History

Profile America: Freedom of the Press

Profile America: Freedom of the Press

Sunday, November 17. The first glimmers of what Americans now take for granted — freedom of the press — started on this date in 1734. It came with the arrest of John Peter Zenger, a German immigrant who published the […]

by · November 17, 2019 · Census, History, Profile America
Profile America: Peanut Butter Lovers Month

Profile America: Peanut Butter Lovers Month

Saturday, November 16. It’s a time to celebrate one of life’s simple, viscous pleasures — it’s Peanut Butter Lovers Month. The stuff of one of America’s favorite sandwiches, peanut butter was first offered to the public at the St. Louis […]

Vintage NCR cash register (Instagram)

Profile America: Ka-ching! The Cash Register Is Patented

Monday, November 4. The slang exclamation “ka-ching!” owes its birth to a development on this date140 years ago. That’s when James Ritty, a saloon keeper in Dayton, Ohio, patented the cash register he developed with his mechanic brother John. The […]

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

One of the nation’s enduring symbols, the Statue of Liberty, was dedicated on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor on this date in 1886. A gift from France, the statue’s full name is “Liberty Enlightening the World,” and is the […]

by · November 3, 2019 · History, Profile America
Credit: American Chemical Society

Profile America: National Chemistry Week

Sunday, October 20th. Today is the start of National Chemistry Week, an annual event held to raise public awareness of chemistry in the modern world. Coordinated by the American Chemical Society, the effort involves businesses, schools and individuals in communicating […]

by · October 20, 2019 · History, Profile America
World's First Cellphone Call - April 3 1973 by Martin Cooper. (YouTube)

Profile America: Birth of Cell Phones

Sunday, October 13. With the national median age being 38.2 years, only about half of the country’s population experienced life in what might strike young people as a bleak, dark and difficult age. Practically unimaginable today, there was a time […]

by · October 13, 2019 · History, Profile America, Technology
Profile America: Clean Water

Profile America: Clean Water

Friday, September 20th. We pretty much take for granted that the municipal water that comes out of the faucets in our homes is safe to drink. But getting to that point 125 years ago was a major advance for civilization […]

by · September 20, 2019 · Census, Environment, History, Profile America
Credit: True Value Paint

Profile America: Paint

Types of paint have been used by people starting tens of thousands of years ago to enliven cave walls. In more recent centuries, paint was applied to make signs or decorated objects.Until 152 years ago, paints had to be tinted […]

by · September 19, 2019 · History, Profile America
Alexander Hamilton - Government Official, Military Leader, Lawyer, Economist, Political Scientist, Journalist - Biography.com

Profile America: First Federal Loan

On this date in 1787, the Constitutional Convention wrapped up in Philadelphia with the delegates accepting the document and sending it on to the states for ratification. Two years and one day later, the new U.S. government had to become […]

by · September 17, 2019 · Census, History, Profile America
Profile America: Hispanic History Month

Profile America: Hispanic History Month

Sunday, September 15th. Today marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month — a time to recognize the contributions and cultures of the nation’s fastest-growing population group. The idea started as a special week in 1968 and was expanded to […]

Profile America: First Auto Fatality

Friday, September 13th. When Henry Bliss stepped off a streetcar at Central Park West and 74th Street in New York, on this date in 1899, automobiles were a novelty. Thus, he didn’t look carefully, and was run over by an […]

by · September 13, 2019 · History, Profile America
Profile America: Chipping In

Profile America: Chipping In

Thursday, September 12th. One of the great technical leaps in progress towards our digital age occurred on this date 61 years ago. It was in September 1958 that Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments demonstrated his invention of a miniaturized electronic […]

by · September 12, 2019 · Census, History, Profile America, Technology
The British Museum - Gregorian Calendar

Profile America: Lost Days

Wednesday, September 11th. This was a day that didn’t exist in Colonial America in 1752, as the familiar calendar underwent what is called the “Gregorian correction,” switching from the ancient Julian calendar to adjust for errors accumulated over centuries. After […]

by · September 11, 2019 · History, Profile America
Profile America: 1970 Census

Profile America: 1970 Census

Monday, September 9th. The national census next April will be the 24th time this once-a-decade count has been conducted since 1790. The 19th census in 1970 profiled a nation in political and military turmoil. There were more than 203 million […]

by · September 9, 2019 · History, Profile America
Profile America: National Rice Month

Profile America: National Rice Month

Sunday, September 8th. To highlight its importance, both as a crop and as part of the changing American diet, this is National Rice Month. Globally, rice is the world’s most important cereal grain. Americans doubled their annual per capita consumption […]