US #2500 from the 1990 Olympians set.
Olympic swimmer Helene Emma Madison was born on June 19, 1913, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison’s family moved to Seattle, Washington when she was two. As a child, she loved swimming in Green Lake. She played other sports in school, but always liked swimming the best.
US #5283 was issued on May 23, 2018, in San Diego.
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. She was the third woman overall, after Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Svetlana Savitskaya.
Sally Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in Encino, Los Angeles, California. The older of two children, she was interested in science from a young age and was also a nationally ranked tennis player.
US #20L7 – A Boyd’s Express stamp from 1848.
On June 17, 1844, Boyd’s City Express Post, one of the first local posts in the US, opened in New York City.
John T. Boyd created the post and the initial office was located at 45 William Street, next to Wall Street, in downtown Manhattan. When he first opened, Boyd offered two deliveries every day – one at 9 a.m. and one at 3 p.m., for 2¢ up to 26th street, 3¢ to Brooklyn, or for free if sending a letter to a newspaper.
Item #M12232 pictures Tereshkova and Vostok 6.
On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.
Valentina was born March 6, 1937, in the Yaroslavl Oblast in central Russia. She showed an early interest in parachuting and trained at the local Aeroclub. Valentina made her first jump in 1959. It was her parachuting experience in particular that led to her recruitment in the cosmonaut program in 1962.
US #570 from the 1922-25 Flat Plate Printing.
On June 15, 1864, Arlington National Cemetery was officially established.
In the early 1800s, John Parke Custis’ son, George Washington Parke Custis (stepson of President Washington), began constructing a Greek revival mansion on the property as a memorial to the first president. George’s only surviving child, Mary, met and married Robert E. Lee at Arlington. The couple spent the next 30 years traveling between US Army outposts and the mansion, where six of the seven Lee children were born.
US #4273 features the American flag waving in “spacious skies.”
On June 14, 2008, the USPS issued the first set of stamps in its Flags of Our Nation Series.
The state flags had been honored on US stamps once before, in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial Series (US #1633-82). Those stamps marked an important first – they were America’s first 50-stamp se-tenant. The sheet featured all of the state flags in the order the states were admitted to the Union.
