On July 22, 1893, the poet Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to “America the Beautiful”. Inspired by the scenery of Colorado, Bates wrote the words as a poem, originally titled “Pikes Peak“. It was first published in the Fourth of July [1] 1895 edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist. At that time, the poem was titled “America”. The music was earlier composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward [2] at Grace Episcopal Church [3] in Newark, New Jersey. The two never met. The combination of Ward’s melody and Bates’s poem was first entitled “America the Beautiful” in 1910. The photo above was taken by Don Graham.
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On July 22, 1918, lightning killed 504 sheep in Utah’s Wasatch National Park.
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July 22: 1926: A temperature of 108°F (42°C) was recorded in Troy, New York. This set a state record.
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Today’s feature article was written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christainason.