This date 63 years ago was a Wednesday, and it can be assumed that computer technicians and engineers at the Census Bureau were a bit nervous about the day to come. On June 14, 1951, the first commercial computer, UNIVAC I, began its 12 years and 73,000 hours of number crunching for the Bureau. The successful start-up was used to process data from the 1950 Census of Population and launched today’s digital revolution. Now, over three-quarters of America’s approximately 120 million households have computers, and 75 percent have Internet access either at home or outside such as at schools or libraries. Computer manufacturing in the U.S. grosses over $37 billion per year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, June 14th. This is Flag Day — marking the date in 1777 when John Adams proposed the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. By the War of 1812, the national flag had accumulated 15 stars and 15 red and white stripes. It was the sight of that flag still flying — o’er the ramparts of Fort McHenry in Baltimore — after an overnight bombardment that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem, which became the words of the national anthem. That flag is back on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Making flags, banners, and pennants, among other miscellaneous textile products, is a nearly $5 billion annual business for some 2,300 firms in the U.S. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov
Sunday, June 15th. This is one of the nation’s favorite days — Father’s Day. However you celebrate the occasion — with a card, a welcome gift or dinner at his favorite restaurant, it’s a day to say thanks to the dads, stepfathers, grandfathers, and other father figures for all they’ve done for each of us. The observance goes back to 1910, when Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington wanted to honor her father, who raised six children by himself after his wife died. The idea caught on and spread across the country but didn’t become official until 1966. Across the country, there are just over 70 million men who are fathers. Just under 25 million of them are part of married-couple families with children younger than 18. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.