George Howe (died 1916)

In 1822, on July 3rd, Charles Babbage published a proposal for a forerunner of the modern computer. Called a "difference engine", it calculated logarithms and trigonometric functions. Babbage wanted to eliminate the errors that occurred through the use of human "calculators" by creating a machine to do the same work. While a prototype was begun, it was never completed.

In 1839, in Mississippi the first state law was passed allowing married women to own property in their own name. Other states had previously allowed women who were deserted by their husbands to own property, but Mississippi was the first state in which women could now own and control property while their husband was alive and present.

In 1873, on May 27th, German archaeologist and businessman Heinrich Schliemann found what he said was "Priam's Treasure" - confirming the existence of ancient Troy. The find in Hissarlik Turkey is still disputed as being a part of Troy.

In 1905, federal spending was $0.57 billion, unemployment was 4.3%, and the cost of a first-class stamp was $0.02. Current U.S. government spending is $4.268 trillion.

In 1916, in the year of George Howe's passing, visiting nurse Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. at 46 Amboy St. in Brooklyn New York. Ten days after the clinic opened, Sanger was arrested for "violating laws against giving out birth control information" which was defined as obscenity. The clinic was not handing out birth control - just information about sex and birth control methods. (The Comstock law categorized information about abortion, family planning, and contraception as “obscene”.) The clinics and organizations that Sanger established later evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.