, admission of Iowa (1846) as the twenty-ninth state

  • Capital: Des Moines
  • Nickname: Hawkeye State
  • Bird: Eastern goldfinch
  • Flower: Wild Rose
  • Tree: Oak
  • Motto: Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain

See our page Iowa for more interesting facts and trivia about Iowa.

Wilson, born December 28Birthday of Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856), American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States.

1945 Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 1945.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by Francis Bellamy. It read:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In 1923, the National Flag Conference called for the words “my Flag” to be changed to “the Flag of the United States”, so that new immigrants would not confuse loyalties between their birth countries and the United States. The words “of America” were added a year later. The United States Congress officially recognized the Pledge for the first time, in the following form, on June 22, 1942:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In 1954, at President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s urging, the Congress legislated that “under God” be added.

Former First Lady Edith Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, died of congestive heart failure at age 89, on December 28, 1961.

U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announced on December 28, 2000 that it was going out of business after 128 years.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Christmas may be over but there are still seasonal songs that I particularly like:

White Christmas
White Christmas

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)