Public Posts

On June 14 , 1777, the Second Continental Congress issued a resolution adopting the Flag of the United States. It wasn't until 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.

There have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag to date. The current version of the flag dates to August 21, 1959, after Hawaii became the fiftieth state. More

Conquests ended, revolutions flared, and bold experiments took shape in June. Alexander the Great’s death left an empire in turmoil, the Tang Dynasty rose in China, and King John sealed the Magna Carta at Runnymede. Battles shifted history—from Manzikert and Bunker Hill to the Little Bighorn—while explorers like Sir Francis Drake pushed the edge of the known world on California’s coast.

Innovation and upheaval define modern history. The Statue of Liberty sailed into New York Harbor, Gandhi launched his first act of civil disobedience, and Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity redefined science. Ford built an auto empire, Apple shipped its Apple II, and Watergate exposed a political scandal. Even the end of Soviet occupation in East Germany and the construction of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault marked June as a month where the future takes shape. Explore what happened in June.

Memorial Day honors all service members who lost their lives while in service to the United States, during peace and war. It is a time to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

            Immortality

   Do not stand 
        By my grave, and weep.
   I am not there,
       I do not sleep—
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning’s hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
    Do not stand
        By my grave, and cry—
     I am not there,
          I did not die.

Poem by Clare Harner, The Gypsy, December 1934 (page 16). The poem is often attributed to anonymous or incorrect sources. Read more about Memorial day:  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs   -   National Museum of American History

From Lindbergh’s first solo flight across the Atlantic to the dramatic Dunkirk evacuation and the first ascent of Mount Everest, May delivers milestones that captured the world’s imagination. The month also carries deeper roots, from the First Council of Nicaea to the founding of Jamestown and the discovery of Kepler’s third law. Explore famous historical events that happened in May.

Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon ignited a Roman civil war, battles for medieval England shifted crowns and kingdoms, and Emperor Charles V issued the Edict of Worms declaring Martin Luther a heretic—cementing the Reformation’s course. March proves how ambition, faith, and power repeatedly altered the destiny of nations.

The modern era added its own defining moments in March. Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as the 32nd U.S. President, declaring, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." World War II ended, Alcatraz Federal Prison closed, and Pioneer 10 launched toward Jupiter. The month also brought Mikhail Gorbachev’s election as the Soviet Union’s first president, Japan’s devastating 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, and the World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Explore historical events in March, listed by year, and uncover stories that continue to shape our world.

Groundhog Day, is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. The weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger (German: Dachs) is the forecasting animal. This appears to be an enhanced version of the lore that clear weather on the Christian festival of Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter. As the tradition goes, if a groundhog emerges from its burrows on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. While the tradition remains popular, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather. In the U.S , the most popular Groundhog ceremony is held at Punxsutawney in western Pennsylvania, centering on a semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil. Other cities in the United States and Canada also have adopted the event. More

An earthquake once shook Pompeii, Thomas Becket was canonized as a saint, and centuries later Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate. February also brought Japan’s attack on Port Arthur, the German surrender at Stalingrad, and NASA’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars. Explore what happened in February across world history.

Discover the pivotal moments of January: Julius Caesar’s fateful crossing of the Rubicon that defied the Roman Senate, the Continental Congress ratifying the Treaty of Paris to secure American independence, and the first successful balloon flight in America lifting off from Philadelphia. This month also saw the League of Nations convene its first Council meeting and the United States step into the space age by launching its first satellite.

January carries triumphs and tragedies alike: “Bloody Sunday” reverberating through civil rights history, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding in a national tragedy, and the first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opening its doors in Moscow’s Pushkin Square. Even beyond Earth, the month marks exploration, as NASA’s six-wheeled rover Opportunity lands on Mars. See what happened in January, listed by year, and uncover the stories that reshaped nations and the world.

Explore major historical events from January or any day on Kudos 365.

"A symbolic moment of peace, grace, and humility amidst one of humanity’s most violent and disgraceful events".
"In December of 1914, a series of grassroots, unofficial ceasefires took hold of the Western Front in the heat of WWI. On Christmas, soldiers from an estimated 100,000 British and German troops began to exchange seasonal greetings and sing songs across the trenches",........ Continue Reading

Quote from Maggie Tokuda-Hall from her article giving her perspective on Gaza as a Jewish, Japanese American.

Click below to read her essay at Densho or to read a related article by Naomi Ishisaka at The Seattle Times. 

Maggie Tokuda-Hall at Densho ➜      Naomi Ishisaka at The Seattle Times ➜

Empires crumble, beliefs ignite, and journeys reshape the world. Batu Khan’s Mongol army storms Kyiv after only eight days; Martin Luther casts a Papal bull into the fire; in Mexico the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appears to Juan Diego. The Mayflower Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth Harbor while the Treaty of Ghent closes the War of 1812. December, too, carries hope: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first COVID-19 vaccine doses are administered in the United Kingdom, launching a worldwide campaign.

Explore major historical events from December.

November rings with battles and firsts. Alexander the Great faces Darius III at Issus, Edward I calls his Model Parliament, and Swiss fighters defeat the Habsburgs at Morgarten. Andrew Ellicott records the Leonid meteor shower, Lincoln proclaims a “day of Thanksgiving,” Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, and decades later, Barack Obama wins the presidency in a historic first. Discover what happened in November's history.