Birth of Samuel Morse
US #890 from the Famous American Inventors set. Click image to order.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Morse attended Yale College where he studied religious philosophy, mathematics, and the science of horses. Morse frequently attended lectures on electricity and supported himself by painting.
US #2470-74 was issued on this day in 1990. Click image to order.
On April 26, 1990, the USPS issued the first booklet in its Lighthouse stamp series.
Beginning in 1986, the USPS began issuing topical booklets of five stamps each. Past topics had included fish, locomotives, classic cars, and steamboats. In April 1990, the set of lighthouse stamps would be the first of two such topical booklets issued that year.
US #804 – The first stamp issued in the Presidential Series. Click image to order.
On April 25, 1938, the first stamp in the Presidential Series (also known as the Prexies) was issued featuring George Washington.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt first suggested a stamp series honoring all the deceased presidents in 1933. Initially, the new stamps were planned to be commemoratives, but it was ultimately decided that they’d be definitive to replace the Series of 1922, which had been in use for 12 years. Continue reading
US #3904 was issued for Warren’s 100th birthday. Click image to order.
Author Robert Penn Warren was born on April 24, 1905, in Guthrie, Kentucky.
The grandson of Confederate Civil War veterans, Warren grew up listening to their tales about the war, providing him with a rich history that would later influence his writing. When he was 15, Warren prepared to go to the US Naval Academy, but his brother accidentally hit him in the eye with a stone, leaving him nearly blind in that eye. In later years, Warren said he was ashamed that he couldn’t serve in the military because of his injury, but it led him down the path to becoming an accomplished author.
US #2159 pictures items from a colonial teacher’s desk. Click image to order.
On April 23, 1635, the Boston Latin School opened its doors. It’s America’s oldest school and first public school.
Puritan colonists in America knew early on that they needed a solid educational system for their children. Many of their ministers had attended Oxford or Cambridge University in England, and they particularly wanted their children to be able to read the Bible.
US #2609 was issued for the 200th anniversary of the White House.
On April 22, 1878, the White House hosted its first official Easter Egg Roll on Easter Monday.
Reportedly, Dolley Madison may have been one of the first to suggest holding a public egg roll at the White House. And there are stories describing informal egg-rolling parties at the White House during Abraham Lincoln’s administration.
