It’s unfortunate, but many people die each year in the U.S. from diseases that could have been prevented by immunization. That’s why this is National Immunization Awareness Month — calling attention to the importance of people of all ages to get their shots. Also known as vaccination, its most spectacular success came in the eradication of smallpox, a human scourge for thousands of years. The last known natural case was diagnosed over 30 years ago. While Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur developed modern immunization, the concept was known in ancient China and India. In the U.S., the proportion of young children who have been immunized against common childhood diseases is well into the 90 percentile range. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.

Sunday, August 19th. Two geniuses in the field of electronics whose inventions changed the way Americans live were born in August. One was television pioneer Philo Farnsworth, whose birthday is noted today He conceived the idea of television broadcasting while still in high school and realized his dream at the age of 21. His first transmitted image was a dollar sign. The other was Lee de Forest. He invented the electron tube among his hundreds of patents and became known as the “father of radio.” The idea of wireless broadcasting was so unbelievable he was once arrested for selling stock to underwrite his invention. Homes in America have an average of eight radios and nearly three television sets. Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Saturday, August 18th. An emotional and legal battle that lasted many decades ended on this date in 1920, changing the course of U.S. political history. The event was the certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex with regard to voting — in effect, allowing women to vote. Two days earlier, Tennessee had become the required 36th state to ratify the amendment, in spite of last-minute efforts by some state lawmakers to overturn the legislature’s action. American women exercised their new right for the first time in the 1920 presidential election. In the most recent presidential election in 2008, almost 5 percent more women voted than men. Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.