Portal:United States
Introduction
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Did you know (auto-generated) -

- ... that a group of 25 women disfigured by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima traveled to the United States in the 1950s to receive reconstructive surgery?
- ... that Bishop John Dunn continued to celebrate Mass after a fire broke out in the choir loft of St. Cecilia Cathedral during the Sixth National Eucharistic Congress?
- ... that Addie Viola Smith was the first female Foreign Service officer to serve under the United States Department of Commerce?
- ... that censorship in communist Poland delayed the publication of the novel Zaziemskie światy for nearly a decade due to its "inappropriate ideological basis" and positive portrayal of the United States?
- ... that Emily Spreeman, the all-time top scorer for the United States women's national deaf soccer team, debuted for the team at the age of 15?
- ... that the names of Harvey Meyerhoff, Elie Wiesel, and Bill Clinton are carved into the cornerstone of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, according to Meyerhoff's daughter?
- ... that the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University Library helped to create a public domain archive of sounds from Yellowstone National Park?
- ... that a graphic novel for teens was among the 10 most challenged books in the United States in 2023?
Selected society biography -
Born into a wealthy, established family in Milton, Massachusetts, Bush was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He attended Phillips Academy and served as a pilot in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II before graduating from Yale and moving to West Texas, where he established oil company Zapata Corporation. Following an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate in 1964, he was elected to represent Texas's 7th congressional district in 1966. President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as the ambassador to the United Nations in 1971 and as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. President Gerald Ford appointed him as the chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China in 1974 and as the director of Central Intelligence in 1976. Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican presidential primaries by Reagan, who then selected Bush as his vice presidential running mate. In the 1988 presidential election, Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis.
Foreign policy drove Bush's presidency as he navigated the final years of the Cold War and played a key role in the reunification of Germany. He presided over the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War, ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in the latter conflict. Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush negotiated and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise by enacting legislation to raise taxes to justify reducing the budget deficit. He championed and signed three pieces of bipartisan legislation in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Immigration Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments. He also appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Bush lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton following an economic recession, his turnaround on his tax promise, and the decreased emphasis of foreign policy in a post–Cold War political climate. (Full article...)
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Selected culture biography -
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships and behavior, have generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had reportedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.
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Anniversaries for May 20
Today is Emancipation Day in the state of Florida.
- 1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.
- 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
- 1927 – At 07:52 Charles Lindbergh (pictured) takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, touching down at Le Bourget Field in Paris at 22:22 the next day.
- 1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
- 1996 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against an amendment to the Colorado state constitution that prevented protected status from being given to homosexuals or bisexuals.
Selected cuisines, dishes and foods -

The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American (Mexican, Latin American, Spanish), East Asian and Oceanian influences (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Hawaiian), and Western European influences (Italian, French, Portuguese), as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine. (Full article...)
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More did you know? -
- ... that Indianapolis's Scottish Rite Cathedral (pictured) is the largest building dedicated to Freemasonry in the United States, and features many measurements in multiples of 33?
- ... that on 14 August 1936 Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, thus becoming the last person to be publicly executed in the United States?
- ... that Charles Brooks, Jr., was the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States?
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