Rutgers beat Princeton in the first intercollegiate football game in 1869. The two teams used a round ball, and each university had its own set of rules. Since the game was at Rutgers, they used the Rutgers rules. Players could only kick the ball; they could not throw the ball or run with the ball. The first team to score six points won. Rutgers won by two points.
Parker Brothers bought the patent for Monopoly in 1935 from inventor Elizabeth Magie. Magie had patented two forms of the game. The first patent, Monopoly I, was filed in 1904. That patent expired in 1921, so she filed a second patent (Monopoly II) in 1924. Magie sold the game, originally called The Landlord’s Game, to Parker Brothers for $500.00. Today Hasbro owns the rights to the game. Children could learn about Magie at: Elizabeth Magie.
Meet the Press premiered in 1947. It is the oldest running show on television. A panel of news reporters interviews a different guest, often a politician, each week. Every President since John F. Kennedy has appeared on the show.
Liberty Bell in Philadelphia
Philadelphia became the first American World Heritage City in 2015. UNESCO World Heritage announced the award during a conference in Ariquipa, Peru. Other World Heritage Cities include Florence, Saint Petersburg, Paris, Jerusalem, and Prague. Children can learn more at: Philadelphia.
James Naismith (born Almonte, Ontario, Canada, 1861; died Lawrence, Kansas, November 28, 1939) invented basketball in 1891. He was given the task of designing a game that could keep track and field athletes in shape and be played indoors during the cold winter. He created the first hoop from a peach basket, and the first basketball was actually a soccer ball. Children can read more about the original rules of the game at: Basketball Rules. Children could also read John Coy’s Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball.
Adolphe Sax (born Dinant, Belgium, 1814; died Paris, France, February 7, 1894) invented the saxophone and all its relatives. He became famous and wealthy. Children could watch and hear a saxophone and a HUGE saxophone being played at: Saxophone. Is the saxophone a woodwind instrument or a brass instrument?
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa (born Washington, DC, 1854; died Reading, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1932) was a band conductor and a composer. He wrote, among other works, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Children can read about him at: Sousa.
Elephant was used for the first time to represent the Republican Party. Harper’s Weekly published a Thomas Nast cartoon using the elephant in 1874. Nast first used the donkey to represent the Democratic party in 1870. Children can see the original cartoon at: Elephant.
Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1916. A Republican from Montana, she served two different times, from 1917 to 1919 and from 1941 to 1943. A pacifist, she voted against the United States entering both World War I and World War II. Children could read a good biography, Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer by Gretchen Woelfle. Children could also learn more at: Jeannette Rankin.
Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, opened its doors in 1929. Children could view some of the artworks online at: MoMA.
Sneed B. Collard, III (born Santa Barbara, California, 1959) has written at least 65 books for children. His works include The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America’s Lost Grasslands and One Night in the Coral Sea. Children can visit his website at: Sneed B. Collard.
Marie Curie
Marie Sklodowska Curie (born Warsaw, Poland, 1867; died Savoy, France, July 4, 1934) was a physicist. She and her husband, Pierre, worked on radioactive substances. They isolated two new elements, radium and polonium. She, her husband, and a third scientist received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. She was the first woman to receive any Nobel Prize. She also won the 1911 Nobel Prize in chemistry for her extended work on radium. Kathleen Krull wrote an excellent biography of the scientist, Marie Curie (Giants of Science).
Yuyi Morales (born Xalapa, Mexico, 1968) writes and illustrates book for children. Her book Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book received a 2004 Pura Belpre Medal. Viva Frida received a 2015 Pura Belpre Medal and a 2015 Caldecott Honor Award. In 2019 Dreamers/Sonadoras earned a Pura Belpre Medal.
Armstrong Sperry (born New Haven, Connecticut, 1897; died Hanover, New Hampshire, April 26, 1976) was a children’s author and illustrator. He wrote over 25 books, and his book Call It Courage was awarded the 1941 Newbery Medal. Children could visit his granddaughter’s website honoring her grandfather at: Armstrong Sperry
Rachel Carson Would Be Proud!
National STEM/STEAM Day is today! STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Add Art and you have STEAM. This year’s theme is Food for Thought. The Census Bureau has some great statistics: STEM/STEAM. Ideas combining STEM/STEAM and our environment: