Mary K. Goddard published early Declaration

Goddard broadside has two columns of type. The Dunlap version had only one. Inset: Mary Goddard.

It is the birthday of Baltimore publisher Mary Katherine Goddard (1783), who printed the first copy of the Declaration of Independence in 1777 with the typeset names of those who signed it. It is known as the Goddard broadside, and was the second version of the document to be printed. (The first, known as the Dunlap broadside and produced in 1776 by printer John Dunlap in Philadelphia, did not include the names of the signers.) Goddard published The Maryland Journal, a revolutionary publication started by her brother. For 14 years, she served as postmaster of Baltimore until the Postmaster General declared that the position had to be filled by a man. Despite local protests and a petition signed by 200 Baltimore men, Goddard was removed. Goddard got into a squabble with her brother and in 1784 the siblings published rival almanacs for the following year. For a dozen years late in life, Goddard operated a bookstore in Baltimore.

Happy birthday, Benjamin Franklin

It is the birthday of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (1706), who is remembered for far more than having his picture on the $100 bill. He was a writer and publisher, inventor, and statesman. Biographer Walter Isaacson wrote that Franklin was "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become." He first published, with partners, the Pennsylvania Chronicle, then later, independently, Poor Richard’s Almanack and The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin experimented with electricity and invented the lightning rod. He also invented a carriage odometer, a stove that heated a room better than a fireplace, and bifocals. He was designated the Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress and helped fashion the Declaration of Independence. He served as an advocate for the colonies in England before the Revolution, and later, as American ambassador to France. His image first appeared on the $100 Federal Reserve Note in 1914.

William Blackstone influenced American law

It is the birthday of English barrister William Blackstone (1723), who is remembered for writing Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769), a four-volume treatise on common law—the rights of people and things, and the difference between private wrongs and public wrongs. It was immensely popular in England, though not without detractors. Perhaps its greatest influence, however, was on the development of law in the American colonies and later in the fledgling United States. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and the early formation of the Supreme Court were all affected by Blackstone's writing. Indeed, the Supreme Court, even in modern times, continues to quote from Blackstone.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Have a happy and safe Independence Day!

Happy birthday, artist John Trumbull

It is the birthday of American Revolution artist John Trumbull (1756), who is best remembered for his painting, Declaration of Independence (1817), which was used on the reverse of the two-dollar bill. Trumbull created many historical paintings depicting events related to the American Revolutionary War, including The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill (1786), The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec (1786) and the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown (1820). Trumbull also painted portraits of George Washington and John Adams. His paintings are on display in the rotunda of the Capitol Building, the Boston Athenaeum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York City Hall, Yale University, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Museum of American History.