Item #UN1056-57 – World Radio Day stamps issued by the UN’s New York Office.
World Radio Day was established in 2011 to commemorate the creation of United Nations Radio on February 13, 1946.
Prior to UN Radio, the League of Nations “Radio Nations” began broadcasting in 1929. It remained in operation for 10 years.
US #3236l pictures Moran’s Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming.
Artist Thomas Moran was born on February 12, 1837, in Bolton, Lancashire, England.
Moran’s parents were handloom weavers who lost their jobs as the mechanized weaving process expanded in England. In search of work, they moved the family to Kensington, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
US #945 was issued on Edison’s 100th birthday.
On February 11, 1983, America celebrated its first Inventors’ Day.
Some nations had set aside days to honor their inventors before 1983 and some since. In January of that year, US President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation establishing February 11, Thomas Edison’s birthday, as Inventors’ Day.
US #4710o from the 2012 Earthscapes issue.
On February 10, 1941, the first Highway Post Office began service in the United States.
In the 1800s, America’s rapid expansion created a need for faster mail transportation. The short-lived Pony Express of 1860-61 made it possible to send messages across the country in just 10 days. Then in 1862, the US introduced its first Railway Post Office (RPO), which sorted mail as the train steamed along.
US #793 pictures Sampson, George Dewey, and Winfield Schley.
US Navy Rear Admiral William T. Sampson was born on February 9, 1840, in Palmyra, New York.
Sampson graduated first in his class from the US Naval Academy in 1861. After graduation, he remained at the academy for a time to teach physics.
US #UX167 – Classic First Day Cover.
On February 8, 1693, a royal charter officially established the College of William and Mary. Today it’s the second-oldest college in America (behind Harvard).
Virginia’s first English settlers arrived in 1607 at Jamestown. One of their early goals was to establish a school for Native Americans and the sons of colonists. Plans for such a school were first drawn up in 1618.
