Today, the day after Memorial Day, the #stampoftheday offering consists of two stamps from 1937, honoring U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy. The last in a series of ten stamps honoring America’s military heroes, these were the only stamps in the series that didn’t feature notable soldiers or sailors. The idea for …
Topic: Historical Figures & Events
Delving into the people and events that shaped history
The tallest stamp the Post Office had ever issued when it was released on May 27, 1926 is today's #stampoftheday. The stamp features John Ericsson, the self-taught Swedish-born inventor who not only designed the Monitor, the iron-clad Union ship that played a decisive role in the Civil War, but also made seminal improvements in the design …
Today brings yet another stamp marking an historic milestone that relates (in less-than-visible -ways) to this week's horrific events. In this case it's a 3-cent stamp issued on May 31, 1954 to mark the 100-year anniversary of the creation of the Kansas Territory. Acquired by the US in 1903 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, the …
Kentucky and Alaska are the subjects for today's #stampoftheday. The first is a 3-cent stamp issued on June 1, 1942 to mark the 150th anniversary of Kentucky, which had been part of Virginia, becoming America's 15th state on June 1, 1792. Kentucky joined the nation as a slave state but because its land didn't lend itself …
For the past several days, my #stampoftheday discussion has used the day's stamp to delve into deeper issues including what's not shown on the stamp in question, often by exploring the backstory (and the untold backstory) behind whatever was being honored in the day's stamp. Doing this has made me think a lot about the …
Today's #stampoftheday, which is a 1938 2-cent stamp picturing John Adams, the second president of the United States, offers yet another opportunity to use the past to better understand our present predicament. The stamp was one of series of 29 stamps issued in 1938 honoring all the presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, a …
The odd ways that old stamps can illuminate current issues is again the theme for today's #stampoftheday, the 5-cent Swedish Pioneer Centennial stamp, which was issued on June 4, 1948. The stamp , which commemorates the 100th anniversary of Swedish pioneers traveling to the Midwest, pictures a Swedish pioneer's covered wagon traveling westward. On either …
Today's #stampoftheday, a $1 stamp picturing Admiral David Farragut that was issued on June 5, 1903, is yet another old stamp that in some ways connects to today's turmoil, albeit in less insightful ways than some of the other recent stamps. Still, it reminds us that even in the face of real obstacles and danger …
Political leadership, for good and for ill, is one of the messages I receive from today's #stampoftheday, a 10-cent stamp picturing Daniel Webster, who in the first half of the 19th century was one of the nation's leading politicians and one of its best lawyers as well. Webster, who was known as one his era's greatest …