America'S Lucky Day

Friday is generally accounted a day of ill-omen; it should be a perpetual holiday in America. On Friday, August 3d, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos, Spain, on his great voyage of discovery. On Friday, October 12th, 1492, he discovered land; on Friday, January 4th, 1493, he sailed on his return voyage to Spain. On Friday, March 14th, 1493, he arrived at Palos on his return voyage. On Friday, November 22d, 1493, he landed at Espanola on his second voyage to America. On Friday, June 12th, 1494, he discovered the mainland of South America. On Friday, March 5th, 1496, Henry VIII. gave John Cabot his commission to pursue the discovery of America which resulted in the finding of North America. On Friday, September 7th, 1565, Mendez founded St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest town in the United States. On Friday, November 10th, 1620, the "Mayflower," with the Pilgrim Fathers, reached the harbor of Provincetown. On Friday, December 22d, 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock. On Friday, February 22d, 1732, George Washington was born. On Friday, June 16th, 1755, Bunker Hill was seized and fortified. On Friday, October 17th, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga. On Friday, September 22d, 1780, Benedict Arnold's treason was discovered. On Friday, September 19th, 1791, Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. On Friday, July 7th, 1776, a motion was made by John Adams, in the Continental Congress, that "the United States are and ought to be independent."