Barney Bell (born 1854)

In 1854, in the year that Barney Bell was born, on February 28th, the GOP - the Republican Party - was founded in Ripon, Wisconsin by "modernizers", anti-slavery proponents, ex-Whigs, and ex-"Free-Soilers" - who opposed the expansion of slavery. The first Republican President of the United States was Abraham Lincoln.

In 1900, the U.S. helped put down Boxer Rebellion. The Boxer Rebellion took place in China, where the presence of "outsiders" (foreigners) was resented. The United States, along with Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia, had business interests in China and these countries all sent troops to put down the Rebellion and keep China open to their presence and to Christian missionaries.

In 1912, the Girl Scouts of the USA was started by Juliette Gordon Low with the help of Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts in Great Britain. She said after a meeting with Baden-Powell, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!" And she did.

In 1947, on April 15th, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, playing first base. He was the first black man to play in the Major Leagues. Since the 1880's, professional baseball had been segregated and blacks played in the "Negro leagues". He went on to play for 10 years.

In 1959, on August 8th, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States. The US flag was changed to show 50 stars.