Alaska and Colin Powell - October 18

Learning Worth More Than 7.2 Million Dollars

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Today is Alaska Day, Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day, International Necktie Day, Meatloaf Appreciation Day, National Chocolate Cupcake Day, National No Beard Day, National Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day, Newspaper Comic Strip Appreciation Day, World Menopause Day, and World Toy Camera Day.

Animal Cam of the Day: Alaska Department of Fish and Game Web Cams
Dessert of the Day: Cream-filled Chocolate Cupcakes

 AMERICAN REVOLUTION HISTORY ON THIS DATE

• 1775– African-American poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery.
• 1775 – The Burning of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine).
• 1779 – The Franco-American Siege of Savannah is lifted.

On This Date
Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Poem of the Day
Art of the Day
Today's Theme:  ALASKA and COLIN POWELL

ON THIS DATE

• 1775 - Black poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery.
• 1867 - The United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million.
• 1898 - The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.
• 1968 - Dr. James D. Watson of the US and Dr. Francis Crick and Dr. Maurice Wilkins of Britain win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work identifying the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.
• 1972 - Congress overrides President Nixon's veto and passes the Clean Water Act.
• 2019 - NASA Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch take part in the first all-women spacewalk. 

BIRTHDAYS

• 1587 - English poet Lady Mary Wroth
• 1898 - Singer Lotte Lenya
• 1919 - Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
• 1926 - Musician Chuck Berry
• 1939 - Assassin  Lee Harvey Oswald
• 1961 - Trumpet player Wynton Marsalis
• 1973 - Journalist James Foley
• 1975 - Baseball player and Red Sox coach Alex Cora
• 1984 - Bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding
• 1987 - Singer and actor Zac Efron

SONGS OF THE DAY 

• Lotte Lenya - Mack the Knife - LISTEN
• Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode - LISTEN
• Wynton Marsalis  - Haydn Trumpet Concerto - LISTEN
• Johnny Horton - North to Alaska - LISTEN
• Esperanza Spalding - Overjoyed - LISTEN

POEM OF THE DAY 

• Lady Mary Wroth - from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus: Song 5
•  Phillis Wheatley - A Hymn to the Evening 

ART OF THE DAY 

• Alaska Classics Collection

THEME: ALASKA

• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Ookyook Song (1:59) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - PBS LearningMedia - Between the Lions - Summer Is Fun in Alaska! (0:23) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-2 - Molly of Denali Series - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades K-2 - PBS LearningMedia - Wild Alaska - Chris Kratt Talks About What Animals Need to Survive in Alaska (1:48) - VIEW
• Grades K-12 - PBS Learning Media - Wild Alaska Collection - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Indie Alaska Series - VIEW

THEME: COLIN POWELL

• Grades 6-12 - PBS LearningMedia - The Bush Presidency - Dick Cheney and Colin Powell (2:56) - - READ and VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - National Memorial Day Concert - Colin Powell Honors Women in Military Service (1:49) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - National Memorial Day Concert - Colin Powell On the Meaning of Memorial Day  (3:41) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - PBS NewsHour -  Colin Powell's Speech at the 2020 DNC Convention (2:36) - VIEW
• Grades 9-12 - NHPBS Video - High Point University Presents Colin Powell (56:45) - VIEW

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