Regarded as the “mother of the modern environmental movement”, Rachel Carson was born on 27 May 1907, in Springdale, Pennsylvania. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College for Women, she worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. There she wrote for radio and various publications.
As a marine biologist in the 1940s, Carson became aware of pesticides developed through government funds. After years of research, she became concerned with their effects on the environment. She left her job in 1952 to devote herself to writing.
On 27 September 1962, Carson published her most famous book, "Silent Spring", about the harmful effects of pesticides. "Silent Spring" called attention to the overuse and misuse of pesticides, which were poisoning the food chain, and threatening life itself. Her work received strong opposition from the companies who manufactured the pesticides, but in time her thorough research resulted in winning over public opinion.
The following year, Carson appeared before President Kennedy’s Science Advisory Committee, which agreed with her findings on the dangers of pesticides. The same year, she received the Audubon Medal, the Cullum Medal (from the American Geographical Society), and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
"Silent Spring" and Carson’s other writings helped begin the environmental movement in America. This led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the eventual ban of the pesticide DDT. Decades later, Silent Spring was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time.
UK ROYAL MAIL issued in 1997 a series of commemorative stamps entitled "Architects of the Air" , including the De Havilland Mosquito, a versatile combat aircraft designed by Ronald Eric Bishop.
UK ROYAL MAIL issued in 1998 a commemorative postage stamp honouring the Bell Rock Lighthouse, the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse, is located off the coast of Angus, Scotland. It was built between 1807 and 1810 by Robert Stevenson. The stamp was designed by Dick Davis and printed using offset lithography by The House of Questa.
The 14 basic denominations included:
- 2c Tapping Rubber (Black & Carmine)
- 3c Adam's Peak (Black & Light Blue)
- 5c Coconut Palms (Black & Green)
- 6c and 3c overwrite Colombo Harbour (Black & Blue)
- 10c Plucking Tea (Sage-Green & Orange)
- 15c Sigiriya / Lion Rock (Green & Red-Brown)
- 20c River Scene (Black & Blue)
- 25c Temple of the Tooth, Kandy
- 30c Ancient Irrigation Tank
- 50c Wild Elephants (Black & Mauve)
- 1r Trincomalee
- 2r Ancient Guard-Stone, Anuradhapura
- 5r Ancient Guard-Stone, Anuradhapura
The image depicted was a popular medium for distributing reproductions of famous art exhibition entries during the early 20th century.
This particular piece was submitted to the 7th Ministry of Education Art Exhibition (Bunten). It reflected Nakazawa's training in Western techniques, illustrating a figure in a soft, painterly style that blends traditional Japanese subjects with Western realism.
Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874–1964) was a prominent Western-style (yōga) painter and illustrator who graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1900.
- 1975 stamp portraits of Italian Baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti and Gaspare Spontini, a prominent Italian opera composer. These stamps were printed by I.P.Z.S. Roma as part of an Italian Artists series.
- Agusta A.109 helicopters and the G.222 Aeritalia transport aircraft used for military and humanitarian roles.
- 1983 stamp of Villa Fidelia in Spello complex, constructed on the ruins of a Roman site. It was part of the "Villas of Italy" (4th series) stamp set.
- 1983 stamp featuring a religious painting by Raphael Sanzio that commemorated the 500th anniversary of Raphael's birth (1483-1520).
- "Giornata della Filatelia" (Stamp Day) commemorative stamp, issued in 1986, depicted hands using a magnifying glass and stylus to inspect an 1862 engraving of an Italian stamp.
The stamp depicted European settlers negotiating with Native Americans, along with a map of New Sweden and the ships Kalmar Nyckel and Fogel Grip.
This stamp became obsolete after just five days because the international airmail rate increased from 44 cents to 45 cents.
US Postal Service also issued a 3 cent stamp in 1938.
