Genesis
Genesis was launched in 2001. The space vehicle traveled to the sun and gathered particles of the sun on its way. A capsule then turned around and returned to earth. It crash landed (the drogue parachute failed to deploy) in Utah on September 8, 2004. Some of the samples were contaminated by earth soil on impact, but many collectors were intact. Scientists used the data to learn more about the sun’s composition and history. Children could learn more by clicking Genesis Spacecraft.
Matthew A. Henson
Matthew A. Henson (born Charles County, Maryland, 1866; died New York, New York, March 9, 1955) was an African-American explorer. He was hired to be Robert E. Peary’s valet. The two explored the Arctic region. He described his adventures in A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. Children can read the book at: Project Gutenberg.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (born Washington, DC, 1896; died Saint Augustine, Florida, December 14, 1953) wrote at least eleven books and at least twenty short stories for children. Her book The Yearling received the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and The Secret River earned a 1956 Newbery Honor Award.
Flag of Singapore
Singapore celebrates National Day. In 1965 Singapore gained its freedom from the Malaysian Federation. According to the CIA World Factbook, Singapore is about 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC. It has a tropical climate, and over five million people live there. Children can learn more at: Singapore.
Robert Gray
Robert Gray became the first United States citizen to circumnavigate the world. He sailed from Boston on September 30, 1787 and traded with the Northwest Coast Indians. He traveled to China before returning to Boston on August 9, 1790.
Webster-Ashburton Treaty was finalized in 1842. United States Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British representative Lord Ashburton negotiated the eastern border between the United States and Canada. The treaty also allowed shared use of the Great Lakes. Older children can read a transcript of the document at: Treaty.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park was created in California in 1916. Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone National Monument, founded in 1907, and other lands were united to form one national park. The park contains all four types of volcanoes (lava, cinder, composite, and shield). Children could visit the park’s website at: Lassen Volcanic National Park. They could learn about volcanoes in general at: Volcanoes. Then they could draw illustrations of the four different kinds of volcanoes.
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens won the last of his four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games. On August 3 he won the 100 meter sprint. On August 4 he won the long jump competition. On August 5 he finished first in the 200 meter sprint, and on August 9 he was part of the 4 X 100 sprint relay that came in first. Children could read You Should Meet Jesse Owens, written by Laurie Calkhoven and illustrated by Elizabet Vulkovik.
Atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. Approximately 70,000 people died, and more than half of the city lay in ruins. The United States had dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima three days earlier on August 6, 1945. The Japanese informally surrendered on August 15, 1945, and formally surrendered on September 2, 1945.
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon resigned from office as the thirty-seventh President in 1974 because he was about to be impeached for his part in the Watergate scandals.
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford was then sworn in as the thirty-eighth president in 1974.
Jose Aruego (born Manila, Philippines, 1932; died New York, New York, August 9, 2012) was a children’s author and illustrator. Idea: Children could read and enjoy some of his work, especially Mitchel is Moving. They could learn more at: Jose Aruego.
Patricia McKissack (born Nashville, Tennessee, 1944; died Saint Louis, Missouri, April 7, 2017) was a children’s author of great acclaim. She and her late husband Fredrick wrote and illustrated over 100 books together. A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter earned the 1990 Coretta Scott King Medal and the 1990 Jane Addams Book Award. Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? received a 1993 Coretta Scott King Honor Award. The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural was a 1993 Newbery Honor Book and the 1993 Coretta Scott King Medal winner. McKissack earned another Coretta Scott King Medal in 1995 for Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters and still another Coretta Scott King Honor Award in 1997 for Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts. McKissack earned still more Coretta Scott King Honor Awards: one in 2000 for Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers and one in 2004 for Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States.
Seymour Simon (born New York, New York, 1931) is a children’s author. He has written about 250 nonfiction books about many different subjects. All of his books, including Big Cats and Neptune, reflect thoughtful research. Children could visit his amazing website at: Seymour Simon.
P. L. Travers (born Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, 1899; died London, England, April 23, 1996) was an author. She wrote the Mary Poppins series.