Learning something new... - Happy Columbus Day!

This is part of my "Learning something new...." history series using United States postage stamps as our history book.

To read previous posts in this series, simply click here.

We already learned about Christopher Columbus and some not-so-virtuous things that generally are not known. One of the comments that post received was from Carole Provenzale:

"Goodness, Russel, I knew about Native Americans but not about the Slavery or epedemic he and his men spread.  I believe our history books need to be updated and include some of this information!"

Funny you should bring this up. There are several stories on the Internet and in the newspaper about how today's children are being taught about the not-so-virtuous actions of Christopher Columbus and others of the world's great historical figures.

Since we're already learned about Christopher Columbus, let's spend Columbus Day learning about the first commemorative stamps issued by the United States Postal Service because it has everything to do with Columbus Day. Previous to this issue, United States postage stamps featured people or things, but none of  the 229 stamps issued from 1847 to 1893 commemorated an event.

We all know that Columbus is given credit for discovering the New World in 1492 when he "sailed the ocean blue," and to commemorate the 400th anniversary of that event, Chicago beat out New York City, Washington D.C., and St. Louis for the honor of hosting the World's Columbian Exposition, also known now as the Chicago World's Fair or the Chicago Columbian Exposition.

The Exposition covered 630 acres, and over 27 million people attended, making it in scale the largest world's fair, and in attendance, by far the most successful world's fair. The fairgrounds were designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Exposition proved to the world that Chicago had risen anew from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Although the Exposition was dedicated on October 21, 1892, it did not open to the public until May 1, 1893, and continued through
October 30, 1893, making it one of the longest running world's fairs.

Other interesting facts about the Exposition:

1. Inspired L. Frank Baum's Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz
2. Inspired Walt Disney's vision of Disneyland
3. Construction and operation of the Exposition brought much needed money to Chicago at a time when the country was in the midst of a recession.
4. Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison, Sr., was assassinated two days before the closing, and closing ceremonies were canceled in favor of a public memorial service.
5. Only two buildings from the Exposition still stand where they were built: the Palace of Fine Arts and the World's Congress Auxiliary Building. The Palace of Fine Arts is now the Museum of Science and Industry, and the World's Congress Auxiliary Building is now the Art Institute of Chicago.
6. Three other buildings survived the Exposition:
   The Norway Pavilion, preserved at the Little Norway Museum in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
   The Main State Building, which was moved to Poland Spring, Maine
   The Dutch House, which was moved to Brookline, Massachusetts
7. Much of the fair grounds were destroyed by a fire in July 1894.
8. Electricity was a major theme at the Exposition, with major exhibits by General Electric (backed by Thomas Edison and J. P. Morgan), Westinghouse (backed by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse), and Western Electric. Westinghouse won the bid to light the Exposition, which marked the beginning of the electrical revolution.
9. The Exposition introduced the first Ferris Wheel, built by George Ferris. It was 264 feet high and had 36 cars, each of which could hold 60 people. The Ferris Wheel was moved to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair.
10. The term "midway" comes from the Exposition's Midway Plaisance where "sideshows" played daily, including John Phillip Sousa's marching band.
11. The Zoopraxographical Hall was the first commercial movie theater.
12. The "Street in Cairo" featured Little Egypt, who introduced America to the "hootchy-kootchy" belly dance.
13. Buffalo Bill Cody was denied a Wild West Exhibit at the Exposition, so he set up his show at the edge of the Exposition, drawing many people away from the Exposition itself.
14. The John Bull locomotive, 62 years old at the time, and the first locomotive acquired by the Smithsonian Institution, ran under its own power from Washington D.C. to Chicago, and back. In 1981 it was the oldest surviving operable steam locomotive in the world when it ran under its own power again.
15. Food firsts and introductions at the Exposition: Cracker Jacks, Juicy Fruit gum, Quaker Oats, Cream of Wheat, Shredded Wheat, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, the hamburger.

 

Following are some historical items from the Exposition, as well as a look at the sixteen stamps that made up the United States Columbian Exposition commemorative issue.

Entry ticket to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition:

 

Official Souvenir Postal Card from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition:

 

Card announcing the nation's first commemorative stamps:

 

Following is a slide show of the 16 stamps issued by the United States Postal Service as the 1893 Columbian Exposition commemorative issue. If the slide show doesn't work on your computer, simply click on "View All Images" to watch it at slide.com.

HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY!

We are ActiveRain!

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