February 1, 1978: Antislavery crusader and Civil War veteran
Harriet Tubman become the first African American woman to
appear on a U.S. postage stamp, the first in the Post Office’s
Black Heritage Series. Tubman’s appearance on stamps was
emblematic both of the progress made in recognizing African
Americans’ contributions to American history and of the
ongoing effort to put abolitionists on equal footing with
slaveowners in the nation’s historical canon.

Harriet Tubman
(born Araminta Ross, c.
(March 1822 – March 10, 1913)

Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920 – January 31, 1945)

On this day, Pvt. Eddie Slovik becomes the first American soldier
since the Civil War to be executed for desertion-and the only one
who suffered such a fate during World War II.

Although over 21,000 American soldiers were given varying
sentences for desertion during the war, including 49 death
sentences, Slovik’s death sentence was the only one that was
carried out.

Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) 

Hesseman played DJ John "Dr. Johnny Fever" Caravella on
WKRP in Cincinnati, Captain Pete Lassard in Police Academy
2: Their First Assignment, Sam Royer on One Day at a Time,
and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class. He 
died Saturday from complications of colon surgery in Los
Angeles, California. Hesseman was born in Lebanon, Oregon.

Center: Brace Beemer, an announcer for the program, was
one of several actors to play the masked man on radio; he
took on the role full-time beginning in 1941 and continued through the end of the series’ run. John Todd (left) was
Tonto.

With the stirring notes of the William Tell Overture and a shout of
“Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” The Lone Ranger debuted on Detroit’s WXYZ
radio station.

The creation of station-owner George Trendle and writer Fran
Striker (below), the “masked rider of the plains” became one of
the most popular and enduring western heroes of the 20th century. Joined by his trusty steed, Silver, and Native American scout,
Tonto, the Lone Ranger battled western outlaws and Native
Americans. 

Fran Striker

William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901)

On January 29, 1843, William McKinley, who will become the
25th American president and the first to ride in an automobile, 
was born in Niles, Ohio. McKinley served in the White House
from 1897 to 1901, a time when the American automotive
industry was in its  infancy. During his presidency, McKinley
(who died from an assassin’s bullet in September 1901) took
a drive in a Stanley Steamer (below), a steam-engine-powered
auto built in the late 1890s by Francis and Freelan Stanley. The
Stanley Motor Carriage brothers Company produced a number
of steam-powered vehicles before going out of business in the
early 1920s, after being unable to compete with the rise of less
expensive gas-powered cars.

The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer
of steam cars; it operated from 1902 to 1924. The cars made by the company were colloquially called Stanley Steamers, although
several different models were produced.

 
Twins Francis E. Stanley  
(1849–1918)