US #O117 – War Department Official Stamp
On January 15, 1943, construction on the Pentagon, the world’s largest office building, was completed.
In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt declared a state of national emergency after Germany launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. For many, it seemed very likely that the US would soon enter the war.
US #930 pictures Roosevelt and his upstate New York home at Hyde Park.
On January 14, 1943, Allied leaders met in Casablanca, Morocco, to discuss the next stage of World War II.
The conference was a secret. Days before the meeting, President Franklin Roosevelt boarded a train going north to make journalists think he was going to his upstate New York estate. Instead, he secretly switched trains in Baltimore and rode down to Miami to catch a plane. This made Roosevelt the first president to fly in an airplane while in office, and the first to leave American soil during wartime.
US #879 was issued in Bardstown, Kentucky, where Foster was inspired to write “My Old Kentucky Home.”
On January 13, 1864, Stephen Foster, the “father of American music,” died in New York City.
Stephen Collins Foster was born on July 4, 1826, in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. The youngest of nine children, Foster attended private schools and taught himself to play the clarinet, violin, guitar, flute, and piano.
US #3431 – The first self-adhesive stamp in the Distinguished Americans Series.
On January 12, 1932, Hattie Caraway became the first women elected to serve in the United States Senate.
Born in Bakerville, Tennessee, on February 1, 1878, Hattie Wyatt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickson (Tennessee) Normal College in 1896. She taught school for a few years before marrying Thaddeus Caraway in 1902.
US #C68 was issued on Earhart’s 66th birthday.
On January 11, 1935, Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
Born in 1897, Amelia Earhart had a love of adventure from a young age. She became fascinated with flight after riding a roller coaster as a child and first rode in a plane in 1920.
US #1242 – Mr. Zip’s first postal appearance was in the selvage for this stamp.
On January 10, 1964, Mr. Zip first appeared in the selvage of a stamp sheet honoring Texas icon Sam Houston.
Prior the creation of Zip codes, the US had postal districts or zones for use in larger cities. As towns and cities grew, the Post Office needed a more organized system to help separate the mail. In 1944, postal inspector Robert Moon submitted a proposal calling for a three-digit Zip code to help sort the mail. For this, Moon is often considered the father of the Zip Code, though it wouldn’t be implemented for nearly 20 years.
