 President John Adams and President Thomas Jefferson Read what happened to them on 1826 in this blog post. May Independence Day bring good fortune and celebration to you wherever you are. As the United States celebrates its birthday, here is a link to other countries with the dates of their Independence Days.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_independence_days
And here are some fun facts of other historical events that have also happened on July 4th. (Source: https://www.onthisday.com/events/july/4) 1636 City of Providence, Rhode Island is formed 1776 According to popular legend the Liberty Bell rings for the Second Continental Congress 1776 US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Britain 1796 1st Independence Day celebration is held 1802 US Military Academy officially opens (West Point, NY) 1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson 1826 Past presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President John Quincy Adams calls "visible and palpable remarks of Divine Favor" 1827 Slavery abolished in New York 1831 "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)" is 1st sung in Boston 1838 Iowa Territory is organized from Wisconsin Territory, lasting until 1846 1840 The Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic crossing with a scheduled end 1845 Henry David Thoreau moves into his shack on Walden Pond (Massachusetts) 1845 Texas Congress votes for annexation to US 1862 Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) creates Alice in Wonderland for Alice Liddell on a family boat trip on the river Isis (Thames) in Oxford (England) 1863 General Lee's army withdraws from Gettysburg (Turning point during the Civil War) 1863 Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces 1865 First edition of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll is published 1868 Maori leader Te Kooti and 300 of his followers captured the schooner Rifleman in the Chatham Islands and sail for New Zealand; landing at Whareongaonga six days later 1873 Aquarium opens in Woodward Gardens, San Francisco 1875 White Democrats kill several blacks in terrorist attacks in Vicksburg 1876 1st public exhibition of electric light in San Francisco 1876 Batholdi visits Bedloe Island, future home of his Statue of Liberty 1881 Booker T. Washington establishes Tuskegee Institute (Alabama) 1883 Buffalo Bill Cody presents 1st Wild West Show, North Platte, Nebraska 1884 Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris 1886 1st scheduled transcontinental passenger train reaches Port Moody, British Columbia 1887 Future founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, begins his studies at Sindh Madressatul Islam University in Karachi 1892 Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4 1894 Republic of Hawaii proclaimed, Sanford B Dole as president 1895 Katherine Lee Bates publishes "America the Beautiful" 1901 William Howard Taft, former Federal judge, is installed as the first governor-general of the Philippines and declares amnesty for all insurgents who take an oath of allegiance 1902 Civil government is established in the Philippines by a proclamation from US President Theodore Roosevelt, who offers a general amnesty to insurgents 1906 Great Britain, France, and Italy declare the independence of Ethiopia (Abyssinia), but all lay claim to their own 'spheres of influence' in that land 1910 "Fight of the Century": African American Jack Johnson beats "The Great White Hope" James J. Jeffries by TKO in 15 in Reno, Nevada to retain his world heavyweight boxing title 1917 Troops of the Russian Provisional Government opened fire on protesters in Petrograd during the 'July Days' of unrest (Russian Revolution) 1918 Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne. This signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of modern-day Turkey following World War I. 1927 Sukarno and friends form the pro-Indonesian independence party, the PNI (Perserikatan Nasional Indonesia) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies 1934 Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb 1939 Lou Gehrig is first MLB player to have his number (4) retired on his "Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium, makes iconic "luckiest man" speech 1941 Latvia partisans shoot 416 Jews dead during World War II 1941 Howard Florey and Norman Heatley meet for the 1st time, 11 days later they successfully recreate penicillin 1944 1,100 US guns fire 4th of July salute at German lines in Normandy 1944 1st Japanese kamikaze attack, US fleet near Iwo Jima 1946 Anti-Jewish riots in Kielce Poland, 42 die 1946 Philippines gains independence from the US 1946 President Manuel Roxas inaugurated as the 5th President of the Philippines and the first president of the Third Republic at the Independence Grandstand, Manila 1950 Harry Truman signs public law 600 (Puerto Ricans write own constitution) 1950 The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe. 1954 Dr. Sam Sheppard's wife Marilyn is murdered (he is accused of the crime) 1954 Meat and all other food rationings officially end in Britain, nine years after the end of World War II 1959 Island Records founded in Jamaica 1966 Beatles attacked in the Philippines after (unintentionally) insulting Imelda Marcos 1966 President Lyndon B Johnson signs Freedom of Information Act 1975 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Billie Jean King outclasses Evonne Goolagong 6-0, 6-1 for her 6th Wimbledon singles title 1975 Ted Bundy victim Nancy Baird disappears from Layton, Utah 1976 Operation Entebbe - Israel rescues 229 Air France hostage passengers In Uganda (3 hostages die along with Ugandan soldiers and Israeli soldier) 1987 Nazi Klaus Barbie, "Butcher of Lyon" sentenced to life in France 1990 400 New Kids on the Block fans treated for heat exhaustion in Minnesota 1993 Pilar Fort crowned 25th Miss Black America 1994 Rwandese Patriotic Front occupies Kigali 1996 Hot Mail, a free internet E-mail service begins 2003 LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant is arrested in Eagle, Colorado for sexual assault, charges eventually dismissed 2004 The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. (This was largely a symbolic event; actual construction would not start for several weeks) 2006 Richard Branson sells Virgin Mobile to NTL for £962.4 million 2006 Sri Lanka sets new ODI cricket record score 443-9 in a World Cup win over the Netherlands in Amstelveen (Jayasuriya 157, Dilshan 117no) 2009 The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks 2017 North Korea tests first successful intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan 2018 Hong Kong'stop court rules same-sex couples entitled to equal visa rights in a landmark case 2018 Wildfire in Yolo County, California, grows to 82,700 acres with 2,800 firefighters battling the blaze 2018 Chinese technology company Baidu announces it has begun mass production of self-driving buses, the 14-seat Apolong
0 Comments
 The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC by Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA, CDMP, CITM This article is written for an American audience; however, I know that many friends and colleagues around the world read my newsletter and visit my website. So feel free to adapt these tips to conform to your province, region, or country. 1. Visit Washington DC. Every American should visit our nation’s capital at least once in your life to see where our President lives and where Congress makes our laws. All of the Smithsonian Museums are FREE of charge in Washington, so put them at the top of your list. You have to make a reservation to go on the White House Tour, but you can go to the Senate and House of Representative buildings at any time free of charge. The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington remains a top choice for many. Make sure that you get your tickets in advance. https://nmaahc.si.edu/visit/passes For more information about the nation's capital, visit www.washington.org. 2. Visit Your Congressional Offices All 435 US Congressional Representatives have an office in Washington DC AND offices in their local districts. I have visited my congressman and senators and met with them in their Washington DC office and their offices in Massachusetts. Go to either www.senate.gov or www.house.gov to find out who your congressional representative is. It is best to meet with your congressional representative or senator in your home district in your state. In Washington, the House of Representatives Buildings include: --Cannon House Office Building --Longworth House Office Building --Rayburn House Office Building The Senate Buildings include: --Hart Senate Office Building --Dirksen Senate Office Building --Russell Senate Office Building 3. Visit Your State Capital Visiting your state capital should be an easy one for you. Especially if you live in your state capital, like Boston, Massachusetts. It’s FREE to visit your state capital and most offer tours at certain times of the day. I am a member of a public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta (www.deltasigmatheta.org). As part of our Social Action Agenda, we plan a State House event every year around the United States called “Delta Day at the State House” (DDSH), that is open to the general public. We usually select a state-related topic, like redistricting, tour the capital, and invite our legislators to address our audience at a two-hour program we hold in a reserved room at the State Capital Capital. (Our Annual Nation’s Capital Legislative Conference is only open to members.) Whether you are an individual, a family, or a group, visiting your state capital is a strongly encouraged for every informed, empowered citizen. Every state has their own website and pertinent information on state, city, and town issues. Google your state’s website and explore its resources. Most state capitals have a bookstore or some resources center where you can purchase items related to your state affairs. I enjoy browsing the documents, photos, and historical guidebooks on Massachusetts when I visit my state capital bookstore. I encourage you to visit your state capital in the coming year. 4. Visit Your Governor, State Representatives, And Senators When you visit your state capital, don’t forget to stop in the office of your governor and state legislators. When we hold DDSH (see #3) we always plan visits to our respective legislators’ offices. You don’t have to make an appointment. You can stop in, speak to a staff member, leave your name and number, and schedule a future meeting with either a staff member, representative and/or senator. You can also sit in on a legislative session, hearing or other meeting, depending on when your state’s legislators are in session. It may be a bit more challenging to have a one-to-one meeting with your governor. However, when he/she attends events around your state, plan to attend and ask a pertinent question (about bridges, roads, housing, education, budgets, etc.) during the session. You can follow up with the designated staff member attending the event with the governor. They never travel alone to events. Google your state house for more information on contacting your representative or senator. Some state legislators meet at designated times of the year, per their Constitution. The Texas Legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days. Others meet at selected times of the year. (Massachusetts State Legislature is called the General Court.) The Massachusetts Legislature has a two-year cycle. The current cycle runs from January 3, 2018, to July 31. 2018. (The Massachusetts legislators are elected every two years. Currently, informal sessions are being held at the State House throughout the summer months. ) The times your state legislature meets depends on your state Constitution. Call your governor’s office to learn more. You also have a better chance of connecting with your legislator at some event in your state (like a public hearing). Walk up to your legislator, introduce yourself, and ask when you can visit his/her office and talk more about your particular issue. 5. Visit The United Nations in New York City At least once in your life, visit the United Nations. It’s located in New York City, and much of the building is FREE and open to the public. There’s tight security, so plan your timing accordingly. It might take you 15 minutes to go through security. The WORLD visits the United Nations every day! The entire world! Forget all of the naysayers who trash the value of the UN, plan a visit at some point in your life. There are world exhibits, sessions that you can observe, tours (with a small charge), conferences and events held in the building. I have spoken at the UN as part of conferences, attended luncheons, and find the environment fascinating. Every world event from hunger, to civil wars, are discussed, evaluated and negotiated in the United Nations building. Many many school groups visit the building, and it’s fun seeing young people exchange ideas and information at the UN. There is a cafeteria in the building and an extensive bookstore and gift shop. You can reach the building using public transportation. Take your camera and video camera and snap those photos wherever you can. Stop and meet a visitor dressed in their native outfit and learn more about their country. Plan to stay for a half day or a full day. It’s a big complex and will take some time to get through the public parts. For more information visit www.un.org.  The November 1st Multicultural Conference & MSS Membership Summer Special Registration * * * $179 Per Person Registration ENDS Labor Day Purchase Multiple Registrations & SAVE Reserve Your Seat By July 15th and
|
* * * * * * * *
Archives
August 2024
|
RSS Feed
©2024 All Rights Reserved Carole Copeland Thomas • (508) 947-5755 • [email protected]