It was on this day, in the year 1877, that the American daily, The Washington Post, was first published. It is the oldest existing newspaper in the area, and is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D.C. Needless to say, The Washington Post is one of the leading dailies in the United States of America.
The newspaper has won 47 Pulitzer Prizes – an American award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism – of which six were won in the same year, in 2008. The feat comes second only after The New York Times, which won seven Pulitzers in 2002.
Another feat achieved on this day, also connected with the former District of Columbia, is the completion of the Washington Monument, in the year 1884. The monument is an obelisk – a commemorative pillar – in honour of the first American President, George Washington. The monument stands nearly 170 metres tall, and is the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk.
Also, it was on this day in the year 1768 – in England, however – that the Encyclopaedia Britannica was first published. It is to be noted that the Encyclopaedia Britannica is the oldest English-language encyclopaedia still in production.
