Did You Know?
On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks was riding an Alabama bus home from her job as a seamstress at a department store when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Her arrest triggered a boycott of the Montgomery bus system for the next 381 days, eventually leading to the 1956 Supreme Court decision banning segregation on public transportation.
Did you know, that on this date in 1916, Jeanette Rankin became the first woman elected to U.S. Congress? She was elected as the Republican Representative from Montana and served two terms, in 1917-1919 and 1941-1943. Rankin was a well-known suffragist and pacifist who ran on a platform of working towards a constitutional woman suffrage amendment and social welfare issues.
The Bayonne VA Claims Clinic will be hosted on Wednesday, October 5th from 9:30 AM to 5 PM at the Catholic War Veterans Post 1612. Veterans interested in meeting with a VA representative to discuss benefits, claims, compensation, or entitlements can contact 202-225-7919 to schedule an appointment.
Did you know, that on this day in 1948, Margaret Chase Smith won her election for the Maine Senate seat and became the first woman elected to both chambers of Congress? Margaret had served successfully as a Representative for four terms.
The National Museum of African American History will have its grand opening on September 24. If you are interested in visiting the new museum this fall, tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at https://nmaahc.si.edu/visit/passes or by calling 800-514-3849.
In the wake of the Soviets launching the Sputnik satellites, Congress scrambled to organize a civilian led U.S. space program. After much debate as to the organization and authority of this new space program, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, was signed into law on July 29, 1958, establishing NASA. T. Keith Glennan became NASA’s first administrator.
On the night of the 240th celebration of America’s independence, NASA’s Juno space probe arrived at Jupiter. Nearly five years after being launched from Cape Canaveral in 2011, the exploratory spacecraft completed its 1.7 billion mile journey to Jupiter’s orbit.
On March 15th, 2016, the Liberty Science Center announced a major renovation of its IMAX dome, making the non-profit interactive museum home to the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.
Did you know that scientists in the not-so-distant future could be sending thousands of miniature spacecraft outside our solar system at one-fifth the speed of light?
On this day in 1789, George Washington was sworn into office. His swearing in occurred in New York City on the portico of Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan. He is the only president to have been inaugurated in two cities, the second being in Philadelphia in 1793. His second inaugural address was the shortest in history at 135 words.