On this day in history
photography·@jgullinese·
0.000 HBDOn this day in history
February 20th has been a day that has seen a lot of historically important events occur. I wanted to highlight a few of those key events. The first takes place on February 20, 1792. That is the day George Washington, the first President of the United States, signs the Postal Service Act. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <p>  (photo via wikipedia and it is in the public domain in the United States) News, at that time, was considered key to keeping the citizens informed. By creating the Postal Service act and putting it into law, newspapers were delivered to constituent subscribers for one cent up to 100 miles in distance. The price was 1.5 cents if the distance exceeded 100 miles. Newspaper printers were also able to send their newspapers to other newspaper publishers without charge. A key act in the advancement of not only the nation, but the printing press, in general. The next event took place on February 20, 1962. It was on this day that Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. He was able to complete three orbits in 4 hours 55 minutes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <p>  (photo via wikipedia and is labeled for re-use and is under public domain) The ship he was aboard was called the Mercury-Atlas 6, or widely known as Friendship 7, and the program this ship was part of was known as the Mercury program. Originally, the space program was controlled by the Air Force, but the powers were relinquished when the government created a program known as NASA. The goal of the Mercury program was to put a man into space, have them orbit the Earth, and then return safely back to Earth. This was also during the time that the United States was entrenched in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, so the race to be first was paramount. The final event I wanted to highlight took place February 20, 1872. This was the day the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) opened it's doors. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <p> According to Wikipedia, the MET is the "largest art museum in the United States." Adding, "with 7.06 million visitors in 2016, it was the second most visited art museum in the world and the fifth most visited museum of any kind."   (image via Metropolitan Museum of Art website with use of any kind due to public domain) When they first opened, the first artifacts and pieces of art that the Museum looked to acquire was near eastern pieces, ie. ancient Egypt tablets, hieroglyphics and more of the same vane. Since then, the Museum has gone on to acquire pieces that are Ancient Greek and Roman, Islamic, Asian, European and pretty much anywhere else in the world.   (image via Metropolitan Museum of Art website with use of any kind due to public domain) They also have collections of ancient armor, modern art, instruments, digital photography and much, much more. It is an eclectic fellow like myself's dream world. Whatever you fancy looking at on a particular day, they have.   (image via Metropolitan Museum of Art website with use of any kind due to public domain) What an eventful day in history! Happy Steeming! @jgullinese