White Cane Safety Day is remembered by Presidential Proclamation. The day celebrates the independence of the blind and visually impaired. President Lyndon Johnson issued the first proclamation in 1964. In 2011 President Barack Obama declared the day to also be called Blind Americans Equality Day. Children can read a very good history of the white cane at: White Cane Safety Day.
ThrustSSC
Andy Green set a new land speed record and broke the sound barrier on land in 1997 in ThrustSSC. Traveling at 763.035 miles per hour (Mach 1.016), he broke the land record 50 years and one day after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in an airplane.
Saturn and its Rings
Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was launched in 1997. The unmanned NASA craft reached Saturn, its goal, in 2004. Huygens broke away from Cassini and landed on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, on January 14, 2005. Children could learn more at: Cassini-Huygens.
Shenzhou 5 was launched from China in 2003. China’s first successful manned space venture sent Yang Liwei into earth orbit. He orbited earth fourteen times and spent over 21 hours in space.
Katherine Ayres (born Columbus, Ohio, 1947) writes books for children. Her works include Silver Dollar Girl and Macaroni Boy. Children can visit her website at: Katherine Ayres.
Jacob Broom (born Wilmington, Delaware, 1752; died Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1810) represented Delaware at the Constitutional Convention. During the Revolutionary War he surveyed land for Washington’s army. After the convention he was active in Delaware politics. Children could learn more at: Jacob Broom.
Virgil (born 70 B.C.; died 19 B.C.) was a poet who lived in ancient Rome. One of his most famous works is the epic Aeneid. Children can read the Aeneid and other works in several languages, including Latin, at: Project Gutenberg.
Eidth Bolling Galt Wilson
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (born Wytheville, Virginia, 1872; died Washington, D. C., December 28, 1961) was America’s First Lady from December 18, 1915 to March 4, 1921. She was the second wife of Woodrow Wilson, twenty-eighth president of the United States. She married him while he was president and a year after his first wife died. He suffered a severe stroke in 1919, and for some time she may actually have been making decisions regarding the presidency. Children could visit a website at: Edith Wilson.