On this date in 1899, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris, concluding the Spanish-American War of 1898. The treaty, negotiated in Paris the previous December, was opposed by 27 senators — not opposed to peace but to the overseas territorial acquisitions. Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and — for a few years before independence — Cuba to the United States, along with selling the Philippines for $20 million. The Philippines became independent after World War II, but Puerto Rico and Guam are still U.S. territories. Guam’s population in the 2010 Census was over 159,000. Puerto Rico was home to 3.7 million residents in 2010, though recent Census estimates now put the population at just over 3.5 million. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, February 7th. It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Nearly 200 years ago, it was even better to light a gas lamp. On this date in 1817, America’s first gas streetlamp was lit in Baltimore, Maryland. The coal gas was supplied by the nation’s first incorporated gas company. Just like today, startups have their struggles, but by 1850, about 50 urban areas had gasworks for mostly municipal and business illumination, along with some private residences. While gas lamps today are mostly confined to elegant accent lighting, natural gas itself is a huge energy source in America, heating some 48 percent of the nation’s households. There are over 2,400 natural gas distribution establishments serving consumers and other users in the U.S., with annual revenues of about $88 billion. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, February 8th. Even in a world increasingly reliant on digital files and printouts, there’s still a great need for photocopies. What is now old school was a breakthrough invention of a man named Chester Carlson, born on this date in 1906. In 1938, he developed a method of making dry copies of documents on plain paper, known as xerography, which we take for granted in using photocopiers today. Before his invention, copies were made by either using carbon paper when typing or a mimeograph machine for large numbers of copies. Both were messy and not always legible. The first commercial copiers became available in 1959. Now, making copiers and other photographic equipment is a nearly $2.3 billion a year business for over 200 companies in the U.S. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.