Show HM H M vill el i 0 ig 01 flip ta aaa illo I 1 j Z ell tavi by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE association of new years tears day with important e events v e a t a la in american history goes back to its very beginning in fact the very name america came into being t through it r 0 u g h with an event which took place on january 1 lo in the letter latter halt half of the fifteenth century a florentine named americus vespucci drifted to epalt and hearing bearing of the discoveries of christopher columbus re resolved soled to seek ills his fortunes in the new world igo bo he be visited espanola hayti Hay tl went on a pearl hunting expedition the spaniard ojeda in ID 1499 and no an january 1 L 1502 lie discovered the bay of rio janeiro in south america sometime during his voyage he wrote a letter in which he be called the western lands mundus novus novas instead of asia and some historians as an bert that vespucci before Columb Colum bils iia discovered the mainland that he was the first to realize that mundus novus noras was wholly distinct from asia and was in fact a new world and that therefore he has some claim to the title of discoverer of america but whether he deserved that honor or riot not the fact remains that the new continent was to be known as america rather than columbus and this Is how bow it came about at st die in the mount mountains alris there was at the time vespucci was making his bis voyage a little collegiate colle elate institute which wax was a center of geographical learning two of its faculty members mathias a latin abt K and martin Waldree Wald muller a geographer were preparing a new edition of Ptole mys Geo geographic graphia before it was 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 and closed by saying the fourth part of the world hiving having been discovered by americus it may be called the land of americus Amerl cus or america the erbe suggestion met with favor and although at first the name was confined to south sooth america it was later applied to both western continents and thus whether rightly or not was the fame of americus america vespucci perpetuated petua ted on the maps of the world the next nest great epoch in american history la in which several important events were linked with new years year flay day was the american revolution on january 1 1735 there was wa born la in boston baste to a french goldsmith iti named anted apollo rivon who however changed that to ta paul revere soon after his fall arrival in america and his big marriage to deborah wellborn it a inn arm who was wa named after his hi father young toun paul followed his hi fathers trade and na became an expert in it and in many other things but although few americans may lony 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 more I 1 for it was his famous midnight ride in april of 1775 which warned the patriots of the approach of the brit lh l h and rallied them to make their stand land at lexington and at concord where the shot heard round the world was fired on the day that paul revere celebrated his tenth birthday there was born on a farm in chester county pa another boy who was destined to achieve even greater fame in the great struggle ruggle tt for liberty anthony wayne was hl his name and when he be grew to young manhood he be became as well known as a surveyor in pennsylvania it a washington was in virginia he be attracted the attention of benjamin franklin who had him appointed to look after the interests of a number cumber of philadelphia business men who owned lands in nova scotia upon bis big return from this work in 1767 be married polly penrose the daughter of a prominent philadelphia merchant and they settled in chester county where young wayne made a good living its a farmer and surveyor acl J U AT air ct in 1774 he was made one of the provincial deputies and he was also I 1 a member of the pennsylvania conen t lon held at philadelphia to dis cutis the impending trouble be beleen betie teen cn hie file eol onles slid and the mother country but anthony dayoe was a mail of action not merely a man of words and N new ew years day of 1776 found him nl ni big bl home impatiently awaiting word front from where the pennsylvania committee of safety was about to choose the colonels for the four bat battalions which w were ere to be tent sent to the lie rid aid of general washington and ills continentals Continent als be fore boston to restrain clr impatience wa waine ne two days later inter bade his polly and their children a hasty good liy by and set out for delphia delp hla there to learo learn that he had been appointed colonel of the first arst battalion so the military career of anthony wayne began and how brilliant that career wits was Is told in one of the most interesting biographies of recent recen months thomas boyds mad had an thony wayne published by charier thirles scribners scribblers rs sons no better charae of wayne can be given than lhnn in the scene as royd boyd describes it which took tooh place after the long lone hitter bitter winter at valley forge when washington summoned his generals to a council to decide whether or not to allow the BrI british tigh who were preparing to leave philadelphia for new york tork to pass across new jersey unmolested gen charles lee spoke longest and loudest and his advice was to let the british alrine alone then anthony wayne had mat eat apart holding a book beyond which he had looked with briget eyed acorn as aa ten of his hl fellow off ivers had agreed with charles charlea lee he raised hla his head well general central asked his hl excellency what do you propose to do ao wayne answered quickly ekly fight air but that reply could scarcely arcely ac have ur prized the commander ln in chief or any n y of the others othera for when the leader of the pennsylvania lino line voted in favor avor of attack at brandywine at germantown at white while fareh lat last november never attack attack it was the only word he be know knew and those these two words attack and fight were the keynotes of his whole career both in the revolution and during the indian war afterwards it 11 would have been appropriate if he could have died oo on the held field of battle instead he be was stricken by illness to in december of 1790 1796 at the fort at presque isle on the shores of lake erie and there after great suffering the end clime came on december 11 li the third member of the trilogy of revolutionary notables who had new years day as an their birthday was il woman born bom on landary 1 I 1752 elizabeth Gri griscom scorn of philadelphia was married to john ross rom a philadel ehla merchant who ho was also all aa u ul hol ills most able was his wife who had become widely known tor for her excellent materials and the unusual skill with which she he shaped them among tier her patrons were the tore fore most citizens of philadelphia and abo ab numbered among her friend such men libel as washington franklin adams und rittenhouse so perhaps it was ual 1101 ural that when the con gross gress on june 14 1777 resolved that the flag of the thirteen united states stater be thirteen stripes alternate red and white that the union be thirteen stars white on a blue field represent ing a new constellation the comoli tee which wad appointed to carry out this should go to the ald ow ross to have her make it toi for them whether or not betsy ross designed the first stars and stripes or whether that honor belongs to fran els cis hopkinson hokunson Hop Unson Linson of new jersey jemey Is a mm aint ter for dispute among historians at al any rate betsy ross seems seeing to have been connected in some way with tn tb early history of our national banner and the betsy ross legend if legend it be seems to be firmly fixed in our national tradition of the origin of our flag bag there to one event connected with A W 4 the flag bug which took place on Jani january tery 1 I however which birb ls 14 undisputed that Is ig the fact that on 1 1770 gen george wil washington lilua ton malsed raised over ills hill callip at cambridge muss mass a lla which although it had the union jack in the canton had abe lie ill thirteen arteen alter hate red and white striped it nies i representing the thirteen col colonies onles this ling was referred to in elie correspondence co r of 0 the day as the american colors and may safely lie regarded as the first amerlean american flag since the colonies represented in the stripes although fighting for their rights had not yet broken entirely nany away from the mother country the british union jack was retained to show their connection with eng england lond slit six months later hoc how cowper eer per the ties tie which hibb bound them were severed liy by the declaration of and then the need for a new banner reAul resulted ted in the doing away with the he union jack then came the hi stole resolution of 0 june 14 1777 the stars liters were placed in the canton and the flag of the united states became the stars and stripes on january 1 I 1800 there was born at wallingford conn a roan who well wa destined to become an important figure figare in american journalism and to introduce an innovation which was wag to he be the forerunner of one of the most important factors in our modern newspapers for it was wag mores yale reach who conceived the idea of speedy transmission of news which resulted ultimately in the founding of the associated Roc socia ted press the greatest news gaill gad ering organization in the world A cabinet maker inventor and mill owner in his youth the turning po point I 1 n I 1 I 1 in n beachs beacha career came in 1871 when he married a sister lister of benjamin pay day founder of the new york sun run in a 1815 18 he purchased an interest la in that paper and later become became its pro pr letor etor beach brought to the sun sant original methods for securing abe lie first tidings of important events express trains ruins were run bet between w pen arlou points into at his expense a and rid before th this telegraph was wait invented he used carrier pigeons to bring early news from incoming steamers as well ax as from political gatherings race tracks etc during lie he mexican finding the means of transmitting news so slow blow he established a pony express B stem of couriers which reduced the time by one third laying laving the matter before his fellow publishers puh lIsh ers a form of a operative cooperative co ail lince was vas worked out which was a forerunner of the modern associated press the war of 1812 saw another important event taking place on new years ilay day for it was wag on is 1 1811 that the british made their first attack on new orleans and a week later occurred the derisive decisive engagement in which old hickory jackson so decisively defeated brims vetran on january 1 1822 the first amer ican can settlers arched in texas nn an bent which forecast the struggle for it 11 second war of independence in north america and the the addition of tile the areat southwest to the united states on january 1 I 1831 william llanyd garrison Oar rison the t published elio th first farst issue of the liberator 1 the paper which was to have so great an influence in the slavery dispute and what garrison started on january 1 1831 was finished by abraham lin coln 82 years later on january 1 his bis historic emancipation proclamation la went into effect and the death blow to slavery la in the united states state was struck |