Franklin Leads Post Office: America's First Mail System
The Second Continental Congress established a national postal service and appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General, creating the communication backbone the Revolution desperately needed. Franklin's postal routes connected the thirteen colonies into a functioning information network that carried military dispatches, newspapers, and political correspondence. The system he built evolved into the United States Postal Service, the nation's oldest continuously operating federal institution.
July 26, 1775
251 years ago
What Else Happened on July 26
Ninety thousand Muslims faced each other across the Euphrates near Siffin, cousin against cousin. Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Prophet's son-in-law and fourth caliph,…
Khan Krum turned Nikephoros I's skull into a drinking cup lined with silver. The Byzantine emperor had ignored warnings, pushed 80,000 troops deep into Bulgaria…
Muslim forces under the Emirate of Córdoba crushed a coalition of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon at the Battle of Valdejunquera. This decisive victory r…
Afonso Henriques commanded maybe 1,000 men against Ali ibn Yusuf's force—sources claim anywhere from 5,000 to 200,000 Almoravid fighters, though medieval chroni…
A medieval banquet hall at Henry VI's Hoftag suddenly collapsed on July 26, 1184, sending dozens of gathered nobles plunging into open sewage pits below. The tr…
Pope Clement V formally recognized Henry VII as King of the Romans, ending a period of imperial vacancy that had paralyzed central European politics. This papal…
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