Horace, Roman lyric poet and critic, born 65 B.C. (d.8 B.C.)

John Milton, England’s greatest Puritan Poet– one of the greatest of the world– born 1608 (d.1674)

Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes militia units into three regiments– celebrated as the birth of the National Guard 1636

John Jay, first Chief Justice of United States Supreme Court, born 1745 (d.1829)

Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin born 1765 (d.1825) 

The Bill of Rights as passed by Congress was ratified by the states 1791

No. We are not smarter than we were 222 years ago.

George Washington died at Mount Vernon 1799


Washington, D.C. became permanent home of the United States Government 1800

Mississippi admitted to the Union 1817 (20th state)

Emily Dickinson, New England poet, born 1830 (d.1886)

Robert Koch, German physician, founder of bacteriology and winner of Nobel prize, born 1843 (d.1910)

Melvil Dewey, librarian and author of the decimal system of book classification, born 1851 (d.1931)

Alfred Albert Nobel, Swedish chemist, inventor of dynamite, founder Nobel prizes, died 1896 (b.1833)

Gone with the Wind premiers in Atlanta 1939

The Chicago Bears defeat the Washington Redskins 73-0 1940

Congress declares war on Japan 1941

NASCAR founded 1947

Last person to walk on the moon 1972

Cobbled together from

Mary Emogene Hazeltine. Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them. American Library Association, Chicago. 1928.

Mary E. Hazeltine. Judith K. Sollenberger, ed. Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them Second Edition, Completely Revised. American Library Association, Chicago. 1965.

William J. Bennett and John T.E.. Cribb. The American Patriot’s Almanac. Thomas Nelson, Nashville. 2008.