On March 31, 1917, the United States of America formally took possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, renaming the territory the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The date is celebrated with a holiday each year in the USVI called Transfer Day; the holiday is the subject of Sophie Schiller’s 2012 novel Transfer Day. The United States’ interest in the Virgin … Continue reading The U.S. Virgin Islands
When I started my “A Stamp From Everywhere” collection several years ago — since retitled, “Stamps From (Almost) Everywhere” — I naturally began at the top of the alphabet; I received my first Aden stamp before my first from Abu Dhabi. In fact, it was probably the beautifully engraved stamps of the colony that caused me to deviate from my original task of having to … Continue reading “Dhows”
On March 29, 1865, Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan moved to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign began. This was a series of United States Civil War battles fought from March 29 until April 9, 1865, in Virginia that concluded with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia to forces of the Union Army … Continue reading The Appomattox Campaign
On March 28, 1566, the foundation stone of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Geographically, it is located in the South Eastern Region, in the central-eastern portion of the main island of Malta having its western coast with access to the Marsamxett Harbour and its eastern coast in the Grand Harbour. The … Continue reading Valletta
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is therefore used to refer to vessels belonging to the Danish, Dutch (Oostindiëvaarder), English, French, Portuguese, or Swedish (ostindiefarare) East India companies. Some of the East Indiamen chartered … Continue reading East Indiaman
There are certain stamps that are well-known by their nickname rather than any catalogue number. Probably the best example of this is the very first postage stamp issued back in 1840, the “Penny Black” of Great Britain (Scott #1). Today’s stamp, the “Bluenose” of Canada is considered by many to be that country’s most beautiful stamp, possibly the most attractive issued by any nation., Scott … Continue reading The Bluenose
Maryland Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of Maryland observed on the anniversary of the March 25, 1634, landing of the first European settlers in the Province of Maryland, the third English colony to be settled in British North America. On this day, settlers from the Ark and the smaller Dove first stepped foot onto Maryland soil, at St. Clement’s Island (also … Continue reading Maryland Day: The Ark and the Dove
On March 24, 1794, in the Krakow, Poland, town square, Tadeusz Kościuszko — a veteran of the American Revolutionary War — announced a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia and assumed the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces. He vowed “not to use these powers to oppress any person, but to defend the integrity of the borders … Continue reading The Kościuszko Uprising
A Stamp A Day 