Today is July 1 2014

National Gingersnap Day : More

• Canada Day: More
  
• International Joke Day : More
• Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day: More
• National Flash a Trucker Day: More
• International Chicken Wing Day: More
• U.S. Postage Stamp Day: More
  First Postal Service authorized postage stamps, July 1 1847.
• ZIP code Day: More
  First non-mandatory ZIP codes authorized, July 1 1963.
• National Build A Scarecrow Day!: More

• In 1847, The first U.S. postage stamp is issued.
  From Wikipedia: 'The history of postal service of the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters, whose cost was borne by the receiving person, later also encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices, and culminated in a system of universal pre-payment that required all letters to bear nationally issued adhesive postage stamps.
  
  In the earliest days, Ship captains arriving in port with stampless mail would advertise in the local newspaper names of those having mail and for them to come collect and pay for it, if not already paid for by the sender. Postal delivery in the United States was a matter of haphazard local organization until after the Revolutionary War, when eventually a national postal system was established. Stampless letters, paid for by the receiver, and private postal systems, were gradually phased out after the introduction of adhesive postage stamps, first issued by the U.S. government post office July 1, 1847, in the denominations of five and ten cents, with the use of stamps made mandatory in 1855.
  
  The issue and use of adhesive postage stamps continued during the 19th century primarily for first class mail. Each of these stamps generally bore the face or bust of an American president or another historically important statesman. However, once the Post Office realized during the 1890s that it could increase revenues by selling stamps as "collectibles," it began issuing commemorative stamps, first in connection with important national expositions, later for the anniversaries of significant American historical events. Continued technological innovation subsequently prompted the introduction of special stamps, such as those for use with airmail, zeppelin mail, registered mail, certified mail, and so on. Postage due stamps were issued for some time and were pasted by the post office to letters having insufficient postage with the postage due to be paid to the postal carrier at the receiving address.
  
  Today, stamps issued by the post office are self-adhesive, and no longer require that the stamps be "licked" to dissolve the glue on their back. In many cases, post office clerks now use Postal Value Indicators (PVI), which are computer labels, instead of stamps.
  
  Where for a century-and-a-half or so, stamps were almost invariably denominated with their values (5 cent, 10 cent, etc.) the United States post office now sells non-denominated "forever" stamps for use on first-class and international mail. These stamps are still valid even if there is a rate increase. However, for other uses, adhesive stamps with denomination indicators are still available and sold.
  
  An Act of Congress of March 3, 1845 (effective July 1, 1845), established uniform (and mostly reduced) postal rates throughout the nation, with a uniform rate of five cents for distances under 300 miles (500 km) and ten cents for distances between 300 and 3000 miles. However, Congress did not authorize the production of stamps for nationwide use until 1847; still, postmasters realized that standard rates now made it feasible to produce and sell "provisional" issues for prepayment of uniform postal fees, and printed these in bulk. Such provisionals included both prepaid envelopes and stamps, mostly of crude design, the New York Postmaster's Provisional being the only one of quality comparable to later stamps.
  
  Congress finally provided for the issuance of stamps by passing an act on March 3, 1847, and the Postmaster-General immediately let a contract to the New York City engraving firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, and Edson. The first stamp issue of the U.S. was offered for sale on July 1, 1847, in New York City, with Boston receiving stamps the following day and other cities thereafter. They consisted of an engraved 5-cent red brown stamp depicting Benjamin Franklin (the first postmaster of the U.S.), and a 10-cent value in black with George Washington. Like all U.S. stamps until 1857, they were imperforate.
  
  The use of stamps was optional: letters could still be sent requiring payment of postage on delivery. Indeed, the post office issued no 2-cent value for prepaying drop letters in 1847, and these continued to be handled as they had been. Nevertheless, many Americans took up using stamps; about 3,700,000 of the 5¢ and about 865,000 of the 10¢ were sold, and enough of those have survived to ensure a ready supply for collectors, although the demand is such that a very fine 5¢ sells for around $500 as of 2003, and the 10¢ in very fine condition sells for around $1,400 in used form. Unused stamps are much scarcer, fetching around $6,000 and $28,000 respectively, if in very fine condition. One can pay as little as 5 to 10 percent of these figures if the stamps are in poor condition.
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• In 1867, The British North America Act of 1867 takes effect as the Constitution of Canada, creating the Canadian Confederation and the federal dominion of Canada; Sir John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
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• In 1870, The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.
  From Wikipedia: 'The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government, responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice in the United States, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.
  
  The Department is headed by the United States Attorney General, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Attorney General is Loretta Lynch.
  
  A second bill was introduced to Congress by Rhode Island Representative Thomas Jenckes on February 25, 1870, and both the Senate and House passed the bill. President Ulysses S. Grant then signed the bill into law on June 22, 1870. The Department of Justice officially began operations on July 1, 1870. Just prior to the Civil War, in February of 1861, the Confederate States of America established a Department of Justice.
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• In 1874, the opening of the first zoo in the U.S.A, the Philadelphia Zoo.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874. It opened with 1,000 animals and an admission price of 25 cents. For a brief time, the zoo also housed animals brought over from safari on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, which had not yet built the National Zoo in the 1850s.
  
  The Philadelphia Zoo is one of the premier zoos in the world for breeding animals that have been found difficult to breed in captivity. The zoo also works with many groups around the world to protect the natural habitats of the animals in their care.
  
  The zoo is 42 acres (17 ha) and is home to more than 1,300 animals, many of which are rare and endangered. The zoo features a children's zoo, a paddleboat lake, a rainforest themed carousel, and many interactive and educational exhibits.
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• In 1874, The Sholes and Glidden typewriter (aka: Remington No. 1), is the first commercially successful typewriter, goes on sale.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Sholes and Glidden typewriter (also known as the Remington No. 1) was the first commercially successful typewriter. Principally designed by the American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes, it was developed with the assistance of fellow printer Samuel W. Soule and amateur mechanic Carlos S. Glidden. Work began in 1867, but Soule left the enterprise shortly thereafter, replaced by James Densmore, who provided financial backing and the driving force behind the machine's continued development. After several short-lived attempts to manufacture the device, the machine was acquired by E. Remington and Sons in early 1873. An arms manufacturer seeking to diversify, Remington further refined the typewriter before finally placing it on the market on July 1, 1874.
  
  During its development, the typewriter evolved from a crude curiosity into a practical device, the basic form of which became the industry standard. The machine incorporated elements which became fundamental to typewriter design, including a cylindrical platen and a four-rowed QWERTY keyboard. Several design deficiencies remained, however. The Sholes and Glidden could print only upper-case letters—an issue remedied in its successor, the Remington No. 2—and was a "blind writer", meaning the typist could not see what was being written as it was entered.
  
  Initially, the typewriter received an unenthusiastic reception from the public. Lack of an established market, high cost, and the need for trained operators slowed its adoption. Additionally, recipients of typewritten messages found the mechanical, all upper-case writing to be impersonal and even insulting. The new communication technologies and expanding businesses of the late 19th century, however, had created a need for expedient, legible correspondence, and so the Sholes and Glidden and its contemporaries soon became common office fixtures. The typewriter is credited with assisting the entrance of women into the clerical workplace, as many were hired to operate the new devices.
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• In 1881, The world's first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.
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• In 1898, During the Spanish–American War, the The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of San Juan Hill (1 July 1898), also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish–American War. The San Juan heights was a north-south running elevation about 2 kilometres (2,200 yd) east of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. The names San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill were given to the location by the Americans. This fight for the heights was the bloodiest and most famous battle of the war. It was also the location of the greatest victory for the Rough Riders, as claimed by the press and its new commander, Theodore Roosevelt, who was to eventually become first vice-president and then president, and who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001 for his actions in Cuba. The American press at the time overlooked the fact that the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry and 24th Infantry Regiments had actually done much of the heaviest fighting.
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• In 1903, Start of first Tour de France bicycle race.
  From Wikipedia: 'The 1903 Tour de France was the first cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper L'Auto, ancestor of the current daily, L'Équipe. It ran from 1 to 19 July in six stages over 2,428 km (1,509 mi), and was won by Maurice Garin.
  
  The race was invented to boost the circulation of L'Auto, after its circulation started to plummet from competition with the long-standing Le Vélo. Originally scheduled to start in June, the race was postponed one month, and the prize money was increased, after a disappointing level of applications from competitors. The 1903 Tour de France was the first stage road race, and compared to modern Grand Tours, it had relatively few stages, but each was much longer than those raced today. The cyclists did not have to compete in all six stages, although this was necessary to qualify for the general classification.
  
  The pre-race favourite, Maurice Garin, won the first stage, and retained the lead throughout. He also won the last two stages, and had a margin of almost three hours over the next cyclist. The circulation of L'Auto increased more than sixfold during and after the race, so the race was considered successful enough to be rerun in 1904, by which time Le Vélo had been forced out of business.
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• In 1908, SOS is adopted as the international distress signal (letters chosen as simplest to transmit and receive in Morse code).
  From Wikipedia: 'The use of the SOS signal was first introduced in Germany as part of a set of national radio regulations, effective April 1, 1905. These regulations introduced three new Morse code sequences, including the SOS distress signal.
  
  In 1906, at the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention in Berlin, an extensive collection of Service Regulations was developed to supplement the main agreement, which was signed on November 3, 1906, becoming effective on July 1, 1908. Article XVI of the regulations adopted Germany's Notzeichen (distress signal) as the international standard, reading: "Ships in distress shall use the following signal: · · · – – – · · · repeated at brief intervals". The first ship to transmit an SOS distress call appears to have been either the Cunard liner RMS Slavonia on June 10, 1909, according to "Notable Achievements of Wireless" in the September, 1910 Modern Electrics, or the steamer SS Arapahoe on August 11, 1909. The signal of the Arapahoe was received by the United Wireless Telegraph Company station at Hatteras, North Carolina, and forwarded to the steamer company's offices. However, there was some resistance among the Marconi operators to the adoption of the new signal, and, as late as the April 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, the ship's Marconi operators intermixed CQD and SOS distress calls. However, in the interests of consistency and water safety, the use of CQD appears to have died out thereafter.
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• In 1916, During World War I, On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of upper reaches of the River Somme in France. It was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front; more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
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• In 1929, American cartoonist Elzie Segar added Popeye to 10 year old comic strip 'Thimble Theater'.
  From Wikipedia: 'Popeye the Sailor Man is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. The character first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip, Thimble Theatre, on January 17, 1929, and Popeye became the strip's title in later years; Popeye has also appeared in theatrical and television animated cartoons.
  
  Segar's Thimble Theatre strip was in its 10th year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed (left) sailor quickly became the main focus of the strip, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. After Segar's death in 1938, Thimble Theatre was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments in its Sunday edition, written and drawn by Hy Eisman. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.
  
  In 1933, Max Fleischer adapted the Thimble Theatre characters into a series of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and Fleischer—and later Paramount's own Famous Studios—continued production through 1957. These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment, a subsidiary of Time Warner, and distributed by its sister company Warner Bros. Entertainment.
  
  Over the years, Popeye has also appeared in comic books, television cartoons, arcade and video games, hundreds of advertisements, and peripheral products (ranging from spinach to candy cigarettes), and the 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman, starring comedian Robin Williams as Popeye.
  
  In 2002, TV Guide ranked Popeye #20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.
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• In 1931, United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport).
  From Wikipedia: 'Boeing Air Transport was formed on February 17, 1927 by William Boeing to operate the Contract Air Mail (CAM) service between San Francisco and Chicago (CAM.18), taking over the route on July 1, 1927. The route was initially operated by single-engined Boeing 40A biplanes, which could carry four passengers, which provided a useful supplement to the subsidized revenue from carrying airmail.
  
  In order to take better advantage of passenger traffic, Boeing decided that it needed a larger aircraft that was more suitable for passenger carrying, and in early 1928 designed a trimotor aircraft capable of carrying 12 passengers, the Model 80. Unlike the Fokker F.VII and Ford Trimotors operated by other airlines, the Model 80 was a biplane, chosen to give good takeoff and landing performance when operating from difficult airfields on its routes, many of which were at relatively high altitude. The fuselage was of fabric covered steel and aluminium tube construction, and carried its 12 passengers in three-abreast seating in a well-appointed cabin. The flight crew of two sat in an enclosed flight deck forward of the passenger cabin. The wings were of fabric covered steel and duralumin construction, with detachable wingtips to aid storage in hangars.
  
  The first Model 80, powered by three Pratt and Whitney Wasp radial engines, flew on July 27, 1928. It was followed by three more Model 80s before production switched to the improved Model 80A, which was longer, allowing 18 passengers to be carried, and was powered by more powerful Pratt and Whitney Hornet engines, first flying on July 18, 1929, receiving its airworthiness certificate on August 20, 1929.
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• In 1932, Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia's state-owned and funded national public broadcaster. The ABC plays a leading role in the history of broadcasting in Australia. With a total annual budget of A$1.22 billion, the corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as overseas through the Australia Network and Radio Australia and is well regarded for quality and reliability as well as for offering educational and cultural programming that the commercial sector would be unlikely to supply on its own.
  
  Founded in 1929 as the Australian Broadcasting Company, it was subsequently made a state-owned corporation on 1 July 1932 as the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 changed the name of the organisation to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, effective 1 July 1983. Although funded and owned by the government, the ABC remains editorially independent as ensured through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.
  
  The ABC is sometimes informally referred to as "Aunty" originally in imitation of the British Broadcasting Corporation's nickname.
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• In 1935, Benny Goodman and his band recorded the 'King Porter Stomp'.
  From Wikipedia: '"King Porter Stomp" is a swing-era jazz standard by Jelly Roll Morton. The composition is considered to be important in the development of jazz.
  
  According to Jelly Roll Morton, the tune was composed in 1905. Morton first recorded the number in 1923 as a piano solo, but did not file a copyright on the tune until 1924. That year, Morton recorded a duet version with Joe "King" Oliver on cornet. Morton said that he had actually written the tune almost 20 years earlier, and that it was named after his friend and fellow pianist Porter King.
  
  In 1935, Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded Fletcher Henderson's arrangement of the number, which became a huge hit, becoming a standard of the Big Band era. Goodman's recording featured the well known trumpeter of the day Bunny Berigan. Fletcher Henderson had recorded his own arrangement several times with his own band during the 1920s and early 1930s. Harry James recorded a version in 1939 on Brunswick 8366. Other big bands also recorded the tune, as did more traditional jazz groups.
  
  Late 1960s "space-age" bandleader Pat Williams recorded the song on his 1968 Verve LP Shades of Today.
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• In 1941, Bulova Watch Co pays $9 for 1st ever network TV commercial.
  From Wikipedia: 'The first official, paid television advertisement was broadcast in the United States on July 1, 1941 over New York station WNBT (now WNBC) before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. The announcement for Bulova watches, for which the company paid anywhere from $4.00 to $9.00 (reports vary), displayed a WNBT test pattern modified to look like a clock with the hands showing the time. The Bulova logo, with the phrase "Bulova Watch Time", was shown in the lower right-hand quadrant of the test pattern while the second hand swept around the dial for one minute. The first TV ad broadcast in the UK was on ITV on 22 September 1955, advertising Gibbs SR toothpaste. The first TV ad broadcast in Asia was on Nippon Television in Tokyo on August 28, 1953, advertising Seikosha (now Seiko), which also displayed a clock with the current time.
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• In 1956, Elvis Presley wearing a tuxedo appears on Steve Allen Show with prior instructions, not to dance. He sings Hound Dog to a hound dog.
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• In 1959, Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the U.S.A., the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.
  From Wikipedia: 'The international yard and pound are two units of measurement that were the subject of an agreement between six nations signed on 1 July 1959. The six nations were the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The agreement defined the yard as exactly 0.9144 metres and the pound as exactly 0.45359237 kilogram.
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• In 1961, Haleakala National Park forms in Hawaii.
  From Wikipedia: 'Haleakala National Park is a national park located on the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The park covers an area of 33,265 acres (134.62 km2), of which 19,270 acres (77.98 km2) is a wilderness area.
  
  It was originally created as part of the Hawaii National Park along with the volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea on the island of Hawaii in 1916. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was made into a separate national park in 1961. The park area was designated an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980. The name Haleakala is Hawaiian for "house of the sun." According to a local legend, the semigod Maui imprisoned the sun here in order to lengthen the day. The Hawaiian National Park Language Correction Act of 2000 was proposed to observe the Hawaiian spelling, but it did not become law.
  
  The park features the dormant Haleakala (East Maui) Volcano, which last erupted sometime between 1480 and 1600 AD. The park is divided into two distinct sections: the summit area and the coastal Kipahulu area.
  
  The two sections of the park average 1,450,000 visitors per year.
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• In 1963, ZIP Codes (Zone Improvement Plan) are introduced from the United States Postal Service.
  From Wikipedia: 'ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service (USPS) since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly (zipping along), when senders use the code in the postal address. The basic format consists of five decimal numerical digits. An extended ZIP+4 code, introduced in 1983, includes the five digits of the ZIP code, a hyphen, and four additional digits that determine a more specific location within a given ZIP code. The USPS provides a free online lookup tool for ZIP codes.
  The term ZIP code was originally registered as a servicemark (a type of trademark) by the U.S. Postal Service, but its registration has since expired. USPS style for ZIP is all caps, although style sheets for some publications use sentence case or lowercase.
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• In 1968, The Nuclear non-proliferation treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
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• In 1980, 'O Canada' officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.
  From Wikipedia: '"O Canada" (French: Ô Canada) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The lyrics were originally in French and an English version was created in 1906. Robert Stanley Weir wrote in 1908 another English version, which is the official and most popular version, one that is not a literal translation of the French. Weir's lyrics have been revised twice, taking their present form in 1980, but the French lyrics remain unaltered. "O Canada" had served as a de facto national anthem since 1939, officially becoming Canada's national anthem in 1980 when the Act of Parliament making it so received Royal Assent and became effective on July 1 as part of that year's Dominion Day celebrations.
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