May 1st Celebrated History
1840
The United Kingdom issued the world’s first adhesive postage stamp called the Penny Black. Sir Rowland Hill first proposed the idea back in 1837 as part of postal reform. At the time, the receiver bore the cost o…
May 1st Celebrated History
1840
The United Kingdom issued the world’s first adhesive postage stamp called the Penny Black. Sir Rowland Hill first proposed the idea back in 1837 as part of postal reform. At the time, the receiver bore the cost of postage upon delivery, and it could be costly depending on weight and the distance traveled. Fraud was also rampant. The Penny Black cost only a penny (as the name suggests) and the sender paid for the postage at the time of sending. The Penny Black featured a profile image of Queen Victoria. Soon, the idea of pre-paid postage spread around the world and across the pond to the United States.
1884
Catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker makes his major league baseball debut with Toledo of the Association League against Louisville. He is one of the first African Americans to play in the major leagues and when he leaves the league several months later, is the last until Jackie Robinson signs with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
1941
Orson Welles' award-winning film Citizen Kane premieres in New York City. Welles' also starred alongside Joseph Cotton and Dorothy Comingore in a story that follows the rise and fall of publishing magnate.
1971
Nearly 102 years after the transcontinental railroad was completed, Amtrak begins operation. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation is federally supported and provides intercity passenger train service in the United States.
May 1st Celebrated Birthday
Calamity Jane - 1852
Orphaned at a young age, Martha Jane Cannary grew up to be known as the legendary sharpshooter, Calamity Jane. She earned a notorious reputation in the Wild West of Deadwood, South Dakota, for her drunkenness, lawlessness, and relationships with wanted men, including Wild Bill Hickok. However, most of the stories surrounding her life are unverifiable. Later in her life, she would perform in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1893 and in the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
Anna Ja..
