Events » Celebrate and Learn

Washington Created His First Cabinet in 1789

Events

Sep 262025

George Washington established his first cabinet in 1789.

Thomas Jefferson became Secretary of State.
John Jay was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Samuel Osgood was the first Postmaster.
Edmund J. Randolph was made Attorney General.
Henry Knox had become Secretary of War on September 12, 1789. The position was renamed Secretary of Defense in 1949.

Today the President’s cabinet is comprised of the Vice President and fifteen heads of departments. Children can learn more at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinet.

Cement Was Patented in 1871

Events

Sep 262025

Cement was patented in 1871. David Oliver Saylor, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, received patent number 119,413. Children can take some virtual tours of cement being made at: Cement.

Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, presidential candidates, held the first of four televised debates in 1960. Experts believe Kennedy fared better in the first debate, but Nixon improved as time went on.

Gilligan’s Island – 1964

Events

Sep 262025

Gilligan’s Island appeared for the first time in 1964. The show ran for 98 episodes, but the series has become famous through re-runs.

Shannon Lucid, Astronaut, Returned to Earth in 1996 after Being in Space 188 Days

Events

Sep 262025

Shannon Lucid working out on a treadmill aboard Mir

Shannon Lucid, astronaut, returned to earth in 1996 after being in space 188 days. At the time she set the US record for longest time in space and the world record for the longest time for a woman in space. She conducted experiments aboard the Mir space station. She had previously flown on four other missions. Her record for an American woman was broken by Sunita Williams on June 16, 2007. Older children could learn more at: Shannon Lucid.

NASA’s DART Intentionally Smashed into Dimorphos in 2022

Events

Sep 262025

NASA’s DART intentionally smashed into Dimorphos in 2022. DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) was developed to test whether a craft could deflect the path of near-Earth objects. Dimorphos, a minor planet moon of the asteroid Didymos, was not close to Earth (seven million miles away). It was launched November 24, 2021. Astronomers, training multiple telescopes on the impact, are trying to judge the impact on the orbit of Dimorphos. So far DART has exceeded expectations. Children can learn more at: DART.

National Chocolate Milk Day

Events

Sep 272025

National Chocolate Milk Day is today! This is an easy day to celebrate! The National Dairy Council says that Americans drink more than 1.5 billion gallons of chocolate milk per year. Idea: Children could calculate how much chocolate milk they drink in a year.

National Hunting and Fishing Day

Events

Sep 272025

National Hunting and Fishing Day is today. It has been celebrated on the fourth Saturday of September since 1979 as a result of a Presidential Proclamation. Children can learn more at: http://www.nhfday.org/.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Was the Nation’s Capital for this Day Only in 1777

Events

Sep 272025

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was the nation’s capital for this day only in 1777. The prior capital was Philadelphia, and the next capital was York, Pennsylvania.

Champollion Deciphered Rosetta Stone in 1822

Events

Sep 272025

Rosetta Stone
Courtesy of Hans Hillewaert

Jean-Francois Champollion declared in 1822 that he had deciphered the Rosetta Stone. The monument contained the same speech in three languages. He was able to translate the speech in two of the languages, and he used patterns and syntax to decode the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the third language. The Rosetta Stone is housed in the British Museum. Children could learn about the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian hieroglyphics at: Rosetta Stone.

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