Famous Americans

William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. His tough “scorched earth” policy was a severe blow to morale in the Confederacy during the Civil War.

George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the sports world’s most famous players, he set and broke numerous records during his career and is a legend of baseball.

Politician Adlai Stevenson II was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California. He was a popular governor of Illinois and US ambassador to the United Nations.

Newspaper publisher Horace Greeley was born on February 3, 1811, in Amherst, New Hampshire.  His newspapers championed a number of causes, including abolition, temperance, railroads, and westward expansion.

On January 29, 1940, the US Post Office Department issued the first stamps in the Famous Americans Series. It honors 35 Americans from 7 professions based on recommendations submitted by the public.

American labor union leader Samuel Gompers was born on January 27, 1850, in London, England. He helped found the American Federation of Labor (AFL), one of the largest unions of the day.

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. “The first citizen of Philadelphia,” Franklin was a printer, inventor, postmaster, and the only person to sign all four of the key documents in US history.

After a life of wandering the frontier as a lawman, businessman, and gambler, Wyatt Earp died on January 13, 1929. Many of his exploits were embellished for books and early films, though he was present at the famed shootout at the OK Corral.

Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 (or 57 – the year is unknown), in Nevis in the British West Indies. He was a hero of the Revolutionary War and first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.