Northern Marianas Becomes U.S. Territory

US #2804 was issued on the 7th anniversary of the Northern Marianas receiving full territory status.

On November 4, 1986, the Northern Marianas became a territory of the United States. 

An expedition led by Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 was the first European contact with the native Chamorro.  Magellan landed on Guam, explored the neighboring islands, and called the group the “Islands of the Lateen Sails,” named after the out-rigger sailboats used by the natives. 

Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Stephen Austin

US #776 pictures Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, and the Alamo. Click the image to order. 

Stephen Fuller Austin was born on November 3, 1793, in Wythe County (present-day Austinville), Virginia.  When he was four years old, Austin’s father, Moses, moved the family west to Potosi, Missouri, to join a lead-mining site.

Continue reading →

Birth of James K. Polk 

US #816 from the Presidential series.

James Knox Polk was born on a farm in Pineville, North Carolina, on November 2, 1795.

Small and sickly, Polk was spared hard farm chores but did learn to help his father manage and survey land.  In 1815, he entered the University of North Carolina.  He graduated at the top of his class.  After just one year of study, he was admitted to the bar in 1820 to practice law.  Polk opened a thriving law practice in Tennessee.

Continue reading →

First U.S. Christmas Stamp 

US #1205 was issued on this day in 1962.

On November 1, 1962, the US Post Office issued its first-ever Christmas stamp, starting a popular tradition that continues to this day.

There’s some debate as to which country issued the first-ever Christmas stamp.  Canada often gets the honor for its 1898 issue that pictured a map and had the inscription “XMAS 1898.”  In the coming years, other nations issued stamps with similar holiday inscriptions, and eventually with religious or holiday-themed designs.

Continue reading →