White Cane Safety Day is remembered by Presidential Proclamation. The day celebrates the independence of the blind and visually impaired. President Lyndon Johnson issued the first proclamation in 1964. In 2011 President Barack Obama declared the day to also be called Blind Americans Equality Day. Children can read a very good history of the white cane at: White Cane Safety Day.
Fort Pulaski was designated a national monument in 1966. The fort, named after the Polish military hero Casimir Pulaski, was built in 1829 to be an impenetrable fortress to protect the Savannah River and Savannah in Georgia. After the Civil War broke out, the Confederate Army took over the fort, However, on April 10, 1862, the Union Army attacked the fort with a new type of cannon and within 30 hours the Confederate garrison surrendered. The fort remained under Union control for the rest of the Civil War. Since the area was now under Union control, it then became part of the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War ended, the fort was manned by only a few soldiers. It fell into disrepair. In 1933 young men who were part of the Civilian Conservation Corps brought it back to what it is today. Children can learn more at: Fort Pulaski.
ThrustSSC
Andy Green set a new land speed record and broke the sound barrier on land in 1997 in ThrustSSC. Traveling at 763.035 miles per hour (Mach 1.016), he broke the land record 50 years and one day after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in an airplane.
Saturn and its Rings
Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was launched in 1997. The unmanned NASA craft reached Saturn, its goal, in 2004. Huygens broke away from Cassini and landed on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, on January 14, 2005. Children could learn more at: Cassini-Huygens.
Shenzhou 5 was launched from China in 2003. China’s first successful manned space venture sent Yang Liwei into earth orbit. He orbited earth fourteen times and spent over 21 hours in space.
Katherine Ayres (born Columbus, Ohio, 1947) writes books for children. Her works include Silver Dollar Girl and Macaroni Boy.
Jacob Broom (born Wilmington, Delaware, 1752; died Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1810) represented Delaware at the Constitutional Convention. During the Revolutionary War he surveyed land for Washington’s army. After the convention he was active in Delaware politics. Children could learn more at: Jacob Broom.
Virgil (born 70 B.C.; died 19 B.C.) was a poet who lived in ancient Rome. One of his most famous works is the epic Aeneid. Children can read the Aeneid and other works in several languages, including Latin, at: Project Gutenberg.
Eidth Bolling Galt Wilson
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (born Wytheville, Virginia, 1872; died Washington, D. C., December 28, 1961) was America’s First Lady from December 18, 1915 to March 4, 1921. She was the second wife of Woodrow Wilson, twenty-eighth president of the United States. She married him while he was president and a year after his first wife died. He suffered a severe stroke in 1919, and for some time she may actually have been making decisions regarding the presidency. Children could visit a website at: Edith Wilson.
World Food Day marks the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. The organization is part of the United Nations. This year’s theme is Safe Food Today for a Healthy Tomorrow. Children could visit a website at: World Food Day.
Webster’s Dictionary
National Dictionary Day honors Noah Webster’s birth. Children could participate in the “Dictionary Olympics.” One event could be the fastest finder of words. Another event could be the best user of guide words. Or…since many people today use online dictionaries, children could use a dictionary in book form. They could discuss what Noah Webster would think if he could see online dictionaries today.
John Brown
John Brown and his party raided the United States arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia in 1859. Their goal was to end slavery. He and 21 followers captured 60 citizens and the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry. However, the military quickly responded. Within days he was captured, and he was hanged on December 2, 1859. Children could learn more at: John Brown.
Million Man March occurred in 1995. African-American men joined together in Washington, DC, for a “holy day of atonement and reconciliation.”
Joseph Bruchac (born Greenfield Center, New York, 1942) has written more than 120 books. His ethnicity includes a Native American background, and his works focus on the “indigenous peoples of America.” One of his books is Between Earth and Sky.
Jonathan Dayton (born Elizabeth, New Jersey, October 16, 1760; died Elizabeth, New Jersey, October 9, 1824) represented New Jersey at the Constitutional Convention. He was the youngest member. Later, he invested in land in what is today Ohio. The city of Dayton is named after him. Children could learn more at: Jonathan Dayton.
Eugene Gladstone O’Neill (born New York, New York, 1888; died Boston, Massachusetts, November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. He received the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature and four Pulitzer Prizes for his plays. One of those plays is Long Day’s Journey into Night. Children can learn more at: O’Neill.
Noah Webster
Noah Webster (born West Hartford, Connecticut, 1758; died New Haven, Connecticut, May 28, 1843) was a teacher and a writer. He was also a lexicographer, compiling one of the first American dictionaries, Webster’s Dictionary.
Oscar Wilde (born Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde in Dublin, Ireland, 1854; died Paris, France, November 30, 1900) was a playwright and poet. One of his most important works was The Importance of Being Earnest. Older children can read many of his works at: Project Gutenberg.