Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made
the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-
than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-
driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered
120 feet on its inaugural flight.
The Wright brothers: Orville (left) and Wilbur (right).
The Wright brothers company in Dayton, Ohio offered their first
airplane for sale, the Wright Model B, in 1910.
Although many credit our modern day Santa to Thomas Nast,
Santa’s jolly look all started in 1931 with legendary illustrator
Haddon Sundblom for a Coca-Cola holiday ad campaign. His
Santa has become one of the most beloved cultural icons and
an anticipated part of the Christmas holiday tradition.
Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom (June 22, 1899 – March 10, 1976)
Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – disappeared December 15, 1944)
Glenn Miller was a big-band trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader
in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1942,
leading one of the best-known big bands. Miller’s recordings include "In the
Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Chattanooga Choo
Choo", "A String of Pearls", "At Last", "(I’ve Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo",
"American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer’s Tune", and "Little Brown
Jug". In just four years Glenn Miller scored 16 number-one records and 69
top ten hits—more than Elvis Presley (38 top 10s) and the Beatles (33 top -
10s) did in their careers.
In 1942, Miller volunteered to join the U.S. military to entertain troops during
World War II, ending up with the U.S. Army Air Forces. On December 15,
1944, while flying to Paris, Miller’s aircraft disappeared in bad weather over
the English Channel. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
Mrs. Emilie Todd Helm, Mary Lincoln’s half sister.
President Abraham Lincoln announced a grant of amnesty for
Emilie Todd Helm (above), his wife Mary Lincoln’s half sister
and the widow of a Confederate general. The pardon was one
of the first under Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and
Reconstruction, which he had announced less than a week
before. The plan was Lincoln’s blueprint for the reintegration
of the South into the Union. Part of the plan allowed for former
Confederates to be granted amnesty if they took an oath to the
United States. The option was open to all but the highest
officials of the Confederacy.
What is the birthday of the Army National Guard? The official birth
date of the Army National Guard as a reserve component of the
Army is December 13, 1636. On this date, the Massachusetts
colonial legislature directed that the colony’s existing militia
companies be organized into three.
When the National Guard’s oldest regiments met for their first drill
on the village green in Salem, Massachusetts, they were barely
three months old, organized on December 13th, 1636, the date
we now celebrate as the National Guard birthday.
