Alaska and Colin Powell - October 18

Learning Worth More Than 7.2 Million Dollars

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Today is International Necktie Day, Necktie Day, Meatloaf Day, Chocolate Cupcake Day, Alaska Day, Bridge Day, Newspaper Comic Strip Appreciation Day, and National Fetch Day.

Animal Cam of the Day: Alaska Department of Fish and Game Web Cams
Dessert of the Day: Cream-filled Chocolate Cupcakes
LGBT History Resource of the Day: Considering Matthew Shepard Collection

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
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 for Medicine and Physiology 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

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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