Author: Submitted Article

Friday, September 11th. This was a day that didn’t exist in Colonial America in 1752, as the familiar calendar underwent what is called the “Gregorian correction,” switching from the ancient Julian calendar to adjust for errors accumulated over centuries. After September 2, the next day was September 14, and there was rioting by those who felt cheated and demanded the 11 days back. The British parliament’s Calendar Act of 1750 had also changed New Year’s Day from March 25 to …

Three important dates in American newspaper history occurred in September. These anniversaries span more than three centuries. On September 15, 1982, USA Today began publishing.  On September 18, 1851, the New York Times issued its first edition. And in September 1690, the first newspaper in America was published in Boston. Called “Public Occurrences, Both Forreign and Domestick,” it lasted for one day in Boston before being shut down by British authorities unhappy with its content. Although the industry is struggling, …

The first instance of debugging a computer was recorded on this date in 1947. The early Mark II computer being developed at Harvard University was balky, and a programming team — which included Navy Lieutenant Grace Hopper, a pioneer in computer history — found and fixed the problem. A moth had wedged into a relay board, causing a short circuit. The deceased moth was extracted and preserved. The log card containing notes on the debugging, and the appended remains of …

Of the millions of students going to class in the new school year, many are attending junior high schools or middle schools. The first such school in the U.S. opened its doors this week in 1909 — the Indianola Junction Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio, with seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Ninth grade students were offered courses in English, German, algebra, science and geography, as well as manual training, domestic science, history, and the government of Ohio. Today, most …

This is Labor Day — a time to honor the nation’s working men and women, and traditionally, the end of the summer season. The observance has more than the usual significance this year because of the recent years of slow employment growth. The first Labor Day was celebrated in September 1882 in New York City. By 1894, more than half the states were observing the occasion, and noting the first Monday in September as a national holiday became federal law …