Lucinda Mariah(Gregory) Poston Mincher (born 1818)

In 1818, in the year that Lucinda Mariah(Gregory) Poston Mincher was born, on December 3rd, Illinois was admitted as the 21st U.S. state. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama were from Illinois. Ronald Reagan was the only U.S. President who was born and raised in Illinois.

In 1830, on August 31st, Edwin Beard Budding was granted a patent for the invention of the lawn mower. Budding invented the lawn mower to cut the grass on sports grounds and extensive gardens - it was intended to be a superior alternative to the scythe. His mower was 19 inches wide with a frame made of wrought iron and looked much like a modern push mower.

In 1851, on May 15th, the first of many Australian gold rushes was publicized. Because the California Gold Rush had caused many Australians to emigrate to California, Australia decided that the gold found in Australia should be publicized, rather than suppressing the news as earlier finds had been.

In 1887, on January 20th, the US Senate gave the US Navy the right to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base. Pearl Harbor is on the island of Oahu, a part of the Hawaiian Islands. The Navy was given direction to maintain "a coaling and repair station" at the harbor.

In 1971, in March, Congress passed the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18 (from 21). It was a response to the criticism that men could fight at 18, but not vote for the policies and politicians who sent them to war. The states quickly ratified the Amendment and it was signed into law on July 1st by President Richard Nixon.