Show AV AM aw oam eiro coo 4 satyr by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE BE association a of new bearr years I 1 s day with lm events in american history goes back to its very beginning in fact tho the very name came america came caine into abeln b e 1 n c through t h r ough association ass OC lation with an event which took place on january I 1 in the latter halt half of the fifteenth century a florentine named darned americus Amerl cus vespucci drifted to S spain pain and hearing of the disco discoveries veries of christopher columbus resol resolved ved to lo seek his fortunes in the new world so bo he visited espanola I laTti went on a peart pearl hunting expedition with the spaniard ojeda in 1408 1499 and on january 1 I 1502 he discovered the bay of rio 1110 janeiro in south america sometime during his bis voyage he wrote a letter in which he called the western lands mundus novus instead of asia and some historians of an bert that vespucci before columbus discovered the mainland that he was the first to realize that mundus novus was wholly distinct from asia and was in fact i a new world and that therefore he has some claim to the title of discoverer of america but whether he that boor or not the fact remains that the new continent was to be known as aa america A erica rather than columbus and AN this Is how it came about at st dle die in the mountains there was at the time vespucci was making his voyage a little collegiate insel institute tute which was a center of geographical learning two of its faculty members mathias Ri nin nirman a latinist and martin Wald a geographer were preparing a new edition of Ptole mys 11 before it was wag published however they printed a little essay under the title of cos to which they added the letter of vespucci it was in this essay that Wald after describing the three continents of europe asia and africa then gave an account of the voyages of vespucci find and closed by saying the fourth part of the world having been discovered by americus Amerl cus it may be called the land of americus Amerl cus or america the suggestion met with favor and although at first the name was confined to south america it was later applied to both western continents and thus whether rightly or not was waa the fame of americus Amerl cus vespucci perpetuated petua ted on the maps of the world the next great epoch in american history in which several important events were linked with new years day was the american revolution on january 1 1 1735 there was born in boston to a french goldsmith named apollos alvors who however changed that thai to paul revere soon boon after his arrival in america and his marriage to deborah hichborn nich born a son eon who was named after his father young paul followed its ills fathers trade and became an expert in it and in many other things buts but although few americans americana may know of paul revere in any of these roles few indeed are they who do not know of him as a courier bearing a word that shall echo forever morel for it aas as his famous midnight ride in april of 1775 which warned the patriots of the approach of the british and rallied them to make their stand at lexington and at concord where the shot heard beard round the world was fired on the day that paul revere celebrated his tenth birth birthday daye there was born on it a tana farm in chester county pa another boy who was destined to achieve even greater reater Ef fame in the great struggle for liberty anthony wayne was his name and when he grew to young manhood he became as well known na an a surveyor in pennsylvania a as a washington was waa in virginia ile he attracted the attention of benjamin franklin who had bad him appointed to look after the interests of a number of philadelphia business men who owned lands in nova scotia upon his return from this work in 1707 he married polly penrose the daughter of it a prominent philadelphia merchant and they settled in chester county where young wayne made a good ily inc ICE as ai a former farmer and surveyor Bur 0 wo aap mom in 1774 4 he was made one of the provincial deputies and he was also a member of the pennsylvania convention held at philadelphia to discuss the impending trouble between the colonies and the mother country but anthony wayne was a man of action not merely a man of words and new years day of 1770 found him at his home Waynes borough impatiently awaiting word from philadelphia where the pennsylvania committee of safety was about to choose the colonels for the tour four battalions which were to be sent to the old aid of general washington and his continentals Continent als before b e boston unable to restrain his impatience wayne two days later bade hla his polly and their children a hasty good goodby by and set out for philadelphia delp hla there to learn that he had been appointed colonel of the first bat tallon so the military career of anthony wayne began and how brilliant that career was Is told in one of the most interesting biographies of recent months thomas boyds boyda mud mad an thony wayne published by charles scribners sons no better charac chame of wayne can be given than in the scene ns as boyd describes it which took place after the long hitter winter at valley forge when washington summoned hla his generals gen ernle to a council c 4 unell to decide whether or not to allow the british who were preparing to leave philadelphia for new york to pass across new jersey unmolested gen cen charles lee spoke longest and loudest and hta his advice who was to let the british alone then anthony an thony wayne had sat apart holding a book beyond which he had looked with bright eyed scorn as ten 0 of hla his fellow ellow officers oil leers had bad agreed with charles lee ile he raised his head well dwell general asked his bis excellency what do you propose to A c r wayne answered quickly I 1 fight sir but that reply could scarcely arcely tc have surprised the commander ln in elief or any ot of the others for when the leader of 0 the pennsylvania line voted in favor of attack at brandy wine at at whit ahlf a marsh last november never at tack attacks it was waa the only word he be know knew and those two words attack end and fight were the keynotes of his whole career both in the revolution and daring the indian war afterwards it would have been appropriate it if he could have died on the field of battle instead he was stricken by illness tn in december of 1700 ht at the fort at presque isle on the shores ol of lake erle erie and there after great suffering the end came on december 15 the third member of the trilogy of revolutionary notables who had new years day as their birthday was a woman born on january 1 1752 elizabeth griscom of philadelphia ln was married to john ross noss a philadel phia aphis merchant who was also an up hol ills ilia most able assistant was his wife who had become widely known for or her excellent materials and the unusual skill with which she among her patrons were the foremost citizens of philadelphia and she numb numbered ered among tier her friends such men as washington franklin adams in and so perhaps it was not nat ural that when the continental congress on june 14 1777 resolved Ite solved that thai the flag of the united states be thirteen stripes alternate red and white that the union be thirteen stars white on a blue field bold represent ing a new constellation the committee which WB waa tip appointed pointed to carry out this resolution should go to the widow row to have her make it for them whether or not betsy ross llosa designed the first stars ond and stripes ot or whether that honor belongs belonga to fran els cis hopkinson of new jersey Is a vint cint ter for dispute among historians at any rate betsy ross seems to have been connected in some way with th early history of our national banner and the betsy legend it If legend it be seems seema to be firmly fixed in our national tradition of the origin of our sag flair there la Is one event connected with INA F 3 zor bow pi afan I 1 the flag which took place on J january andary 1 however which Is undisputed th that t 1771 la Is the fact that on january 1 I 1770 6 gen george washington raised over his camp at cambridge mass a flag which although it bad the union jack to in the canton annton had bad the thirteen alter catered nate nat ered red and white stripes representing the thirteen col colonies tills this hug flag was referred to in the correspondence of the day as the american colors and may safely be regarded as the first american flag since the thirteen colonies represented in the thirteen stripes althou although gk fighting for their rights had not yet broken entirely away from the mother country the british union jack was retained to show their connection with england six months later however the tips ties which bound them were severed by tho the declaration of independence and then the need for a new banner resulted in the doing away with the union jack then came the historic resolution of june 14 1777 the stars were pla placed ced in the canton and tho flag of the united states become became the stars and stripes on january 1 1800 there was born at wallingford conn a man who was des destined to become an important figure in american journalism and to introduce an innovation which was to be the forerunner of one of the most important factors in our modern newspapers forit was moses yale reach beach who conceived the idea of speedy transmission of news news which resulted resul teil ultimately in the founding of the associated soc socia ted press the greatest news g gathering ath organization in the world A cabinet maker inventor and paper mill owner in hla his youth the turning point in beachs beacha career came in 1821 when he married a sister of benjamin benjael day founder of the new york tork sun in 1815 18 15 he be purchased an interest in that paper and later became its pro praetor pr letor beach brought to the sun original methods for securing the first of important events express trains were run between various points at his bis expense and before the telegraph was invented he used carrier pigeons to bring early european diews news from incoming t steamers as well as from political gatherings race tracks etc during the mexican war finding the means of transmitting news so slow he be established a pony ex press system of couriers which reduced du cc d I 1 the he time by one third laying the matter before his fellow publishers a form of a operative cooperative co alliance was worked out which was a forerunner of the modern associated press iresa the war of 1812 saw another important in por event ebent taking place on new yours years day for tt it was on january 1 1814 that the british made their first attack on new orleans and a week ill IH ter occurred the decisive alve engri gement in which old hickory jackson so decisively defeated vet erana on january 1 1 1822 the first amerlean american settlers arrived in texas tin an event which forecast tile the struggle ruggle et for a second war of independence in north america and the the addition of the great southwest to the united states on january 1 1831 william lloyd Ofir harrlson rison the abolitionist published tile the first issue of the liberator the paper which was to have so great an influence in the slavery dl dispute and amt what garrison started on january 1 1831 was finished by 07 abraham lincoln 32 years later inter on january I 1 1803 1863 his historic emancipation proclamation la went into effect and tile ali death blow to slavery la in the states was struck |