U.S. #2388 was issued one moth before Byrd’s 100th birthday.
Richard Evelyn Byrd was born on October 25, 1888, in Winchester, Virginia.
Byrd was descended from one first families of Virginia – among his ancestors were John Rolfe and Pocahontas. Byrd attended the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia before enrolling in the U.S. Naval Academy.
United Nations #UN1 – The first UN stamp titled “Peoples of the World.”
On October 24, 1951, the United Nations issued its first postage stamps.
The UN was established on October 24, 1945 to replace the ineffective League of Nations. For its first few years in operation, the UN used U.S. stamps to frank its mail.
U.S. #1203 – The original non-error stamp issued on this day in 1962.
On October 23, 1962, the U.S. Post Office Department unknowingly issued an unknown number of inverted Dag Hammarskjöld error stamps. The fallout from this issue became known as Day’s Folly (after Postmaster General J. Edward Day).
U.S. #2711-14 – The first U.S. stamps with Microprinted text.
On October 22, 1992, the USPS issued its first stamps that incorporated microprinting in the design. These were also the first stamps to have microprinted text.
A long-standing concern for U.S. postal officials has always been combating stamp counterfeiting. Over the years, they’ve experimented with a number of techniques and technologies to help safeguard against this illegal practice.
U.S. #951 was issued on the Constitution‘s 150th anniversary – this day in 1947.
On October 21, 1797, the USS Constitution was launched into service. Today it’s the world’s oldest commissioned naval ship still afloat.
After the Revolutionary War ended, the U.S. disbanded the Continental Navy. And with no extra money to pay for ship repairs, they sold all their warships. But not long after, in 1785, Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean began capturing American merchant ships.
U.S. #1164 was issued on this day in 1960.
On October 20, 1960, America’s first automated post office opened in Providence, Rhode Island.
By the mid-1950s, Post Offices around the country were dealing with a massive amount of mail that they struggled to keep up with using their traditional systems. In 1958, Postmaster general Arthur Summerfield approved the construction of the first fully automated post office in the country in Providence, Rhode Island.
