Franz Peter Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund (now a part of Alsergrund), Vienna, Archduchy of Austria on January 31, 1797, and baptized in the Catholic Church the following day. Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred … Continue reading Franz Schubert
Arriving at today’s stamp was a bit of a process. First of all, I rejected all of the anniversaries I came across using Wikipedia’s Days of the Year category as resoundingly too gruesome (for those topics discarded, please see my “Weekly Phila-Bytes #2019-04” article on Philatelic Pursuits). The one anniversary for this date that interested me even remotely was one for which I didn’t have … Continue reading Claude Lorrain and the Seaport at Sunset
On January 29, 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS, arrived at Singapore after having landed on Saint John’s Island the previous day. He soon recognized the island as a natural choice for the new port.The establishment of a British trading post there by Raffles led to its founding as a British colony in 1824. This event has generally been understood to mark the founding … Continue reading Stamford Raffles & the Founding of Modern Singapore
On January 28, 1457, Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on January 28, 1457, to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. His father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, died three months before his birth. He was the King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on August 22, 1485, to his death on April 21, 1509. … Continue reading King Henry VII of England
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria. He showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and traveled in search … Continue reading Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Douglas MacArthur was born January 26, 1880, at Little Rock Barracks, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Arthur MacArthur, Jr., a U.S. Army captain, and his wife, Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur (nicknamed “Pinky”). Arthur, Jr. was the son of Scottish-born jurist and politician Arthur MacArthur, Sr., Arthur would later receive the Medal of Honor for his actions with the Union Army in the Battle of Missionary Ridge … Continue reading General Douglas MacArthur
On January 25, 1942, the government of Thailand formally declared war on the United States of America and Great Britain. The nation had officially adopted a position of neutrality until it was invaded by the Empire of Japan in December 1941 which led to an armistice and, later, the military alliance treaty between Thailand and the Japanese. At the start of the Pacific War, the … Continue reading Thailand’s War Against Britain & the United States
On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter originally from New Jersey, found flakes of gold in the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma, California. At the time, Marshall was working to build a water-powered sawmill owned by John Sutter. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and … Continue reading Sutter’s Mill & the California Gold Rush
A Stamp A Day 