Velocipede, First Bicycle
World Bicycle Day is today. In early 2018 the United Nations declared today to be World Bicycle Day because bicycles are so popular for transportation and physical activity. In 2014 a billion bicycles were being used for business and fun. China accounts for 450 million of those bicycles.
New York Knickerbockers in 1851 became the first baseball team to wear uniforms. The uniform consisted of full-length blue pants, white shirts, and straw hats. The team players were also very involved in defining baseball’s rules and codes of conduct.
Casey at the Bat was printed for the first time in 1888 in the San Francisco Examiner. Although it was published anonymously, the author was Ernest L. Thayer. Children can read a copy of the poem at: Casey.
First American Space Walk
Major Edward H. White conducted the first American walk in space in 1965. White and his fellow astronaut, Major James McDivitt, orbited earth 66 times in Gemini 4. White’s walk lasted about twenty minutes. He was tethered to the space capsule, and he used a maneuvering device in his right hand to take him where he needed to be. Children could learn more at: Space Walk.
Sally Jane Priesand became the first woman rabbi. She was ordained in 1972 and became assistant rabbi for a New York City congregation about two months later. She became the rabbi of a New Jersey congregation in 1981 and eventually retired in 2006. Today about 32 percent of rabbis are female.
Charles Richard Drew
Charles Richard Drew (born Washington, DC, 1904; died in a car accident near Burlington, North Carolina, April 1, 1950) was an African American surgeon. His research indicated plasma keeps safer and longer than whole blood. He created blood banks, and in 1941 he became the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank. Older children could read Dr. Charles Drew: Blood Bank Innovator by Anne E. Schraff. They could also learn more about blood and blood banks at: Blood Banks.
Anita Lobel (born Krakow, Poland, 1934) is an author and an illustrator. A survivor of a German concentration camp, she has illustrated at least 60 books. Her On Market Street, written by her husband Arnold Lobel, received a 1982 Caldecott Honor Award. Other illustrated works include Rooster Saves the Day and A Rose in my Garden.