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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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Interstate 70 (I-70) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In Colorado, the highway traverses an east–west route across the center of the state. In western Colorado, the highway connects the metropolitan areas of Grand Junction and Denver via a route through the Rocky Mountains. In eastern Colorado, the highway crosses the Great Plains, connecting Denver with metropolitan areas in Kansas and Missouri. Bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles, normally prohibited on Interstate Highways, are allowed on those stretches of I-70 in the Rockies where no other through route exists.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) lists the construction of I-70 among the engineering marvels undertaken in the Interstate Highway System and cites four major accomplishments: the section through the Dakota Hogback, Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass, and Glenwood Canyon. The Eisenhower Tunnel, with a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m) and length of 1.7 miles (2.7 km), is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point along the Interstate Highway System. The portion through Glenwood Canyon was completed on October 14, 1992. This was one of the final pieces of the Interstate Highway System to open to traffic and is one of the most expensive rural highways per mile built in the country. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) earned the 1993 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for the completion of I-70 through the canyon. (Full article...) -
The York County, Maine, Tercentenary half dollar is a 50-cent commemorative coin minted in 1936 to mark the tercentenary (300th anniversary) of the founding of York County, Maine. The obverse shows Brown's Garrison, the fort around which York County was formed, while the reverse depicts the county's arms.
A commemorative coin craze in 1936 saw some coins authorized by the United States Congress that were of mainly local significance; the York County issue was one of these. Legislation permitting the half dollar passed Congress without opposition in the first half of 1936. Maine artist Walter H. Rich designed the issue; his work has garnered mixed praise and dislike from numismatic authors. (Full article...) -
On September 6, 1863, near Little Rock, Arkansas, a duel was fought between John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker, two generals in the Confederate States Army. Tension had risen between the two officers during the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, when Marmaduke accused Walker of not supporting his force, and then retaliated by not informing Walker of a Confederate retreat. Marmaduke was later assigned to serve under Walker during a Union advance against Little Rock. Walker did not support Marmaduke during a retreat after the Battle of Brownsville, and Marmaduke questioned Walker's courage after the Battle of Bayou Meto on August 27. A series of notes passed between the two generals by friends resulted in a duel, during which Marmaduke fatally wounded Walker. Marmaduke was arrested and charged with murder, but was soon released and later the charge was dropped. He survived the war and later became Governor of Missouri. Union forces captured Little Rock later in the campaign, after the Battle of Bayou Fourche. (Full article...) -
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (/ˈkɪlɪbruː/; June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed "the Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He spent most of his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Minnesota Twins. A prolific power hitter, Killebrew had the fifth-most home runs in major league history at the time of his retirement. He was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs, and was the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter. Killebrew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Killebrew was 5-foot-11-inch (180 cm) tall and 213 pounds (97 kg). His compact swing generated tremendous power and made him one of the most feared power hitters of the 1960s, when he hit at least 40 home runs per season eight times. In total Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs, and was named to 13 All-Star teams. In 1965, he played in the World Series with the Twins, who lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His finest season was 1969, when he hit 49 home runs, recorded 140 RBIs and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award while helping lead the Twins to the AL West pennant. (Full article...) -
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as a signature combat aircraft of the Cold War.
The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was initially designed without an internal cannon. Some later models incorporated an internal M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including an absolute speed record and an absolute altitude record. (Full article...) -
WSNS-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WMAQ-TV (channel 5). The two stations share studios at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood and broadcast from the same transmitter atop the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop.
WSNS-TV began broadcasting in 1970. Originally specializing in the automated display of news headlines, it evolved into Chicago's third full-fledged independent station, carrying movies, local sports, and other specialty programming. This continued until 1980, when WSNS became the Chicago-area station for ON TV, an over-the-air subscription television (STV) service owned by Oak Industries, which took a minority ownership stake in the station. While ON TV was successful in Chicago and the subscription system became the second-largest in the country by total subscribers, the rise of cable television precipitated the end of the business in 1985, with WSNS-TV as the last ON TV station standing. (Full article...) -
Charles Scott (April 1739 – October 22, 1813) was an American military officer and politician who served as the governor of Kentucky from 1808 to 1812. Orphaned in his teens, Scott enlisted in the Virginia Regiment in October 1755 and served as a scout and escort during the French and Indian War. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a captain. After the war, he married and engaged in agricultural pursuits on land left to him by his father, but he returned to active military service in 1775 as the American Revolution began to grow in intensity. In August 1776, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the 5th Virginia Regiment. The 5th Virginia joined George Washington in New Jersey later that year, serving with him for the duration of the Philadelphia campaign. Scott commanded Washington's light infantry, and by late 1778 was also serving as his chief of intelligence. Furloughed at the end of the Philadelphia campaign, Scott returned to active service in March 1779 and was ordered to South Carolina to assist General Benjamin Lincoln in the southern theater. He arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, just as Henry Clinton had begun his siege of the city. Scott was taken as a prisoner of war when Charleston surrendered. Paroled in March 1781 and exchanged for Lord Rawdon in July 1782, Scott managed to complete a few recruiting assignments before the war ended.
After the war, Scott visited the western frontier in 1785 and began to make preparations for a permanent relocation. He resettled near present-day Versailles, Kentucky, in 1787. Confronted by the dangers of Indian raids, Scott raised a company of volunteers in 1790 and joined Josiah Harmar for an expedition against the Indians. After Harmar's Defeat, President Washington ordered Arthur St. Clair to prepare for an invasion of Indian lands in the Northwest Territory. In the meantime, Scott, by now holding the rank of brigadier general in the Virginia militia, was ordered to conduct a series of preliminary raids. In July 1791, he led the most notable and successful of these raids against the village of Ouiatenon. St. Clair's main invasion, conducted later that year, was a failure. Shortly after the separation of Kentucky from Virginia in 1792, the Kentucky General Assembly commissioned Scott as a major general and gave him command of the 2nd Division of the Kentucky militia. Scott's division cooperated with "Mad" Anthony Wayne's Legion of the United States for the rest of the Northwest Indian War, including their decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. (Full article...) -
Gertie the Dinosaur is a 1914 animated short film by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie did tricks at the command of her master. McCay's employer William Randolph Hearst curtailed McCay's vaudeville activities, so McCay added a live-action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release renamed Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist, and Gertie. McCay abandoned a sequel, Gertie on Tour (c. 1921), after producing about a minute of footage.
Although Gertie is popularly thought to be the earliest animated film, McCay had earlier made Little Nemo (1911) and How a Mosquito Operates (1912). The American J. Stuart Blackton and the French Émile Cohl had experimented with animation even earlier; Gertie being a character with an appealing personality distinguished McCay's film from these earlier "trick films". Gertie was the first film to use animation techniques such as keyframes, registration marks, tracing paper, the Mutoscope action viewer, and animation loops. It influenced the next generation of animators such as the Fleischer brothers, Otto Messmer, Paul Terry, Walter Lantz, and Walt Disney. John Randolph Bray unsuccessfully tried to patent many of McCay's animation techniques and is said to have been behind a plagiarized version of Gertie that appeared a year or two after the original. Gertie is the best preserved of McCay's films—some of which have been lost or survive only in fragments—and has been preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" since 1991. (Full article...) -
Women's traditional caribou skin outfit with amauti parka, trousers, mitts and long boots with side pouches. The back of the parka has an amaut or pouch for carrying a baby. From Baker Lake, Eskimo Point and Hikoligjuaq, west of Hudson Bay. Collected on 5th Thule Expedition, 1921–1924
Traditional Inuit clothing is a complex system of cold-weather garments historically made from animal hide and fur, worn by Inuit, a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The basic outfit consisted of a parka, pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots. The most common sources of hide were caribou, seals, and seabirds, although other animals were used when available. The production of warm, durable clothing was an essential survival skill which was passed down from women to girls, and which could take years to master. Preparation of clothing was an intensive, weeks-long process that occurred on a yearly cycle following established hunting seasons. The creation and use of skin clothing was strongly intertwined with Inuit religious beliefs.
Despite the wide geographical distribution of Inuit across the Arctic, historically, these garments were consistent in both design and material due to the common need for protection against the extreme weather and the limited range of materials suitable for the purpose. The appearance of individual garments varied according to gender roles and seasonal needs, as well as the specific dress customs of each tribe or group. The Inuit decorated their clothing with fringes, pendants, and insets of contrasting colours, and later adopted techniques such as beadwork when trade made new materials available. (Full article...) -
The Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar was a commemorative half dollar designed by Charles Keck and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1786 incorporation of the independent city of Lynchburg, Virginia. The obverse of the coin depicts former Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Senator Carter Glass, a native of Lynchburg. The reverse depicts a statue of the Goddess of Liberty, with Lynchburg sites behind her, including the Old Courthouse and the city's Confederate monument.
Glass sponsored legislation for the half dollar, which passed Congress without difficulty. The Commission of Fine Arts proposed that the coin should bear the portrait of John Lynch, founder of Lynchburg, on the obverse, but no portrait of him was known. Instead, the Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association decided Senator Glass should be on the coin. Despite his opposition, Glass became the third living person to appear on a U.S. coin, and the first to be shown alone. (Full article...) -
In Maryland and Washington, D.C., the effects of Hurricane Isabel were among the most damaging from a tropical cyclone in the respective metropolitan area. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania the next day.
On September 19, Tropical Storm Isabel passed through extreme western Maryland, though its large circulation produced tropical storm force winds throughout the state. About 1.24 million people lost power throughout the state. The worst of its effects came from its storm surge, which inundated areas along the coast and resulted in severe beach erosion. On the Eastern Shore, hundreds of buildings were damaged or destroyed, primarily in Queen Anne's County from tidal flooding. Thousands of houses were affected in Central Maryland, with severe storm surge flooding reported in Baltimore and Annapolis. Washington, D.C., sustained moderate damage, primarily from the winds. Throughout Maryland and Washington, damage totaled about $820 million (equivalent to $1.36 billion in 2023), with only one fatality due to flooding. (Full article...) -
William Marrion Branham (April 6, 1909 – December 24, 1965) was an American Christian minister and faith healer who initiated the post-World War II healing revival, and claimed to be a prophet with the anointing of Elijah, who had come to prelude Christ's second coming; some of his followers have been labeled a "doomsday cult". He is credited as "a principal architect of restorationist thought" for charismatics by some Christian historians, and has been called the "leading individual in the Second Wave of Pentecostalism." He made a lasting influence on televangelism and the modern charismatic movement, and his "stage presence remains a legend unparalleled in the history of the Charismatic movement". At the time they were held, Branham's inter-denominational meetings were the largest religious meetings ever held in some American cities. Branham was the first American deliverance minister to successfully campaign in Europe; his ministry reached global audiences with major campaigns held in North America, Europe, Africa, and India.
Branham claimed that he had received an angelic visitation on May 7, 1946, commissioning his worldwide ministry and launching his campaigning career in mid-1946. His fame rapidly spread as crowds were drawn to his stories of angelic visitations and reports of miracles happening at his meetings. His ministry spawned many emulators and set in motion the broader healing revival that later became the modern charismatic movement. At the peak of his popularity in the 1950s, Branham was widely adored and "the neo-Pentecostal world believed Branham to be a prophet to their generation". From 1955, Branham's campaigning and popularity began to decline as the Pentecostal churches began to withdraw their support from the healing campaigns for primarily financial reasons. By 1960, Branham transitioned into a teaching ministry. (Full article...) -
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...) -
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. One of the most influential celebrities, Pitt appeared on Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list from 2006 to 2008, and the Time 100 list in 2007.
Pitt first gained recognition as a cowboy hitchhiker in the Ridley Scott road film Thelma & Louise (1991). Pitt emerged as a star taking on leading man roles in films such as the drama A River Runs Through It (1992), the western Legends of the Fall (1994), the horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and the crime thriller Seven (1995). Pitt found greater commercial success starring in Steven Soderbergh's heist film Ocean's Eleven (2001), and reprised his role in its sequels. He cemented his leading man status starring in blockbusters such as the historical epic Troy (2004), the romantic crime film Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), the horror film World War Z (2013), and the action film Bullet Train (2022). (Full article...) -
Cover of The Tower Treasure, the first Hardy Boys mystery
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. The characters were created by American writer Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of book packaging firm Stratemeyer Syndicate. The books were written by several ghostwriters, most notably Leslie McFarlane, under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.
The Hardy Boys have evolved since their debut in 1927. From 1959 to 1973, the first 38 books were extensively revised to remove social and ethnic stereotypes, modernize content, and shorten the books. (Full article...) -
Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 World champion, a two-time Champions Series Final champion (1997–1998) and the 1997 U.S. national champion. Until 2019, she was the youngest single skater to win a U.S. Nationals and the youngest to become an Olympic and World champion in figure skating history. She is the first woman to complete a triple loop-triple loop combination, her signature jump element, in competition. Starting in 1997, Lipinski had a rivalry with fellow skater Michelle Kwan, which was played up by the American press, and culminated when Lipinski won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.
Lipinski retired from competitive figure skating in 1998. She performed in live shows before retiring from figure skating in 2002. Lipinski, along with sports commentator Terry Gannon and fellow figure skater and good friend Johnny Weir, became NBC's primary figure skating commentators in 2014. (Full article...) -
Operation PBHistory was a covert operation carried out in Guatemala by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It followed Operation PBSuccess, which led to the overthrow of Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz in June 1954 and ended the Guatemalan Revolution. PBHistory attempted to use documents left behind by Árbenz's government and by organizations related to the communist Guatemalan Party of Labor to demonstrate that the Guatemalan government had been under the influence of the Soviet Union, and to use those documents to obtain further intelligence that would be useful to US intelligence agencies. It was an effort to justify the overthrow of the elected Guatemalan government in response to the negative international reactions to PBSuccess. The CIA also hoped to improve its intelligence resources about communist parties in Latin America, a subject on which it had little information.
The first phase of the operation began soon after Árbenz's resignation on June 27, 1954: several agents were dispatched to Guatemala beginning on July 4. These included agents of the CIA and the Office of Intelligence Research (OIR). The first phase involved the collection of 150,000 documents from sources including Árbenz's personal possessions, trade union offices, and police agencies. The ruling military junta led by Carlos Castillo Armas aided these efforts. Following a presentation made to US President Dwight Eisenhower on July 20, a decision was taken to accelerate the operation, and the number of people working in Guatemala was increased. The new team members posed as unaffiliated with the US government to maintain plausible deniability. The operation helped set up the Guatemalan National Committee of Defense Against Communism, which was covertly funded by the CIA: agents of the committee became involved in PBHistory. The team studied over 500,000 documents in total, and finished processing documents on September 28, 1954. (Full article...) -
Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties is a nonfiction book by law professor Christopher M. Fairman about freedom of speech, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, censorship, and use of the word fuck in society. The book was first published in 2009 by Sphinx as a follow-up on the author's article "Fuck", published in 2007 in the Cardozo Law Review. It cites studies from academics in social science, psychoanalysis, and linguistics. Fairman establishes that most current usages of the word have connotations distinct from its meaning of sexual intercourse. The book discusses the efforts of conservatives in the United States to censor the word from common parlance. The author says that legal precedent regarding its use is unclear because of contradictory court decisions. Fairman argues that once citizens allow the government to restrict the use of specific words, this will infringe upon freedom of thought.
The book received a mostly favorable reception from news sources and library trade publications. Library Journal described the book as a sincere analysis of the word and its history of censorship, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries called it stimulating, and the San Diego Law Review said it was thought-provoking. One reviewer said that the book, like the article, was a format for the author to repeatedly use "fuck" rather than analyze it from a rigorous perspective. After the book's release, Fairman was consulted by media sources including CNN and The New York Times, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, on issues surrounding word taboo in society. (Full article...) -
The 13th Airborne Division was an airborne forces formation of division-size of the United States Army that was active during World War II. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Major General Elbridge G. Chapman. It was officially activated in the United States in August 1943 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, remaining active until February 1946, however it never saw combat.
After activation the division remained in the United States to complete its training. This training was completed by September 1944, but had to be extended by a further four months when the division provided replacements for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The division also encountered delays in mounting large-scale training exercises due to a lack of transport aircraft in the United States. This shortage was caused by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions taking priority over the 13th in terms of equipment due to the two divisions serving in combat in Europe. As a consequence of these delays the division was not fully trained and combat-ready until January 1945, and was transferred to France and the European Theater of Operations in February. (Full article...) -
The Morgan dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1878 to 1904, in 1921, and beginning again in 2021 as a collectible. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which ended the free coining of silver and the production of the previous design, the Seated Liberty dollar. It contained 412.5 Troy grains of 90% pure silver (or 371.25 Troy grains = 24.057 g; 0.7734 ozt of pure silver). The coin is named after its designer, United States Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan. The obverse depicts a profile portrait representing Liberty, modeled by Anna Willess Williams, while the reverse depicts an eagle with wings outstretched. The mint mark, if present, appears on the reverse above between D and O in "Dollar".
The dollar was authorized by the Bland–Allison Act. Following the passage of the 1873 act, mining interests lobbied to restore free silver, which would require the Mint to accept all silver presented to it and return it, struck into coin. Instead, the Bland–Allison Act was passed, which required the Treasury to purchase between two and four million dollars' worth of silver at market value to be coined into dollars each month. In 1890, the Bland–Allison Act was repealed by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 troy ounces (140,000 kg) of silver each month, but only required further silver dollar production for one year. This act, once again, was repealed in 1893. (Full article...) -
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an audiobook and soundtrack companion album for the 1982 film directed by Steven Spielberg. Composed by John Williams, the album was narrated by recording artist Michael Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones and distributed by MCA Records. The audiobook was produced by John Williams and Michael Jackson working with Rod Temperton, Freddy DeMann, and Bruce Swedien.
The E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial audiobook was released by MCA on November 15, 1982 – the same month as Michael Jackson's acclaimed sixth studio album Thriller despite conditions given by Epic Records, Jackson's record label, that it should not be released until after Thriller. As a result, Epic took legal action against MCA which forced the album's withdrawal. During its curtailed release, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial reached number 37 on the Billboard 200 and number 82 on the UK Albums Chart. It was well-received critically and won Jackson a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. (Full article...) -
Detail of a 1795 map, overlaid with Arnold's expedition route:
*A: Cambridge
*B: Newburyport
*C: Fort Western
*D: Fort Halifax
*E: Great Carrying Place
*F: Height of land
*G: Lake Mégantic
This map does not accurately represent the area around the height of land and Lake Mégantic.
In September 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 Continental Army troops on an expedition from Cambridge in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to the gates of Quebec City. The expedition was part of a two-pronged invasion of the British Province of Quebec, and passed through the wilderness of what is now Maine. The other expedition invaded Quebec from Lake Champlain, led by Richard Montgomery.
Unanticipated problems beset the expedition as soon as it left the last significant colonial outposts in Maine. The portages up the Kennebec River proved grueling, and the boats frequently leaked, ruining gunpowder and spoiling food supplies. More than a third of the men turned back before reaching the height of land between the Kennebec and Chaudière rivers. The areas on either side of the height of land were swampy tangles of lakes and streams, and the traversal was made more difficult by bad weather and inaccurate maps. Many of the troops lacked experience handling boats in white water, which led to the destruction of more boats and supplies in the descent to the Saint Lawrence River via the fast-flowing Chaudière. (Full article...) -
The MAX Orange Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects Portland City Center, Portland State University (PSU), Southeast Portland, Milwaukie, and Oak Grove. The line serves 17 stations and runs for 201⁄2 hours per day with headways of up to 15 minutes. It averaged 3,480 daily weekday riders in September 2020.
The Orange Line runs north–south. Its route begins near Portland Union Station on the northern end of the Portland Transit Mall in downtown Portland. Within the transit mall on 5th Avenue, the Orange Line operates as a southbound through service of the Yellow Line from Union Station/Northwest 5th & Glisan station, where it interlines with the Green Line. Northbound on 6th Avenue, the Orange Line continues through to the Yellow Line from PSU South/Southwest 6th and College station. South of the transit mall, the Orange Line operates bidirectionally and terminates at Southeast Park Avenue station in Oak Grove, just outside Milwaukie proper in unincorporated Clackamas County. (Full article...) -
Lochry's Defeat, also known as the Lochry massacre, was a battle fought on August 24, 1781, near present-day Aurora, Indiana, in the United States. The battle was part of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which began as a conflict between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies before spreading to the western frontier, where American Indians entered the war as British allies. The battle was short and decisive: about one hundred Indians of local tribes led by Joseph Brant, a Mohawk military leader who was temporarily in the west, ambushed a similar number of Pennsylvania militiamen led by Archibald Lochry. Brant and his men killed or captured all of the Pennsylvanians without suffering any casualties.
Lochry's force was part of an army being raised by George Rogers Clark for a campaign against Detroit, the British regional headquarters. Clark, the preeminent American military leader on the northwestern frontier, worked with Governor Thomas Jefferson of Virginia in planning an expedition to capture Detroit, by which they hoped to bring an end to British support of the Indian war effort. In early August 1781, Clark and about 400 men left Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania by boat, floating down the Ohio River a few days ahead of Lochry and his men, who were trying to catch up. (Full article...) -
Charles Henry Stonestreet SJ (November 21, 1813 – July 3, 1885) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who served in prominent religious and academic positions, including as provincial superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province and president of Georgetown University. He was born in Maryland and attended Georgetown University, where he co-founded the Philodemic Society. After entering the Society of Jesus and becoming a professor at Georgetown, he led St. John's Literary Institution and St. John the Evangelist Church in Frederick, Maryland. He was appointed president of Georgetown University in 1851, holding the office for two years, during which time he oversaw expansion of the university's library. The First Plenary Council of Baltimore was held at Georgetown during his tenure.
As provincial superior, Stonestreet worked with Anthony Ciampi in the aftermath of the devastating fire at the College of the Holy Cross, and addressed growing anti-Catholicism. Owing to violence from the Know Nothings, he forbade Jesuits from wearing their clerical attire in public or being addressed by their ecclesiastical titles. He later became president of Gonzaga College, where he oversaw the establishment and construction of St. Aloysius Church, of which he became the first pastor. In 1863, Stonestreet was involved in the legal incorporation of Boston College, and testified in court as to his knowledge of the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, specifically Mary Surratt and Samuel Mudd. Later, he was assigned to Georgetown, parishes throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., including as pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, and Holy Cross, where he lived out his last years. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that American artist Inez Demonet created watercolors of facial injuries for the War Department?
- ... that Script Ohio has been called "one of the most impressive examples of American folk art in existence"?
- ... that Addie Viola Smith was the first female Foreign Service officer to serve under the United States Department of Commerce?
- ... that in 2019, Border Report launched a ten-day project covering news stories along the Mexico–US border?
- ... that the National Democratic Redistricting Committee supported lawsuits in North Carolina and Ohio against alleged gerrymandering by Republicans?
- ... that, according to its owner, KLEF in Anchorage, Alaska, was one of just three remaining commercially operated classical-music radio stations in the United States, as of 2013?
- ... that the Louis M. Martini Winery began selling wine on December 5, 1933 – the day on which Prohibition in the United States was repealed?
- ... that actress Mattie Edwards was made a US deputy marshal at the age of sixteen?
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To his contemporaries, "Vay" Morley was one of the leading Mesoamerican archaeologists of his day. Although more recent developments in the field have resulted in a re-evaluation of his theories and works, his publications, particularly on calendric inscriptions, are still cited. In his role as director of various projects sponsored by the Carnegie Institution, he oversaw and encouraged many others who later established notable careers in their own right. His commitment and enthusiasm for Maya studies helped inspire the necessary sponsorship for projects that would ultimately reveal much about ancient Maya civilization.
Morley also conducted espionage in Mexico on behalf of the United States during World War I, but the scope of those activities only came to light well after his death. His archaeological field work in Mexico and Central America provided suitable cover for his work with the United States' Office of Naval Intelligence investigating German activities and anti-American activity. (Full article...)
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Engraving credit: W. W. Rice, after Robert Walter Weir; restored by Andrew ShivaArtists producing art and engraving on United States banknotes began experimenting with copper plates as an alternative to wood engraving in the early 18th century. Applied to the production of paper currency, copper-plate engraving, and later steel engraving, enabled banknote design and printing to rapidly advance during the 19th century. This vignette, engraved by W. W. Rice, appeared on certain United States fifty-dollar bills issued in 1875. Produced for the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the engraving is of Robert Walter Weir's painting Embarkation of the Pilgrims, which hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda. It depicts the Pilgrims on the deck of the ship Speedwell as they depart Delfshaven in South Holland on July 22, 1620. They met additional colonists at Southampton, England, and transferred to the Mayflower before sailing to the New World. -
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. -
Banknote design credit: United States Department of the Treasury; photographed by the National Numismatic CollectionFractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue twenty-five-cent fractional currency note, issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of William P. Fessenden, then secretary of the treasury, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaMartin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A founder of the Democratic Party, he won the 1836 presidential election with the endorsement of popular outgoing President Andrew Jackson and the organizational strength of his party. He lost his 1840 reelection bid to the Whig Party nominee William Henry Harrison, thanks in part to the poor economic conditions surrounding the Panic of 1837, a financial crisis that touched off a major depression. This line engraving of Van Buren 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 26 presidents. -
Photograph credit: Tony JinBryce Canyon National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. This panoramic view, as seen from Inspiration Point, shows the colorful Claron Formation, from which the park's delicate hoodoos are carved; the sediments were laid down in a system of streams and lakes that existed from 63 to about 40 million years ago (from the Paleocene to the Eocene epochs). The brown, pink and red colors are from hematite, the yellows from limonite, and the purples from pyrolusite. -
Photograph: Kevin Rofidal, United States Coast Guard; edit: Papa Lima WhiskeyThe I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Saint Anthony Falls of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once the third-busiest bridge in the state, it suddenly collapsed on August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring 145. Rescue of people stranded on the bridge was complete in three hours, while recovery of bodies—involving 75 local, state and federal agencies—took three weeks. An NTSB investigation cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that a too-thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets. -
Photograph credit: Carl Van Vechten; restored by Adam CuerdenWilliam Grant Still (1895–1978) was an American composer of nearly 200 works, including five symphonies and nine operas. Often referred to as the "Dean of Afro-American Composers", Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera. His first symphony, entitled Afro-American Symphony, was until 1950 the most widely performed symphony composed by an American. Born in Mississippi, he grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and was a student of George Whitefield Chadwick and later Edgard Varèse. Still was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra and the first to have an opera performed on national television. Due to his close association and collaboration with prominent African-American literary and cultural figures, he is considered to be part of the Harlem Renaissance movement.
This picture of Still was taken by Carl Van Vechten in 1949; the photograph is in the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. -
Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew ShivaJames Monroe (1758–1831) was an American statesman and Founding Father who served as the fifth President of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Monroe was the last president of the Virginia dynasty, and his presidency ushered in what is known as the Era of Good Feelings. An anti-federalist, Monroe had opposed ratification of the United States Constitution, claiming it gave too much power to the central government. After time as a senator in the first United States Congress and as Governor of Virginia, Monroe was easily elected president in 1816, winning over 80 percent of the electoral vote and becoming the last president during the First Party System era of American politics. During his presidency, he sought to ease partisan tensions and extend the country's reach from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He also supported the founding of colonies in Africa for freed slaves, and his declaration of the Monroe Doctrine became a landmark in American foreign policy. -
Photo credit: Johnson & RogersA panorama of Dallas, Texas, April 1, 1913. Dallas, which was incorporated on February 2, 1856, is the third-largest city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. -
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.
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Phoenix, Arizona (1885)Image credit: C. J. DyerAn 1885 lithograph of a bird's-eye view of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, the fifth-most-populous city in the United States. The city was founded in 1868 on the site of lands formerly occupied by the Hohokam, who had abandoned the area roughly 400 years earlier. The name "Phoenix" was chosen as it described a city born from the ruins of a former civilization. -
Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew ShivaMillard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, succeeding to the presidency in July 1850 upon the death of the incumbent Zachary Taylor. Born into poverty with little formal education, he became a successful attorney and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1832. Never an advocate of slavery, he felt duty-bound as president to support the Compromise of 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states. He sought election to a full term in 1852, but was passed over by the Whigs in favor of Winfield Scott. This line engraving of Fillmore 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 26 presidents. -
Lithograph: Calvert Lithographing Company; restoration: Adam CuerdenA bird's-eye view showing approximately 3 square miles (8 km2) of the central portion of the city of Detroit, Michigan, c. 1889. At this time in the city's history, it was a burgeoning home for manufacturing with expanding city limits. Waves of immigrants, predominantly from Europe, came to Detroit, opening businesses and establishing their own communities. However, infrastructure remained lacking; before 1889, only four of the city's roads were paved. -
Photograph: United States Public Health Service; restoration: Adam CuerdenC. Everett Koop (1916–2013) was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the 13th Surgeon General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989. Koop was known for his work to reduce tobacco use, AIDS, and abortion, and for his support of the rights of disabled children. -
Photo: Alexander Gardner; Restoration: Lise BroerOn July 7, 1865, at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt (shown left-to-right) were hanged for their roles in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Eight people were convicted for the crime; three others were sentenced to life imprisonment, with the last receiving a six-year sentence. Mary Surratt's son John was able to escape and was never convicted for his role. His mother was the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government.
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Koufax's career peaked with a run of six outstanding seasons, before arthritis ended his career at age 30. He was named the National League's MVP in 1963, and won the 1963, 1965, and 1966 Cy Young Awards by unanimous votes. He was the first major leaguer to pitch more than three no-hitters (including a perfect game).
Among NL pitchers with at least 2,000 innings pitched who have debuted since 1913, he has the highest career winning percentage (.655) and had the lowest career ERA (2.76) until surpassed by Tom Seaver. His 2,396 career strikeouts ranked 7th in major league history upon his retirement. Retiring at the peak of his career, he became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Koufax is also known as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes of his era in American professional sports. His decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because game day fell on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, garnered national attention as an example of conflict between social pressures and personal beliefs.
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In 1776, the Spanish settled the tip of the peninsula, establishing a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt.
San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination renowned for its steep rolling hills, an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, and famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, and Chinatown. The city is also known for its diverse, cosmopolitan population, including large and long-established Asian American and LGBT communities. While the climate includes chilly summer fog, the winters are mild.
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Anniversaries for November 20
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: British forces land at the Palisades and then attack Fort Lee. The Continental Army starts to retreat across New Jersey.
- 1789 – New Jersey becomes the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Secession ordinance is filed by Kentucky's Confederate government.
- 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the blockade of the Caribbean nation.
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American tea culture encompasses the methods of preparation and means of consumption of tea within the context of the culture of the United States. About 85% of the tea consumed in the United States is served cold, usually as iced tea. (Full article...)
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More did you know? -
- ... that Indianapolis's Scottish Rite Cathedral (pictured) is the largest building dedicated to Freemasonry in the United States, and features many measurements in multiples of 33?
- ... that on 14 August 1936 Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, thus becoming the last person to be publicly executed in the United States?
- ... that Charles Brooks, Jr., was the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States?
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