A cautionary 19th century tale about the nature and pace of technological improvements is conveyed by today's #stampoftheday, a 1944 stamp commemorating the voyage of the SS Savannah, which, on June 19, 1815, (sort of) became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. The ship was originally designed to only be a sail-powered packet that could …
Topic: Historical Figures & Events
Delving into the people and events that shaped history
A stamp featuring the Polish flag whose release event featured a notable omission, petty politics, and an unusual (for the times) privatization of a key government service, is today's #stampoftheday. Issued on June 22, 1943, the stamp is the first in a series of 5-cent stamps that honored each of the 12 European countries occupied …
The Graf Zeppelin hydrogen powered rigid airship pictured on today's #stampoftheday takes us on a journey past two aviation-related milestones, both from the 1930s. On June 23, 1931, Wiley Post, a famous aviator and his navigator Harold Getty, took off from Roosevelt Field to begin a record-setting 8-day around-the-world flight (with stops in Harbour Grace, Flintshire, …
The ongoing importance of immigration is a timely message conveyed by today's #stampoftheday, which, oddly enough, comes one day after the president's most recent anti-immigrant action. (If you missed it, yesterday he issued an executive order that blocks the entry of many foreign workers, expands an April executive order denying green cards to applicants in …
A very long bridge that made much needed connections but in ways that can be terrifying for some people is the subject of today's #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp issued on June 25, 1958. The stamp shows Michigan's Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac and connects Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The bridge's name (and …
The St. Lawrence Seaway, a famous transport project that didn't produce expected economic benefits and created unexpected environmental problems, is the subject of today's #stampoftheday. The stamp, is a 4-cent stamp, jointly issued with a similar Canadian stamp, on June 26, 1959, the day that Queen Elizabeth II and President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally opened …
The radical idea that the federal government can and does use science and facts to address potentially fatal threats to people's health is the message sent by today's #stampoftheday, which also reminds us about the powers likely to resist this approach. The stamp itself is a 3-cent stamp issued on June 27, 1956 to commemorate the …
Today's #stampoftheday manages to simultaneously diminish both a notable woman and the state of New Jersey. Issued in 1928, the stamp was issued to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Monmouth, particularly the role played by Molly Pitcher at that battle. But as you can see, it does so by printing the name "Molly …
As I write this #stampoftheday, I'm sitting on a screened-in porch watching it rain on a lake in Maine and I'm remembering a long-ago trip that I believe was my family's last vacation together. The stamp spurring these memories is a 4-cent stamp issued in 1934 that portrays Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado, which …