Hard hat diving suit was patented by Leonard Norcross of Dixfield, Maine, in 1834. The suit became the first practical diving suit. A tube connected the helmet/suit with surface air. Norcross was so proud of his invention he named his son Submarinus. Children can watch a video of hard hat diving at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsCXlbURBU4.
Alcock and Brown
John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown in 1919 became the first people to fly across the Atlantic Ocean nonstop. These two British pilots flew a modified World War I bomber from Newfoundland to Ireland. They earned the Daily Mail prize of £10,000 and a hero’s welcome. Older children can read more, including Alcock’s remembrances, at: Alcock and Brown.
Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding became the first president to communicate over the radio in 1922. He discussed the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore, Maryland.
John Bartlett (born Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1820; died Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 3, 1905) was an editor and a publisher. He owned a bookstore. During his free time he produced Familiar Quotations: Being an Attempt to Trace to Their Sources Passages and Phrases in Common Use. It first appeared in 1855; and it has had numerous revisions since then. Children can visit an interesting website at: http://www.bartleby.com/quotations/.
Margaret Bourke-White (born New York, New York, 1906; died Stamford, Connecticut, August 27, 1971) was a famous photojournalist. She photographed a number of World War II battles. When the Nazi concentration camps were opened, she photographed the horrors. She also photographed Gandhi. One of her most famous books was You Have Seen Their Faces, photographs of southern poverty. Children could view some of her works and learn more about her at: Margaret Bourke-White
Bruce Degen (born Brooklyn, New York, 1945; died Newtown, Connecticut, November 7, 2024)) wrote and/or illustrated at least 40 children’s books. He illustrated among other works the Magic School Bus series. His written works include Daddy Is a Doodlebug and Sailaway Home.
James Gurney (born Glendale, California, 1958) writes and illustrates books for children. He is known for his Dinotopia series. Children can visit his website: James Gurney.
Lensey Namioka (born Beijing, China, 1929) has written at least 23 books for children and young adults. Her books include Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear and Half and Half.
Harriet Beecher Stowe (born Litchfield, Connecticut, 1811; died Hartford, 
Connecticut, July 1, 1896) was an author. She is best known for Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The book greatly aided the abolitionist movement and may have been one of the main causes of the Civil War. Children can visit a website about her at: Harriet Beecher Stowe. They can also read many of her works, including Uncle Tom’s Cabin, at: Project Gutenberg.
Janice May Udry (born Jacksonville, Illinois, 1928) writes books for children. Her books include A Tree is Nice and Let’s Be Enemies.
Laurence Yep (born San Francisco, 1948) has written at least 46 books for children. He received the 1978 Jane Adams Book Award for Child of the Owl. He earned a 1976 Newbery Honor Award for Dragonwings and another Newbery Honor Award in 1994 for Dragon’s Gate. The 2005 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal was presented to him for his body of work.
Arkansas Flag
Arkansas became the twenty-fifth state of the United States in 1836. Hernando de Soto explored the area in 1541. Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet visited the region in 1673. Henri de Tonti built Arkansas Post in 1686. The capital is Little Rock, and the state’s nickname is the “Land of Opportunity.” Its state gem is the diamond. Arkansas ranks 29th in area and 34th in population. Children can visit an Internet site at: Arkansas. Children can print and color an activities page about Arkansas at: Crayola Arkansas.
Magna Carta
Magna Carta was signed in 1215. King John I was forced to sign the document in Runnymede, England. Written in haste and in Latin, the Magna Carta was the first English document to outline human rights. Only four originals of the document still exist, and one copy resides in the National Archives in Washington, DC. Older children can read a translation at: Magna Carta.
Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin flew his famous kite in 1752, demonstrating that lightning carries an electrical current. Idea: Actually Franklin was lucky to survive the lightning. Older children could read about the experiment at: https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/kite-key-experiment. Children could learn about lightning and thunder at: Lightning and Thunder. Children could locate more information on lightning and its dangers.
Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber in 1844. He received Patent #3633, and he stabilized rubber by heating the rubber and adding sulfur. However, he made little money from the process. In 1898 the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was named after him. Children can learn how vulcanized rubber is produced at: Rubber.
That’s Lou Gehrig Sliding into Home Plate!
Lou Gehrig in 1923 played the first of 2,130 baseball games with the New York Yankees. He played his last game on April 30, 1939. Young children could read Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David A. Adler.
Grotto Falls
Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created in 1934. Because the park hovers on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, it is close to large centers of population. Over eight million people visit the park each year. People lived in the area prior to its becoming a park. Over 6,000 tracts of land had to be purchased before the area could be declared a national park. Children can visit a website at: http://www.nps.gov/grsm.