Portal:United States
Introduction
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that despite being ranked 101st of 103 graduates in his West Point class of 1909, William H. Simpson later became a four-star general?
- ... that in Hall v. Decuir, the Supreme Court of the United States "all but endorsed segregation"?
- ... that Arkansas linebacker Grant Morgan, originally a walk-on himself, signed a personality rights deal with Walk-On's Bistreaux and Bar?
- ... that the common-law wife of the ninth vice president of the United States was Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman?
- ... that the Continental Currency dollar coin, the first pattern coin of the United States, was designed by Benjamin Franklin?
- ... that Fred Sargeant was one of the gay rights activists who proposed the first Christopher Street Liberation Day—now the NYC Pride March—to commemorate the Stonewall riots?
- ... that a spokesperson for the American Library Association told ABC News in late 2021 that she had "never seen such a widespread effort to remove books on racial and gender diversity"?
- ... that Nancy McCormick Rambusch founded the Whitby School in 1958, sparking a revival of Montessori education in the United States?
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On December 1, 1955, Parks became famous for refusing to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. This action of civil disobedience started the Montgomery bus boycott, which is one of the largest movements against racial segregation. In addition, this launched Martin Luther King Jr., who was involved with the boycott, to prominence in the civil rights movement. She has had a lasting legacy worldwide.
Although Parks' autobiography recounts that some of her earliest memories are of the kindness of white strangers, her situation made it impossible to ignore racism. When the Ku Klux Klan marched down the street in front of her house, Parks recalls her grandfather guarding the front door with a shotgun. The Montgomery Industrial School, founded and staffed by white northerners for black children, was burned twice by arsonists, and its faculty was ostracized by the white community.
Parks received most of her national accolades very late in life, with relatively few awards and honors being given to her until many decades after the Montgomery bus boycott. For example, the Rosa Parks Congressional Gold Medal bears the legend "Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement".
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Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.
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In 1630, Puritan colonists from England founded the city on the Shawmut Peninsula. During the American Revolution the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston all occurred within the city and surrounding areas. After American independence was attained Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center, and its rich history now attracts 16.3 million visitors annually. The city was the site of America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and first college, Harvard College (1636), in neighboring Cambridge. Boston was also home to the first subway system in the United States.
Through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for health care. The city's economy is also based on research, finance, and technology — principally biotechnology.
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Anniversaries for May 8
- 1861 – Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1877 – At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
- 1884 – Harry S. Truman (pictured), 33rd President of the United States, is born.
- 1886 – Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine.
- 1970 – The Hard Hat Riot occurs in the Wall Street area of New York City as blue-collar construction workers clash with demonstrators protesting the Vietnam War.
- 1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
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More did you know? -
- ... that the first United States postage stamp that depicted a space vehicle (pictured) was issued in 1948?
- ... that the Federalists of New England did not support the War of 1812, so Captain Oliver Filley of Connecticut, who built the Oliver Filley House, commanded 40 militiamen under state control?
- ... that National Labor Relations Board Chief Economist David J. Saposs was accused of being a Communist, and Congress defunded his position and division in October 1940?
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