Portal:United States/Did you know/archive/2010/May

May 2010

 * ... that presidential advisor John P. Lewis argued that aid to developing nations was a necessary component of American foreign policy, despite the budgetary costs and the potential for misuse?
 * ... that the Action of 9 February 1799 fought between the frigates USS Constellation and L'Insurgente during the Quasi War was the first ever victory for the United States Navy?
 * ... that the Dyott monoplane, built in London, was flown over 2000 mi in the United States during 1913, and would have been flown in India had it not been commandeered by the Admiralty in 1914?
 * ... that the American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter, Golden "Big" Wheeler, got his enthusiasm for playing the harmonica when he was working as a taxicab driver?
 * ... that New Jersey State Senator John P. Scott was described by The New York Times as "one of the most conservative Republicans in the Legislature"?
 * ... that Alabama land- and slave-owner Benjamin Ogle Tayloe (pictured), reputed to be America's richest man in 1860, lost a half million dollars during the American Civil War?
 * ... that the American Detroit blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, Bobo Jenkins, penned the politically motivated "Democrat Blues" on US Election Day in 1952?
 * ... that Édouard Manet's 1879 Self-Portrait with Palette (pictured) is expected to bring up to US$42.5 million at auction this June?
 * ... that Lucy Lambert Hale, the secret fiancée of Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, later married a United States Secretary of the Navy?
 * ... that Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers report ranked the United States 28th, citing a lifetime risk of maternal death six times greater in the U.S. than in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
 * ... that though the pearl dace faces threats such as habitat destruction, invasive species, and overharvesting, it has not yet been listed as federally endangered in the United States?
 * ... that Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (pictured) received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal on three separate occasions, for his actions during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the Battle of Attu?
 * ... that as a state senator in 1995, Jim Keet, the 2010 Arkansas Republican gubernatorial nominee, co-sponsored a law to raise safety standards for boating?
 * ... that USNS Zeus was the first cable repair ship specifically built for the United States Navy?
 * ... that Henry Willard purchased the Willard Hotel with gold coins because the U.S. Supreme Court told him to?
 * ... that American singer, songwriter and record producer The Mighty Hannibal once sang with members of The Pips, and was later known for the song "Jerkin' the Dog"?
 * ... that the first United States postage stamp that depicted a space vehicle (pictured) was issued in 1948?
 * ... that the Bronzeville Children's Museum is the only African American children's museum in the United States?
 * ... that Planet Earth Live is a BBC nature documentary that will premier with orchestral accompaniment in large cities throughout the United States during the 2010 summer?
 * ... that Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport, a military airfield from which former American POWs were released during Operation Homecoming, is slated to become a fully functional civilian airport by 2015?
 * ... that Jack L. Rives became the first Judge Advocate General in any branch of the U.S. military to hold the rank of Lieutenant general?
 * ... that Cameron's Line is a suture fault in the Northeast United States formed by the Taconic orogeny around 450 mya?
 * ... that Jay Riemersma, tight end for the Michigan Wolverines, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, is currently a Republican candidate for Congress from West Michigan?
 * ... that goose pulling (pictured) was a popular blood sport practiced in Belgium, England, the Netherlands and the United States that involved a man on horseback galloping past a live goose and pulling its head off?
 * ... that Parker Watkins Hardin became the first Democrat to be defeated in a Kentucky gubernatorial election against a Republican candidate, losing to William O'Connell Bradley in 1895?
 * ... that an 1100 cow dairy farm in Rice Lake, Wisconsin expects to save over $70,000 per year from its installation of an 848 kW CHP system operating on anaerobic digester gas from cow manure?
 * ... that McMillan Hall at Washington & Jefferson College is the eighth oldest academic building in the United States that is still used for its original educational purpose?
 * ... that American political scientist Charles Merriam pushed for the use of quantitative analysis in the practice of political science even though he had almost no mathematical training?
 * ... that the American soul blues and electric blues singer Earl Gaines received no credit on his biggest-selling single?
 * ... that New York City-based hip hop poetic theater ensemble Universes were sponsored by the US State Department to tour six countries in Africa, Asia and Europe in 2008?