Top 10 facts about America
THE date of August 18 has a double significance in the early history of America, so here are some facts about North America before it became the United States.
1. August 18, 1587, was the date of birth of Virginia Dare, the first child of English settlers in America.
2. August 18, 1590, was the day Virginia Dare’s grandfather, John White, returned from a supply trip to England and found no trace of his daughter, granddaughter or any settlers at Roanoke Colony.
3. What happened to the settlers is still a mystery.
4. Roanoke was part of the Colony of Virginia, after which Virginia Dare was named.
The first person to call it ‘America’ was the German map-maker Martin Waldseemüller in 1507
5. The Colony of Virginia was named by Sir Walter Raleigh after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I.
6. America is usually thought to have been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, though some claim it was named for Bristol merchant Richard Amerike.
7. Amerike traded in Newfoundland salt cod long before Columbus discovered America.
8. The first person to call it ‘America’ was the German map-maker Martin Waldseemüller in 1507.
9. The eighth US President, Martin van Buren, was the first not to have born British.
10. The first book published in North America was the Bay Psalm Book in 1640. A copy sold at auction last year for more than £8million.