What Happened On My Birthday in the Past?

In a couple of weeks, I turn twenty-three. This birthday is going to be a strange one for me. Not because of the age itself but because I'll be spending the day student teaching.

My entire life, I've had a birthday during summer break. I'm not used to going to school on my birthday. This will be the first year I've had to do so, and on top of that, it will only be my second week of student teaching. I won't have settled in yet, so I'm feeling strange about the whole thing. I plan not to tell anyone that it's my birthday and just quietly act like it's any other day. I'd much prefer no one making a big deal about it anyway.

However, in honor of my birthday, I've decided to explore world events that happened on my birthday in the past. I've read these sorts of things on websites before, but I've forgotten everything, so I know I won't have remembered any of this.

Well, except for the four celebrities that I know share my August 4th birthday: Barack Obama, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, and Jeff Gordon. (You have no idea how happy sharing a birthday with Dylan and Cole Sprouse made me as a kid. I spent years with a massive crush on Cole, and I freaked when I discovered we had the same birthday, even if they were a year older. Anyway, moving on from embarrassing story time...)

Here are some things that happened on August 4th (other than my birth):

The US Coast Guard was founded on August 4th. I was going to make a joke about the Coast Guard being the least talked about branch of the military, but I can't come up with one that I don't feel bad about making. I don't actually want to insult the Coast Guard.

The first issue of The Saturday Evening Post was published on August 4th. I've never read The Saturday Evening Post, but it is a magazine name that I recognize as significant, so that's pretty neat.

The first income tax in the United States was collected on August 4th. I have now made every American reading this significantly less fond of my birthday.

Colombia adopted its constitution on August 4th though, so it's a happier day for Colombians.

I didn't even realize that the Kermit and Miss Piggy break up happened on my birthday (though I must have on the actual day). If I keep finding stuff like this, even I won't like my birthday anymore, and I'm already purposefully leaving out the tragedies that I'm coming across. I'm telling myself that there would be this many for any day of the year.

NASA launced Phoenix on August 4th. There's one I can be proud of. Phoenix is extremely amazing. I have a birthday twin who went to Mars.

I'll end on that happy note instead of coming across another break up as notorious as Kermit and Miss Piggy. All in all, I think August 4th is an alright birthday, even if it's had some not so great years. Hopefully, this year will be a good one. I guess I'll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out.

Do you know of anything interesting that happened on your birthday?