Portal:United States
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Introduction
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The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states, a federal district and 14 territories. It is located mostly in central North America. The U.S. has three land borders, two with Canada and one with Mexico, and has sea borders with Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda and Russia, and is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 50 states, only Alaska and Hawaii are not contiguous with any other state. The U.S. also has a collection of districts, territories, and possessions in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Each state has a high level of autonomy according to the system of federalism. The U.S. traces its national origin to the declaration by 13 British colonies in 1776 that they were one free and independent state. They were recognized as such by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Since then, the nation has grown to become a superpower and exerts a high level of economic, political, military, and cultural influence.
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James Knox Polk (/poʊk/; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and extending the territory of the United States. Polk led the U.S. into the Mexican–American War, and after winning the war he annexed the Republic of Texas, the Oregon Territory, and the Mexican Cession.
After building a successful law practice in Tennessee, Polk was elected to its state legislature in 1823 and then to the United States House of Representatives in 1825, becoming a strong supporter of Jackson. After serving as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he became Speaker of the House in 1835, the only person to serve both as Speaker and U.S. president. Polk left Congress to run for governor of Tennessee, winning in 1839 but losing in 1841 and 1843. He was a dark-horse candidate in the 1844 presidential election as the Democratic Party nominee; he entered his party's convention as a potential nominee for vice president but emerged as a compromise to head the ticket when no presidential candidate could gain the necessary two-thirds majority. In the general election, Polk narrowly defeated Henry Clay of the Whig Party and pledged to serve only one term. (Full article...) -
The Connecticut Tercentenary half dollar, sometimes called the Connecticut half dollar, is a commemorative 50-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935. The coin was designed by Henry Kreis and commemorates the 300th anniversary of the founding of Connecticut. Its obverse depicts the Charter Oak, where according to legend Connecticut's charter was hidden to save it from being confiscated by the English governor-general. An eagle appears on the coin's reverse side.
The Connecticut Tercentenary Commission wanted a half dollar issued, with proceeds from its sale to further its projects. A bill passed through Congress without dissent and became law on June 21, 1934, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it, providing for 25,000 half dollars. Kreis's design was a Public Works Administration project and technically in violation of the new law, which said the federal government was not to pay for its design. Nevertheless, the design was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, and then by the Treasury Department. (Full article...) -
Margaret Lea Houston (April 11, 1819 – December 3, 1867) was First Lady of the Republic of Texas during her husband Sam Houston's second term as President of the Republic of Texas. They met following the first of his two non-consecutive terms as the Republic's president, and married when he was a representative in the Congress of the Republic of Texas. She was his third wife, remaining with him until his death.
She came from a close-knit family in Alabama, many of whom also moved to Texas when she married the man who was an accomplished politician in both Tennessee and Texas, and who had won the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. The couple had eight children, and she gave birth to most of them while he was away attending to politics. Her mother Nancy Lea was a constant in their lives, helping with the children, managing the household help, and always providing either financial assistance or temporary housing. With the help of her extended family in Texas, Margaret convinced her husband to give up both alcohol and profane language. He believed his wife to be an exemplary woman of faith and, under her influence, converted to the Baptist denomination, after he had many years earlier been baptized a Catholic in Nacogdoches, Texas. (Full article...) -
Hurricane Connie was a Category 4 hurricane that contributed to significant flooding across the eastern United States in August 1955, just days before Hurricane Diane affected the same general area. Connie formed on August 3 from a tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It moved quickly west-northwestward, strengthening into a hurricane by August 4. Connie first posed a threat to the Lesser Antilles, ultimately passing about 105 mi (169 km) north of the island group. In the United States Virgin Islands, three people died due to the hurricane, and a few homes were destroyed. The outer rainbands produced hurricane-force wind gusts and intense precipitation, reaching 8.65 in (220 mm) in Puerto Rico. On the island, Connie destroyed 60 homes and caused crop damage. After affecting Puerto Rico, Connie reached maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h), and a barometric pressure of 944 mbar (27.9 inHg), as observed by the Hurricane Hunters on August 7. The hurricane later weakened, slowed its forward motion, and turned to the north, striking North Carolina on August 12 as a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Connie was the first of three damaging tropical cyclones in the 1955 hurricane season to hit the state, along with Diane and Ione. The storm progressed inland after moving through the Chesapeake Bay region, and was later absorbed by a cold front over Lake Huron on August 15.
Ahead of the storm, the United States Weather Bureau issued widespread hurricane warnings, spurring evacuations, flight cancelations, and beach closures. Connie produced strong winds, high tides, and heavy rainfall as it moved ashore, causing heavy crop damage and 27 deaths in North Carolina. Four people were killed in Washington, D.C. due to a traffic accident caused by slick roads. In Chesapeake Bay, Connie capsized a boat, killing 14 people and prompting a change in Coast Guard regulations. There were six deaths each in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and 14 deaths in New York, where record rainfall flooded houses and subways. At least 295,000 people nationwide lost electric power during the storm. Damage in the United States totaled around $86 million (1955 USD). The rains from Connie contributed to flooding from Hurricane Diane that caused $700 million in damage. The remnants of Connie killed three people in Ontario, and also destroyed a few houses and boats in the province. As a result of its impacts, including a death toll of 77, the name Connie was retired from the Atlantic hurricane naming list. (Full article...) -
Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/ GRET-skee; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One", he has been called the greatest ice hockey player ever by the NHL based on surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches. Gretzky is the leading career goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history, and has more career assists than any other player has total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 15 professional seasons. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.
Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Gretzky honed his skills on a backyard rink and regularly played minor hockey at a level far above his peers. Despite his unimpressive size and strength, Gretzky's intelligence, stamina, and reading of the game were unrivaled. He was adept at dodging checks from opposing players, consistently anticipated where the puck was going to be, and executed the right move at the right time. Gretzky became known for setting up behind his opponent's net, an area that was nicknamed "Gretzky's office". (Full article...) -
Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co., 248 N.Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99 (1928), is a leading case in American tort law on the question of liability to an unforeseeable plaintiff. The case was heard by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest state court in New York; its opinion was written by Chief Judge Benjamin Cardozo, a leading figure in the development of American common law and later a United States Supreme Court justice.
The plaintiff, Helen Palsgraf, was waiting at a Long Island Rail Road station in August 1924 while taking her daughters to the beach. Two men attempted to board the train before hers; one (aided by railroad employees) dropped a package that exploded, causing a large coin-operated scale on the platform to hit her. After the incident, she began to stammer, and subsequently sued the railroad, arguing that its employees had been negligent while assisting the man, and that she had been harmed by the neglect. In May 1927 she obtained a jury verdict of $6,000, which the railroad appealed. Palsgraf gained a 3–2 decision in the Appellate Division, and the railroad appealed again. Cardozo wrote for a 4–3 majority of the Court of Appeals, ruling that there was no negligence because the employees, in helping the man board, did not breach any duty of care to Palsgraf as injury to her was not a foreseeable harm from aiding a man with a package. The original jury verdict was overturned, and the railroad won the case. (Full article...) -
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, she appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world list in 2013 and the Forbes Celebrity 100 list from 2013 to 2016.
Lawrence began her career as a teenager with guest roles on television. Her first major role was as a main cast member on the sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007–2009). She made her film debut with a supporting role in the drama Garden Party (2008) and had her breakthrough playing a poverty-stricken teenager in the independent film Winter's Bone (2010). Lawrence gained stardom portraying the mutant Mystique in the X-Men film series (2011–2019) and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015). The latter made her the highest-grossing action heroine. (Full article...) -
Landmarks in the vicinity of Vicksburg, Mississippi, from a river map published in 1863, showing Duckport and New Carthage
The Duckport Canal was an unsuccessful military venture by Union forces during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Ordered built in late March 1863 by Major General Ulysses S. Grant, the canal stretched from the Mississippi River near Duckport, Louisiana, to New Carthage, Louisiana, and utilized a series of swampy bayous for much of its path. It was intended to provide a water-based supply route for a southward movement against the Confederate-held city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as high water levels made overland travel difficult. Manual digging was provided by 3,500 soldiers from Grant's army and was finished on April 12. The next day, the levee separating the canal cut and the Mississippi River was breached, and water flowed into the canal. Trees that had grown up in the bayous and falling water levels that reached as shallow as 6 inches (15 cm) at one point hampered the use of the canal, and the project was abandoned on May 4. Grant moved men and supplies through the overland route, which had been made more accessible by the same falling water levels that doomed the canal. After some inland maneuvering and a lengthy siege, Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, marking a significant turning point in the war. (Full article...) -
George Andrew Davis Jr. (December 1, 1920 – February 10, 1952) was a highly decorated fighter pilot and flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later of the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He was killed in action during a combat mission in northwestern Korea, in an area nicknamed "MiG Alley". For his actions during the Korean War, Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted from major to lieutenant colonel.
Born in Dublin, Texas, Davis joined the United States Army Air Corps in early 1942. He was sent to the Pacific Theater after pilot training and flew in the New Guinea and Philippine campaigns, scoring seven victories over Japanese aircraft. He quickly gained a reputation as a skilled pilot and accurate gunner whose "daredevil" flying style contrasted with his reserved personality. (Full article...) -
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated science fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay by Tab Murphy, and a story by Murphy, Wise, Trousdale, Joss Whedon, and the writing team of Bryce Zabel and Jackie Zabel. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Michael J. Fox, Cree Summer, James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, Don Novello, Phil Morris, Claudia Christian, Jacqueline Obradors, Jim Varney, Florence Stanley, John Mahoney, David Ogden Stiers, and Corey Burton. The film is set in 1914 and tells the story of young linguist Milo Thatch, who gains possession of a sacred book, which he believes will guide him and a crew of mercenaries to the lost city of Atlantis.
Development of the film began after production had finished on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, directors Trousdale and Wise, producer Hahn, and screenwriter Murphy decided to do an adventure film inspired by the works of Jules Verne. Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for adopting the distinctive visual style of comic book artist Mike Mignola, one of the film's production designers. The film made greater use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of Disney's previous traditionally animated features and remains one of the few to have been shot in anamorphic format. Linguist Marc Okrand constructed an Atlantean language specifically for use in the film. James Newton Howard provided the film's musical score. The film was released at a time when audience interest in animated films was shifting away from hand-drawn animation toward films with full CGI. (Full article...) -
Transformers is a 2007 American science fiction film based on Hasbro's toy line of the same name. The film is directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager who gets caught up in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, two factions of shape-shifting alien robots. The Autobots and Decepticons both seek a powerful artifact called the AllSpark, to win the war that has devastated their home planet of Cybertron. Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Megan Fox, Rachael Taylor, John Turturro, and Jon Voight also star, while Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving voice Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively.
Don Murphy was initially interested in developing a G.I. Joe film, but then decided to develop a Transformers film after the United States went to war against Iraq in 2003. Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the project in 2003, and DeSanto wrote a treatment. Steven Spielberg came on board as executive producer the following year, hiring Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to write the screenplay. The U.S. Armed Forces and General Motors loaned vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes. Hasbro's promotional campaign for the film included deals with various companies; advertising included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of prequel comic books, toys, and books, as well as product placement deals with companies such as General Motors, Burger King, and eBay. (Full article...) -
James Madison (March 16, 1751 [O.S. March 5, 1750] – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
Madison was born into a prominent slave-owning planter family in Virginia. In 1774, strongly opposed to British taxation, Madison joined with the Patriots. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress during and after the American Revolutionary War. Dissatisfied with the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention, which produced a new constitution designed to strengthen republican government against democratic assembly. Madison's Virginia Plan was the basis for the convention's deliberations. He became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution and joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers, a series of pro-ratification essays that remain prominent among works of political science in American history. (Full article...) -
University of Washington is a light rail station on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is served by the 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, which connects Northgate, Downtown Seattle, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. University of Washington station is at the intersection of Montlake Boulevard Northeast and Northeast Pacific Street, adjacent to Husky Stadium and the University of Washington Medical Center.
The station consists of an underground island platform connected to a surface entrance by elevators and escalators. A pedestrian bridge over Montlake Boulevard connects the station to the University of Washington campus and the Burke-Gilman Trail. University of Washington station was built as part of the University Link Extension, which began construction in 2009 and opened on March 19, 2016. The station was the northern terminus of the 1 Line until the opening of the Northgate Link Extension on October 2, 2021. (Full article...) -
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, Mutual was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow. For many years, it was a national broadcaster for Major League Baseball (including the All-Star Game and World Series), the National Football League, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. From the 1930s until the network's dissolution in 1999, Mutual ran a respected news service along with a variety of lauded news and commentary programs. In the 1970s, Mutual pioneered the nationwide late night call-in talk radio program, introducing the country to Larry King and later, Jim Bohannon.
In the 1970s, acting in much the same style as rival ABC Radio had splitting their network in 1968, Mutual launched four sister radio networks: Mutual Black Network (MBN) (initially launched as "Mutual Reports Network" (MRN)), which still exists today as American Urban Radio Networks (AURN); Mutual Cadena Hispánica (MCH, or in English, "Mutual Spanish Network", MSN, abandoned in 1973); regional outlet Mutual Southwest Network (MSWN, retired in 1983); and Mutual Progressive Network (MPN; later re-branded "Mutual Lifestyle Radio" (MLR) in 1980, then retired in 1983). (Full article...) -
The English rock band the Kinks staged their first concert tour of the United States in June and July 1965. The sixteen concerts comprised the third stage of a world tour, following shows in Australasia, Asia and in the United Kingdom and before later stages in continental Europe. Initially one of the most popular British Invasion groups, the Kinks saw major commercial opportunity in the US, but the resultant tour was plagued with issues between the band, their management, local promoters and the American music unions. Promoters and union officials filed complaints over the Kinks' conduct, prompting the US musicians' union to withhold work permits from the band for the next four years, effectively banning them from US performance.
The programme was in the package-tour format typical of the 1960s, with one show per day, several support acts on the bill and the Kinks' set lasting around 40 minutes. Concerts were characterised by screaming fans and weak sound systems. The US press, which still largely viewed rock music as simple teenage entertainment, generally avoided reporting on the tour. Some shows were poorly attended, owing to a lack of advertising and promotion, leaving local promoters sometimes unable to pay the band the full amount they were due. A payment disagreement led to the band refusing to perform at the Cow Palace near San Francisco, and an argument over a union contract before a television appearance resulted in Ray Davies, the Kinks' bandleader, physically fighting with a union official. (Full article...) -
The Battle of Arawe (also known as Operation Director) was fought between Allied and Japanese forces during the New Britain campaign of World War II. The battle formed part of the Allied Operation Cartwheel and was a diversion before a larger landing at Cape Gloucester in late December 1943. The Japanese military was expecting an Allied offensive in western New Britain and was reinforcing the region at the time of the Allied landing in the Arawe area on 15 December 1943. The Allies secured Arawe after about a month of intermittent fighting with the outnumbered Japanese force.
Initial Allied goals for the landing at Arawe included securing a base for American PT boats and diverting Japanese forces away from Cape Gloucester. The PT boat base was subsequently deemed unnecessary and not built. Only a small Japanese force was stationed at Arawe at the time, although reinforcements were en route. The main Allied landing on 15 December was successful despite a failed subsidiary landing and problems coordinating the landing craft. American forces quickly secured a beachhead and dug in. Japanese air units made large-scale raids against the Arawe area in the days after the landing, and in late December Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) troops unsuccessfully counterattacked the American force. In mid-January 1944 the American force, reinforced with additional infantry and tanks, launched a brief offensive that pushed the Japanese back. The Japanese units at Arawe withdrew from the area towards the end of February as part of a general retreat from western New Britain. (Full article...) -
Emerson "Bud" Dunn (May 15, 1918 – January 11, 2001) was a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer from Kentucky who spent most of his career in northern Alabama. He trained horses for over forty years and won his first Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship at age 74 with Dark Spirit's Rebel; at the time, he was the oldest rider to win the honor. He was inducted into the Tennessee Walking Horse Hall of Fame in 1987 and named trainer of the year in 1980 and 1991. In 1999 at age 81, Dunn surpassed his own record for the oldest winning rider by winning his second World Grand Championship, riding RPM. He died of a heart attack in January 2001. (Full article...)
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The Roanoke Island, North Carolina, half dollar (also Roanoke Island half dollar) is a commemorative coin issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1937. The coin commemorated the 350th anniversary of the Roanoke Colony, depicting Sir Walter Raleigh on one side, and on the other Eleanor Dare, holding her child, Virginia Dare, the first child of English descent born in an English colony in the Americas.
The Roanoke Island half dollar was one of many commemorative issues authorized by Congress in 1936. Since it was intended to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the colony, founded in 1587, the coins were not struck until 1937. William Marks Simpson, a sculptor who created several commemorative coins of the era, designed the Roanoke Island issue. His work required only slight modification at the recommendation of the Commission of Fine Arts. (Full article...) -
The A and B Loop is a streetcar circle route of the Portland Streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, United States. Operated by Portland Streetcar, Inc. and TriMet, it is made up of two separate services: the 6.1-mile (9.8 km) A Loop, which runs clockwise, and the 6.6-mile (10.6 km) B Loop, which runs counterclockwise. The route travels a loop between the east and west sides of the Willamette River by crossing the Broadway Bridge in the north and Tilikum Crossing in the south.
The A and B Loop connects Portland's downtown, Pearl District, Lloyd District, Central Eastside, and South Waterfront. It serves various landmarks and institutions, including the Rose Quarter, the Oregon Convention Center, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and Portland State University (PSU). Riders can transfer to Frequent Express (FX) and MAX Light Rail from several stations along the route. (Full article...) -
William Daniel Leahy (/ˈleɪhiˌ ˈleɪ.i/) (6 May 1875 – 20 July 1959) was an American naval officer. The most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II, he held several titles and exercised considerable influence over foreign and military policy. As a fleet admiral, he was the first flag officer ever to hold a five-star rank in the U.S. Armed Forces.
An 1897 graduate of Annapolis, Leahy saw active service in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Banana Wars in Central America, and World War I. He was the first member of his cadet class to reach flag rank, as the Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance from 1927 to 1931. He subsequently served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation from 1933 to 1936, and commanded the Battle Fleet from 1936 to 1937. As Chief of Naval Operations from 1937 to 1939, he was the senior officer in the United States Navy, overseeing the expansion of the fleet and preparations for war. (Full article...) -
Irataba (Mohave: eecheeyara tav [eːt͡ʃeːjara tav], also known as Yara tav, Yarate:va, Arateve; c. 1814 – 1874) was a leader of the Mohave Nation, known as a mediator between the Mohave and the United States. He was born near the Colorado River in present-day Arizona. Irataba was a renowned orator and one of the first Mohave to speak English, a skill he used to develop relations with the United States.
Irataba first encountered European Americans in 1851, when he assisted the Sitgreaves Expedition. In 1854, he met Amiel Whipple, then leading an expedition crossing the Colorado. Several Mohave aided the group, and Irataba agreed to escort them through the territory of the Paiute to the Old Spanish Trail, which would take them to southern California. Noted for his large physical size and gentle demeanor, he later helped and protected other expeditions, earning him a reputation among whites as the most important native leader in the region. (Full article...) -
The 1880 Greenback Party National Convention convened in Chicago from June 9 to June 11 to select presidential and vice presidential nominees and write a party platform for the Greenback Party in the United States presidential election 1880. Delegates chose James B. Weaver of Iowa for President and Barzillai J. Chambers of Texas for Vice President.
The Greenback Party was a newcomer to the political scene in 1880, having arisen, mainly in the nation's West and South, as a response to the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1873. During the Civil War, Congress had authorized "greenbacks", a form of money redeemable in government bonds rather than in then-traditional gold. After the war, many Democrats and Republicans in the East sought to return to the gold standard, and the government began withdrawing greenbacks from circulation. The resulting reduction of the money supply, combined with the economic depression, made life harder for debtors, farmers, and industrial laborers; the Greenback Party hoped to draw support from these groups. (Full article...) -
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the fifth and oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. He became a naval aviator in 1947, and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7. His craft entered space, but was not capable of achieving orbit. He became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space. In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-10), which was planned as a three-day mission. He named Mercury Spacecraft 15B Freedom 7 II in honor of his first spacecraft, but the mission was canceled. (Full article...) -
Over four weeks in 1954, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) explored the background, actions, and associations of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American scientist who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. The hearing resulted in Oppenheimer's Q clearance being revoked. This marked the end of his formal relationship with the government of the United States and generated considerable controversy regarding whether the treatment of Oppenheimer was fair, or whether it was an expression of anti-communist McCarthyism.
Doubts about Oppenheimer's loyalty dated back to the 1930s, when he was a member of numerous Communist front organizations and was associated with Communist Party USA members, including his wife, brother and sister-in-law. These associations were known to Army Counterintelligence at the time he was made director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in 1942 and chairman of the influential General Advisory Committee of the AEC in 1947. In this capacity, Oppenheimer became involved in bureaucratic conflict between the Army and Air Force over the types of nuclear weapons the country required, technical conflict between the scientists over the feasibility of the hydrogen bomb, and personal conflict with AEC commissioner Lewis Strauss. (Full article...) -
The three-cent silver, also known as the three-cent piece in silver or trime, was struck by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1851 to 1872, and as a proof coin in 1873. Designed by the Mint's chief engraver, James B. Longacre, it circulated well while other silver coinage was being hoarded and melted, but once that problem was addressed, became less used. It was abolished by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1873.
After a massive importation of gold bullion during the California Gold Rush, silver could be traded for increasing amounts of gold, so U.S. silver coins were exported and melted for their metal. This, and the reduction of postage rates to three cents, prompted Congress in 1851 to authorize a coin of that denomination made of .750 fine silver, rather than the conventional .900. The three-cent silver was the first American coin to contain metal valued significantly less than its face value, and the first silver coin not to be legal tender for an unlimited amount. The coin saw heavy use until Congress acted again in 1853, making other silver coins lighter, which kept them in circulation. Congress also lightened the three-cent silver, and increased its fineness to 900 silver. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Letitia Christian Tyler (depicted) was the first United States first lady to die in the role?
- ... that wood type for printing was invented in China, first mass-produced in the United States, and later exported back to China for use by missionaries?
- ... that the area of responsibility of the 6th Military Police Group includes all of the United States west of the Mississippi River?
- ... that the scenes set in the United States in the Taiwanese film Daughter's Daughter were nearly omitted during the writing process but were retained at the insistence of lead actress Sylvia Chang?
- ... that after his soccer career, Steve Palacios enlisted in the United States Army and played for the United States Armed Forces soccer team?
- ... that United States Air Force brigadier general E. Daniel Cherry became close friends with the Vietnamese pilot whom he shot down during the Vietnam War?
- ... that the Big Stan drill rig is claimed to be the largest vehicle-mounted drilling rig in the United States?
- ... that a portrait engraver made the controversial decision to change a Sioux chief's war bonnet so that it would fit on the 1899 United States five-dollar silver certificate?
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Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Adams was brought up in a religious and politically active family. After being educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard College, Adams became a mercantile businessman, but this proved not to be his vocation and he soon turned to politics, and became an influential political writer and theorist. Adams established himself as one of the voices of opposition to British control in the colonies; he argued that the colonies should withdraw from Great Britain and form a new government. Adams called for the colonists to defend their rights and liberties, and led town meetings in which he drafted written protests against Parliament's colonial tax measures such as the Stamp Act of 1765. Adams played a prominent role during protests against the Stamp Act, and in the events of the Boston Tea Party in 1773. He participated in the Continental Congress. He also advocated the adoption of the Declaration of Independence at the Second Continental Congress.
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Photograph: Unknown; Restoration: Adam CuerdenWilliam H. Seward (1801–1872) was United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as Governor of New York and United States Senator. A determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years, and was generally praised for his work on behalf of the Union as Secretary of State during the American Civil War. His firm stance against foreign intervention in the Civil War helped deter Britain and France from entering the conflict, which might have led to the independence of the Confederate States. His contemporary Carl Schurz described Seward as "one of those spirits who sometimes will go ahead of public opinion instead of tamely following its footprints." -
Poster: J. Hale Powers & Co. Fraternity & Fine Art Publishers; restoration: TrialsanderrorsAn 1873 print promoting the Grange, the oldest U.S. agricultural advocacy group with a national scope. In 2005 it had 160,000 members.
The central scene shows a farmer with one foot on his shovel, captioned "I Pay for All". From left to right, the top insets show a farmer's fireside and the Grange in session; the bottom ones show a harvest dance, a broken-down cabin signposted "Ignorance" and "Sloth", and a Biblical scene of the gleaners Ruth and Boaz. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaAndrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He has been widely revered in the United States as an advocate for democracy and the common man, but many of his actions proved divisive, garnering both fervent support and strong opposition from different sectors of society. His reputation has suffered since the 1970s, largely due to his pivotal role in the forcible removal of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands; however, surveys of historians and scholars have ranked Jackson favorably among U.S. presidents. -
Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew ShivaJohn Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was an American statesman who served as a diplomat, minister and ambassador to foreign nations, and treaty negotiator, United States Senator, Congressman from Massachusetts, and the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. Involved in negotiating the treaties of Ghent, 1818, and Adams–Onís, Adams has been called one of the United States' greatest diplomats and secretaries of state. As president, he sought to modernize the American economy and promote education, paying off much of the national debt despite being stymied by a Congress controlled by opponents and lacking patronage networks. Historians have generally ranked him as an above-average president. -
Photo credit: Clarence JackA 1909 panorama of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa was first settled during the 1830s by the Creek Native American tribe. Shortly before Oklahoma's statehood on November 16, 1907, oil was discovered nearby and the city played a major role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry, eventually giving the city the nickname "Oil Capital of the World". -
Lithographer: Joseph E. Baker; Restoration: Lise BroerA fanciful 1892 lithograph of the Salem witch trials. The trials, which took place between February 1692 and May 1693 in colonial Massachusetts, involved people accused of witchcraft, and have been used as a cautionary tale about the dangers of religious extremism, false accusations, lapses in due process, and governmental intrusion on individual liberties. -
Photo credit: Daniel MayerYellowstone National Park is a United States National Park located in the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Yellowstone is the first and oldest national park in the world. The park is famous for its geothermal features and is home to grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaThe inauguration of John Tyler as the tenth president of the United States took place on April 6, 1841, in Washington, D.C., following the death of President William Henry Harrison two days earlier. This was the first non-scheduled, extraordinary presidential inauguration to take place in American history. Having received news of Harrison's death, Tyler traveled to Washington from his home in Williamsburg, Virginia by steamboat and train, the fastest means of conveyance then available, taking 21 hours. -
Artist: Daniel A. Jenks; Restoration: Papa Lima WhiskeyA drawing of travelers on the California Trail, one of the major emigrant trails across the Western United States used by over 250,000 people heading west during the California Gold Rush. This, combined with those coming from the east across the Isthmus of Panama or around Cape Horn, greatly increased the population of California, and spurred the movement to make it the 31st U.S. state. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaHowell Cobb (September 7, 1815 – October 9, 1868) was an American politician and five-term member of the United States House of Representatives who served as Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851. He also served as the 40th governor of Georgia from 1851 to 1853, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President James Buchanan from 1857 to 1860. Cobb is probably best known as one of the founders of the Confederacy, having served as president of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. This line engraving of Cobb was produced around 1902 by the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) as part of a BEP presentation album of the first 42 secretaries of the treasury. -
Cutout credit: Martha Ann HoneywellMartha Ann Honeywell (1786–1856) was an American disabled artist who produced silhouettes and paper-cutout images using only her mouth, arm stumps and toes, often in public performances. She sold cutouts such as this one as souvenirs. The text at the center of this cutout, with framed dimensions of
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001A-QINU`"'
8+1⁄4 in × 7+5⁄8 in (21 cm × 19 cm), is the standard text of the Lord's Prayer, signed underneath with the inscription "Written without hands by Martha Honeywell". The work is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. -
Lithograph: Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler; restoration: Adam CuerdenA bird's eye view of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a 1902 lithograph by Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler. At this point in its history, Pittsburgh was an industrial and commercial powerhouse, with extensive railroad connections to the rest of the United States. Together with the rest of Allegheny County, it produced massive amounts of steel and steel products: by 1911 they reached 24% of the national output of pig iron, 34% of Bessemer steel, 44% of open hearth steel, 53% of crucible steel, 24% of steel rail, and 59% of structural shape. -
Photo: Harris & Ewing; Restoration: Lise BroerTwo boys enjoy treats during the 1911 Easter egg roll at the White House lawn, the highest-profile event on Easter Monday in the United States. The day after Easter is a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures. The White House Easter egg roll has been held annually since 1814. -
Photograph: George C. Cox; restoration: Adam CuerdenWalt Whitman (1819–1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass (first published in 1855, but continuously revised until Whitman's death), which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality. -
Photo credit: US Bureau of ReclamationThe Central Arizona Project Aqueduct is a diversion canal in Arizona in the United States. The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River from Lake Havasu City into central and southern Arizona.
The Central Arizona Project is a multipurpose water resource development and management project that was designed to provide water to nearly one million acres of Indian and non-Indian irrigated agricultural land areas as well as municipal water for several Arizona communities.
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Selected culture biography -
Pei has won a wide variety of prizes and awards in the field of architecture, including the AIA Gold Medal in 1979, the first Praemium Imperiale for Architecture in 1989, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in 2003. In 1983, he won the Pritzker Prize, sometimes called the Nobel Prize of architecture.
Selected location -
Historically a manufacturing center, education is the city's largest economic sector with Kent State University the city's, and one of the region's, largest employers. The city is governed by a council-manager system with a city manager, a nine-member city council, and a mayor. Kent has nearly 20 parks and preserves and hosts a number of annual festivals including ones related to Earth Day, folk music, and the U.S. Independence Day. In addition to the Kent State athletic teams, the city also hosts a number of amateur and local sporting events at various times during the year. Kent is part of the Cleveland-Akron media market and is the city of license for three local radio stations and three television stations and includes the regional affiliates for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Selected quote -
Anniversaries for March 16
- 1802 – The United States Military Academy West Point is established.
- 1945 – The Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the biggest confrontations between American and Japanese forces fighting in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, officially ends. Small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.
- 1958 – Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird (pictured), averaging almost a million cars a year since the company's founding.
- 1968 – In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers are killed by American troops in one of the worst atrocities of the Vietnam War.
- 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later dies in captivity.
- 1988 – Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States as part of the Iran–Contra affair.
Selected cuisines, dishes and foods -
A sloppy joe is a sandwich consisting of ground beef, onions, tomato sauce or ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings served on a hamburger bun. There are several theories about the sandwich's origin. (Full article...)
Selected panorama -
More did you know? -
- ...that the Liberty ship SS George Washington Carver, (pictured) the second named for an African American, was sponsored by singer Lena Horne and constructed in 42 days from start to delivery?
- ...that Jacob Piatt Dunn in 1886 wrote the first scholarly history concerning the Indian Wars?
- ...that the Delaware at-large congressional district is the oldest congressional district in the country?
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