Week of Events
Today is the Lunar New Year!
Today is the Lunar New Year! Based on the lunar calendar, it is an important holiday for many cultures, particularly those of East Asia. Revelers take time to celebrate new beginnings and reflect on the qualities of the year’s assigned zodiac animal. 2023’s animal is the rabbit, which represents calmness, patience, and peace. 🐇🐇🐇 While […]
National Hot Sauce Day!
It’s National Hot Sauce Day! Did you know that hot sauce has deep American roots? Chilis were domesticated in present-day Mexico around 5000 B.C. The Aztecs and Mayans combined chili peppers with water to make an early hot sauce. With increased trade and colonialism in the 1500s, chilis soon spread across the world. Though colonial […]
On January 23, 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the United States to earn a medical doctorate
On January 23, 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the United States to earn a medical doctorate. Despite sexism, she succeeded not only in completing her coursework, but founding a hospital and training nurses during the Civil War. Did you know? Blackwell was inspired to pursue the medical profession after a […]
John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts
On this day in 1737, founding father, successful merchant, and first signer of the Declaration of Independence John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. Before the Revolution, Hancock was one of the wealthiest men in New England and used his money and influence to forward the movement for American independence. He’s perhaps best known for […]
On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill near Coloma, California, triggering the California Gold Rush
On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill near Coloma, California, triggering the California Gold Rush. As news of the discovery spread, thousands of would-be gold miners poured into California looking to strike it rich. Though many were unlucky in mining, the population boom helped propel California to statehood. Did you know? The […]
Happy National Peanut Butter Day!
Happy National Peanut Butter Day! This uniquely American treat was first patented in the late 1800s, as Canadian Marcellus Gilmore Edson and American John Harvey Kellogg experimented with creating pastes out of roasted and raw peanuts. Kellogg’s easily digested paste was used as a healthy food for sanitarium patients. As a result of meat-rationing during […]
On this day – Michigan became our 26th state
On January 26, 1837, Michigan was admitted to the Union as our 26th state. The state has the most coastline on the Great Lakes and is bordered by Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie. The state (and more specifically, its largest city, Detroit) are well known as the capital of the American auto industry – […]
On this day in 1892, Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas
On this day in 1892, Bessie Coleman, the first African-American and Native American woman pilot was born in Atlanta, Texas. Coleman gave speeches, and lessons, and toured across America and Europe, encouraging other women to pursue flight and dazzling crowds with her daring air tricks. She also publicly stood up against segregation, refusing to perform […]