HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEAVER STATE!

Mount Hood is the highest peak in Oregon.

Retired singer Kenneth Ray Rogers is 81 today.

Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, sometimes billed as The First Edition, was an eclectic rock band whose styles ranged from rock
and roll to R&B, folk, and country.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers

ED DANAHUE

On this is day in 1845, President James Polk and signed legislation making Texas the 28th state of the United States.

Boundaries of Texas after the annexation in 1845.

Depiction of Anson Jones lowering Republic flag following
annexation by the United States.

The U.S. and Texas flags at the Texas State Capitol.

The first American Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized, in Boston, MA. on this day in 1851. 

A group of evangelicals from several Boston churches, led by retired sea
captain  and lay preacher Thomas Valentine Sullivan, founded the first
YMCA in the United States. Modeled on the original YMCA established in
London in 1844 by George Williams, this new organization offered a safe
gathering place, opportunities for socializing, bible-study classes and
prayer meetings.

 
Thomas Valentine Sullivan                        George Williams

Boris Yeltsin (right) with Mikhail Gorbachev after the failure of the
August 21, 1991 coup.

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev returns to Moscow from the
Crimea on August 22, 1991 after a hardline coup failed.

It was on this day in 1940.

Nat Turner, a former slave, led a violent insurrection in Virginia on
this day in 1831. He was later executed.

Hawaii became the 50th state on this day in 1959. President Dwight
D. Eisenhower (second from left) also issued the order for the 50
star flag.

After signing Executive Order adding 50th star to US flag, for Hawaii, President Eisenhower (third from left) holds up the new flag.

Kenneth Ray Rogers is 80 years old today. He was born in Houston,
TX.

Country icon Kenny Rogers has sold more than 100 million albums over
the course of his career. His 1970s albums The Gambler and Kenny went
5x platinum and 3x platinum, respectively. In 2013, he was inducted into
the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Oregon became the 33rd member of the Union on this day in 1859.