Burundi #950 was issued for Picasso’s 130th birthday.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain.
The son of a painter, Picasso showed a talent for art from an early age. When he was seven, his father gave him formal drawing and painting lessons. Soon, Picasso was so occupied with his art, it distracted him from his schoolwork.
US #3214 – from the 1998 Folk Musicians Issue
Saunders Terrell, later known as Sonny Terry, was born on October 24, 1911, in Greensboro, Georgia.
Born to a poor farming family, Terry received a blues harp from his father when he was a child. His father taught him some basics and before long he was picking up songs he heard at home and church.
US #C99 – Scott was known as the “Tomboy of the Air.”
On October 23, 1910, Blanche Scott became the first American female pilot to make a public flight.
Blanche Stuart Scott was born on April 8, 1884, in Rochester, New York. An adventurous tomboy from a young age, she would take her father’s car out for joy rides when she was just 13 years old. Her parents hoped to “cure” her tomboy habits and sent her to finishing school, though it had little effect.
US #RE1 – from the first issue of Wine stamps
On October 22, 1914, the Emergency Revenue Act was passed, which called for the creation of Wine Revenue Stamps.
The US began using revenue stamps on a wide variety of items in the 1860s to help finance the Civil War. Labeled as “sin taxes,” the first alcohol stamps were issued for beer, not wine.
US #3504 was issued for the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden.
One of eight children, Nobel was the descendant of Swedish scientist Olaus Rudbeck. He had an interest in engineering and explosives from an early age, with his father teaching him some of the basic science.
US #3164 – from the Conductors and Composers Issue
Composer Charles Edward Ives was born on October 20, 1874, in Danbury, Connecticut.
Ives’s father had been a bandleader during the Civil War. His father also directed bands, choirs, and orchestras in their hometown, in addition to teaching music theory. Ives’s and his brother learned music at a young age from their father, giving Ives an early understanding of harmony and counterpoint. His father encouraged experimentation, an attitude that would pervade his music.
