July 1 in History: The First U.S. Postage Stamps, ZIP Codes Launch, and Sony Introduces the Walkman

Discover what happened on July 1 in history, featuring milestones in communication, technology, entertainment, government, transportation, and major events that helped shape modern life in America and beyond.

What Happened on July 1 in History?

Important events on this day include the release of America’s first postage stamps, the introduction of ZIP codes, Sony launching the first Walkman, and the debut of the PG-13 movie rating system.

JULY 1 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1845 – Uniform postal rates went into effect throughout the United States. The Act of Congress was passed on March 3, 1845.

1847 – In New York, NY, the U.S. Post Office issued its first adhesive stamps. The two stamps available were a 5-cent Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent George Washington.

1862 – Congress established the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

1863 – During the U.S. Civil War, the first day’s fighting at Gettysburg began.

1870 – The U.S. Department of Justice was formed.

1874 – The Philadelphia Zoological Society opened as the first zoo in the United States.

1879 – Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine “The Watchtower”.

1881 – The world’s first international telephone call was made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada and Calais, Maine, United States.

1893 – The first bicycle race track in America to be made out of wood was opened in San Francisco, CA.

1897 – Three years after the first issue of “Billboard Advertising” was published, the publication was renamed, “The Billboard”.

1903 – Start of the first Tour de France bicycle race.

1905 – The USDA Forest Service was created within the Department of Agriculture. The agency was given the mission to sustain healthy, diverse, and productive forests and grasslands for present and future generations.

1908 – S.O.S. was adopted as the international distress signal.

1909 – Thomas Edison began commercially manufacturing his new “A” type alkaline storage batteries.

1910 – Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker opened a machine shop in Baltimore, MD, making milk bottle cap machines. Six years later, they hit it big with the first portable electric drill.

1916 – Coca-Cola started using their distinctive contoured bottle to help set them apart from competitors.

1931 – United Airlines began service (as Boeing Air Transport).

1934 – The Federal Communications Commission replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States.

1940 – In Washington, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was opened to traffic. The bridge collapsed during a wind storm on November 7, 1940.

1941 – NBC aired its first official TV commercial in New York, NY, accepting nine dollars from the Bulova Watch Company during a Dodgers-Phillies game.

1943 – The U.S. Government began automatically withholding federal income tax from paychecks.

1945 – New York established the New York State Commission Against Discrimination to prevent discrimination in employment because of race, creed or natural origin. It was the first such agency in the U.S.

1946 – President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 that incorporated the Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. The Civil Air Patrol was created on December 1, 1941.

1946 – The U.S. exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

1948 – The price of a subway ride in New York City was increased from 5 cents to 10.

1951 – Bob Feller set a major league baseball record as he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.

1956 – Elvis Presley appeared on “The Steve Allen Show.” He was told not to dance and Allen had him sing “Hound Dog” to a real basset hound wearing tails.

1961 – The first community air-raid shelter was built. The shelter in Boise, ID had a capacity of 1,000 people and family memberships sold for $100.

1963 – The U.S. Postmaster introduced the five-digit ZIP (Zoning Improvement Plan) code.

1966 – The Medicare federal insurance program went into effect.

1972 – The rock musical “Hair” ended its initial Broadway run after 1750 performances.

1976 – Queen Elizabeth made British born entertainer Bob Hope an honorary Commander of the British Empire.

1979 – The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was introduced.

1979 – Sony introduced its first Walkman — a pocket size cassette player with headphones. It spawned an entire new generation of personal and portable audio products. It sold for $200.

1980 – “O Canada” was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada.

1980 – President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that provided for 2 acres of land near the Lincoln Memorial for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

1981 – The Supreme Court ruled that candidates for federal office had an “affirmative right” to go on national television.

1984 – The PG-13 rating was introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

1987 – John Kevin Hill, at age 11, became the youngest to fly across the U.S. when he landed at National Airport in Washington, DC.

1987 – Radio station WFAN in New York, NY was launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.

1991 – Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court, leading to confirmation hearings that were among the most contentious in history.

1991 – Court TV began airing.

1992 – The movie “A League of their Own”, starring Tom Hanks and Madonna, opened in theaters.

1992 – Democrats nominated the Presidential ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

1998 – The movie “Armagedon”, starring Bruce Willis, debuted in theaters.

2010 – BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill overtook Ixtoc I to become the worst oceanic oil spill in U.S. recorded history.

2013 – Neptune’s moon S/2004 N 1 was discovered.

2020 – The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JULY 1:

Jamie Farr – 92 years old (1934) – Actor

Craig Anderson – 88 years old (1938) – Baseball player and coach

Myron Scholes – 85 years old (1941) – Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Twyla Tharp – 85 years old (1941) – Dancer and choreographer

Philip Brunelle – 83 years old (1943) – Conductor and organist

Jeff Wayne – 83 years old (1943) – Composer, musician and lyricist

Mike Burstyn – 81 years old (1945) – Actor and singer

Debbie Harry – 81 years old (1945) – Singer-songwriter and actress

John Ford – 78 years old (1948) – English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist

David Duke – 76 years old (1950) – White supremacist, politician and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard

Tom Kozelko – 75 years old (1951) – Basketball player

Terrence Mann – 75 years old (1951) – Actor, singer and dancer

Fred Schneider – 75 years old (1951) – Singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Victor Willis – 75 years old (1951) – Singer-songwriter, pianist and actor

David Arkenstone – 74 years old (1952) – Composer and performer

Mike Haynes – 73 years old (1953) – Football player

Lisa Scottoline – 71 years old (1955) – Lawyer and author

Alan Ruck – 70 years old (1956) – Actor

Jack Dyer Crouch II – 68 years old (1958) – Diplomat, United States Deputy National Security Advisor

Lynn Jennings – 66 years old (1960) – Runner

Evelyn "Champagne" King – 66 years old (1960) – Soul/disco singer

Kevin Swords – 66 years old (1960) – Rugby player

Carl Lewis – 65 years old (1961) – Long jumper and runner

Roddy Bottum – 63 years old (1963) – Singer and keyboard player

Linda Fagan – 63 years old (1963) – Coast Guard Admiral

Pamela Anderson – 59 years old (1967) – Canadian-American model and actress

Séamus Egan – 57 years old (1969) – American-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Missy Elliott – 55 years old (1971) – Rapper, producer, dancer and actress

Julianne Nicholson – 55 years old (1971) – Actress

Jonathan Roumie – 52 years old (1974) – Actor

Sean Colson – 51 years old (1975) – Basketball player and coach

Sufjan Stevens – 51 years old (1975) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Liv Tyler – 49 years old (1977) – Actress

Forrest Griffin – 47 years old (1979) – Mixed martial artist and actor

Nelson Cruz – 46 years old (1980) – Dominican-American baseball player

Adrian Ward – 44 years old (1982) – Football player

Hilarie Burton – 44 years old (1982) – Actress

Chris Perez – 41 years old (1985) – Baseball player

Charlie Blackmon – 40 years old (1986) – Baseball player

Kent Bazemore – 37 years old (1989) – Basketball player

Michael Wacha – 35 years old (1991) – Baseball player

Aaron Sanchez – 34 years old (1992) – Baseball player

Chloe Bailey – 28 years old (1998) – Singer-songwriter and actress

Chosen Jacobs – 25 years old (2001) – Actor and singer

Storm Reid – 23 years old (2003) – Actress

Daniela Avanzini – 22 years old (2004) – Singer and dancer

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JULY 1:

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