1938: Happy National Doughnut Day
When American soldiers went to war in 1917, several women from the Salvation Army followed them to France to create a “home away from home” which included the female troop to darn socks, mend uniforms and create doughnuts from scratch. Years later on this day in 1938, the first National Doughnut Day was celebrated in Chicago as a way to raise money for the needy. Today, National Doughnut Day is celebrated on the first Friday of June and is used more or less as a reason for people to snag a free doughnut at some local bakery.
1952: Secretaries Get Their Own Day
In 1952, the National Secretaries Association created National Secretaries Day with the help of a variety of office products manufacturers to recognize secretaries contribution to the workplace. The very first unofficial holiday was celebrated on this day as part of the National Secretaries week which was held from Jun 1-7, 1952. In 1995, the event was moved up to the last full week in April. The name was changed to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981 and in 1998, it was re-branded as Administrative Professionals Week to encompass the expanding responsibilities and wide-ranging job titles of administrative support staff. (Image: Pixabay)
1937: Shoppers Use a Store Cart for the First Time
It wasn’t until this day in 1937 that the first shopping carts were introduced at the Humpty Dumpty Supermarket in Oklahoma City. Also known as a carriage, buggy or trolley in England, the first shopping carts were designed by Sylvan Goldman who was the owner of the Humpty Dumpty store at the time. It is said after wrestling his thoughts about how to get customers to move more groceries, he took a wooden folding chair, put a basket on the seat and wheels on the legs. Then, his store’s mechanic, Fred Young, tinkered with the project. The first “folding basket carriers” were basically two wire baskets attached to a metal frame. A patent for Arthur Kosted’s version was awarded on April 9, 1940 titled, “Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Service Stores” and advertised the invention as part of a new “No Basket Carrying Plan.” However, they were not a hit right away. It is said that women likened them to a baby carriage and men thought that they were effeminate. It took both male and female models to demonstrate how to use the devices for the carts to catch on.
1917: First Pulitzer Prizes are Given Out
It was on this day in 1917 that Publisher Joseph Pulitzer gave money to Columbia University for the purpose of rewarding excellence in American journalism, literature, and music. The first awards were given to the New York Tribune (for an article about the first anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania), Herbert Bayard Swope from New York World (for writing various articles called “Inside the German Empire”), Laura E. Richards and Maud Howe Elliott (for writing the biography Julie Ward Howe) and Jean Jules Jusserand (for writing With Americans of Past and Present Days).
Birthdays
- 1924: Dennis Weaver (actor)
- 1928: Dr. Ruth Westheimer (therapist)
- 1936: Bruce Dern (actor)
- 1971: Noah Wyle (actor)
- 1975: Angelina Jolie (actress)
- 1975: Russell Brand (actor)
- 1978: Robin Lord Taylor (actor)
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