July 15, 1761
*Colonel Washington was convalescing, having been extremely low with fever at Mount Vernon, and his condition pronounced so critical that there was at one time little hope entertained of his life. Frequent and severe attacks of illness were the result of long and continued exposure in his years of frontier service.

The same chamber, 38 years later: After decades of public service—from frontier campaigns to the presidency—Washington spent his final years at Mt. Vernon. No longer a colonel, but the revered father of a nation, it was here – in December of 1799 – he breathed his last, succumbing to a severe throat infection likely caused by streptococcal bacteria, not unlike the one that nearly claimed him in 1761. The stillness echoed a life spent in service and sacrifice.

(Modern medical analyses suggest both illnesses may have stemmed from streptococcal infections, though exact strains cannot be confirmed.)

*Washington Day by Day, published in 1895

Image: Washington’s Room, Mt. Vernon

A view of Angel’s Window at The Grand Canyon (guard rail visible).

July 15, 1937

From Grand Canyon National Park via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Clement C. Moore who wrote the famous poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” which is better known for its first line “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas” was born on July 15, 1779, in New York City.

He was valedictorian of his class at Columbia College in New York.

Pryor Street, Atlanta, Georgia
c. 1880

Ten years earlier on July 15, 1870 Georgia was readmitted to the Union.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

“Kitchen police at the American Red Cross hospital at Jouy which was bombed by the German aviators July 15/18. These are the heroes that have the thankless but essential job of feeding between seven and eight hundred people”

via Library of Congress, no known restrictions

On July 15, 1876, St. Louis Brown Stockings baseball player George Washington Bradley, who was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, hurled the first no-hitter in MLB history.
*Another pitcher, Joe Borden threw a no-hitter in July of 1875, but that was the year prior to the formation of the MLB’s NL in 1876.

Image: George Washington Bradley c. 1876 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

U.S. Navy Vought F4U-4 Corsairs with wings folded on the deck of the USS Solomons off the Florida coast.

July 15, 1945

via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

July 15, 1979 — A nation at the crossroads: In a rare moment of televised introspection, President Jimmy Carter warned Americans not just of fuel shortages, but of fading faith. “We’ve lost confidence in ourselves,” he said, calling on citizens to reject self-indulgence and rediscover unity. It was less a policy speech than a moral reckoning—one president’s attempt to light a match in an age of dimming hope.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The B&W Seaplane being pulled into its hangar.

On July 15, 1916, William Boeing and Lt. Conrad Westervelt began Pacific Aero Products Co.
The name was later changed to Boeing.

The B&W Seaplane was the first plane created by the company’s founders.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Secretary of the Interior John Barton Payne, Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy & Rear-Admiral Hugh Rodman arrive at Seward (Alaska) on an inspection trip of the Government R. Road & coal fields

July 15, 1920

via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On July 15, 1806, Zebulon Pike began his expedition to the West to explore lands near the Louisiana Purchase.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Born July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona Linda Ronstadt has used her considerable vocal talents through the years to explore a variety of musical genres – rock/pop classics, soulful ballads, big band/jazz standards, country, operetta, and ranchera music of her Mexican-American heritage.

Image by Circacies, CCA-SA 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons.

On Forest Whitaker’s birthday, July 15th, we honor his Cannes-winning portrayal of Charlie “Bird” Parker in Bird (1988). Though he never played the sax himself, Whitaker studied the motions until they sang. With Parker’s solos resurrected from archival tapes, gesture became music—and the illusion became legend.

Image: Studio Publicity Still from “Bird” of Forest Whitaker in 1988 via Alamy

House made of street cars
7/15/1921

via LOC, no known restrictions