Correos Espana "History of Discovery and Conquest of America"

CORREOS ESPANA on 12 October 1964  issued a First Day Cover called  "History of Discovery and Conquest of America" which featured four of the Spanish explorers/colonisers -- or, to some,  murders/exploiters -- of the New World. Nevertheless, they represent a period in Spanish and South American history. A total of eight FDCs in this series were issued from 1961 until 1968. Rotogravure print method was used. A total of 4,000,000 were printed by the National Mint and Stamp Factory. 

Diego de Almagro

Diego de Almagro was a Spanish conquistador. He participated in the conquest of Peru and is officially considered the discoverer of Chile. Diego de Almagro was born in the city in 1475. In 1535, Emperor Charles I awarded Almagro the governorship of Nueva Toledo, in southern Peru, and the title of Adelantado of the lands beyond Lake Titicaca, in present-day Chile.

Francisco de Toledo

Francisco de Toledo, July 10, 1515 in Oropesa, Toledo – 1584 in Seville, was a Spanish nobleman and military man, Viceroy of Peru. Descendant of King Alfonso XI of Castile and Doña Leonor Núñez de Guzmán. In 1535, Toledo joined the Order of Alcántara, for almost twenty years serving the emperor in the armies in Flanders and Italy. He was a friend of Emperor Charles V. He was the fifth of the Viceroys of Peru.

He held this position from 1569 to 1581. During his reign, in 1570, the Inquisition Tribunal was established. Coastal fortifications were built to prevent pirate attacks, and he destroyed the Inca stronghold at Vilcabamba, ordering the execution of Túpac Amaru. He centralized the essential aspects of colonial administration and established the foundations of what would become the colonial system in Peru.

Saint Toribio of Mogrovejo

Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo y Robledo Mayorga, Valladolid, November 18, 1538 – Saña, Peru, March 23, 1606. Spanish clergyman. Saint of the Catholic Church and second Archbishop of Lima. He was a tireless missionary and a great organizer of the South American Church. He began his missionary work by traveling to Lima, baptizing and teaching the natives.

At the age of sixty-eight, Santo Toribio fell ill in Pacasmayo, north of Lima, but continued working until the end, arriving in the city of Saña in a dying condition, where he made his will in which he left his personal belongings to his servants and the rest of his properties to the poor.

He died at 3:30 p.m. on Holy Thursday, March 23, 1606. He was beatified on June 28, 1679 by Pope Innocent XI, through his Bull “Laudeamus” and canonized on December 10, 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII, through his Bull “Quoniam Spiritus”.

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro González, Marquis (Trujillo, Cáceres, March 16, 1476/1478 – Lima, June 26, 1541) was the Spanish explorer and conqueror of Peru, governor of New Castile, current Peruvian territory with seat of government in La Ciudad De Los Reyes (Lima).

He is remembered for having succeeded in dominating the Inca Empire with the help of various local chiefdoms, conquering the aforementioned imperial state whose center of government was located in present-day Peru, and establishing a Spanish dependency over it. Although he held the title of marquis, he was a "marquis without a marquisate"; his descendants held the title of Marquis of the Conquest. However, it is quite possible that he was granted the title of Marquis of Atavillos.

La Poste France "L' Apocalypse Tapisserie, XIV"

LA POSTE FRANCE issued on 30 October 1965 a First Day Cover stamp of "L' Apocalypse Tapisserie, XIV" (Apocalypse Tapestry, a 14th-century artwork). The postmark cancellation originated from  Angers. The designer/engraver was Jean Pheulpin. An intaglio printing process was used for the stamp.

The tapestry depicts a story of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation, entitled "Blood flowing from the great winepress of God's wrath”. It was based on the visions of St. John from the Biblical Book of Revelation. The tapestry was designed by Hennequin de Bruges, painter for King Charles V. It was woven by Nicolas Bataille and commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou. Bataille wove it in Paris between 1377 and 1382. 

Originally it comprised six tapestries with 90 scenes, now reduced to 75 scenes across 103 meters. The tapestry is the largest medieval tapestry in existence,  originally measuring 140m long and narrating the battle between good and evil. It is currently exhibited at the Château d'Angers (Maine-et-Loire).

UAR (Egypt) First Anniversary of the Burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque

UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC (Egypt) on 21 August 1970 issued a First Day Cover with two stamps marking the first anniversary of a fire at Al Aqsa Mosque. Many stamps were issued from other countries, including stamps from UAR. Pakistan and one semi-postal from  Yemen was also issued to collect money for  restoration of the mosque.

The Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (705–715) (or both) as a congregational mosque on the same axis as the Dome of the Rock, a commemorative Islamic monument. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.

On 21 August 1969, a fire was started by a visitor from Australia named Denis Michael Rohan, who initially set fire to the pulpit. The 12th-century minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque was destroyed in the fire. 

Rohan had hoped that by burning down al-Aqsa Mosque he would hasten the Second Coming of Jesus. Initially, Israelis blamed the fire either on an accident related to ongoing renovations, or to a false flag attack by Palestinian group Fatah. 

Israel subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced  Rohan to a mental institution after it was determined he had a history of mental illness. Eventually he was repatriated to Australia and sent to a mental institution.

The fire at Al-Aqsa was the cause of great anger in the Muslim world, and demonstrations and riots occurred. Muslims blamed Israel for this event. The event has been described as "an act which plunged the Middle East into its worst crisis since the June, 1967, Arab-Israel War", and was a key catalyst for the creation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Source: Wikipedia 

Deutsche Bundespost Munich Olympics 1972

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST (former West Germany postal service) on 18 August 1972 issued a series of  First Day Cover stamps for various events during  the Summer Olympics held in Munich. The denominations of the stamps were 25+5, 30+10, 40+10, and 70+10 Pfennig, with the additional amounts likely being a surcharge to support the Olympic Games. Three FDC cachets depicted a hammer thrower; the stamps featured postmark cancellations from Bonn, Kiel and Munich.

Shown here are four of the events: long jump, basketball, discus throw, and canoe slalom. 

Tragically the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September overshadowed the awards and records set in this Olympiad.

More FDC stamps of Deutsche Bundespost 1972 Olympics in Munich may be viewed HERE.

Deutsche Bundespost Helene Mayer

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 6 June 1968 issued a First Day Cover of "Olympic Personalities/Athletes", including Helene Mayer. These stamps -- five in total  -- were semi-postals with postage values and surcharges added for cultural donation, or in this case the surtax was used for the Foundation to Promote the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. This FDC is unique in that it appeared on a cachet designated for the 1972 Munich Olympics. The postmark was dated 28 August 1972 with a fencing design.

Helene Julie Mayer (1910 – 1953) was a German-born fencer who won a gold medal at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, and a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. 

Mayer has been called the greatest female fencer of all time, and was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 100 Female Athletes of the 20th Century, but her legacy remains clouded. 

The controversy stems from her participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She was the only German athlete of Jewish ancestry permitted to represent Nazi Germany in fencing.

Prior to this, the Nazi Party had rescinded her German citizenship while she was studying in the United States. As countries became aware of Nazi  Germany's discriminatory practices, international participation in the Olympic Games came into question. 

In the United States, sports organisations and trade unions discussed the possibility of boycotting the 1936 Olympic games. In 1933, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) of the United States, which supervised Olympic competitors, voted not to send a team if Jews were to be discriminated against in the German Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) asked for assurances from the Olympic Organising Committee of Berlin that German Jews would not suffer discrimination and would be permitted to try out for the German team. As a concession to  mounting political pressure, the Nazis allowed twenty Jewish athletes to train for the Olympics. Eventually only one was allowed to compete for Germany – Helene Mayer.

While Helene Mayer left little historical record, what is known from her contemporaries is that she did not consider herself Jewish. Her father, Ludwig Karl Mayer, a physician, was Jewish; whereas her mother, lda Anna Bertha (née Becker) was Lutheran. Helene did not appear to identify with either parent. It was said that her primary concern was to be a successful athlete and that preoccupation may have blinded her to the Nazi racism. It was also supposed that Mayer saw Olympic glory as an opportunity to reclaim her German citizenship.

Whatever her reasons, Helene Mayer did represent Germany in the 1936 Olympic Games, placing second, earning the silver medal, and as all German athletes were required to do in Berlin that year, gave the Nazi salute. It should be noted that for all of Hitler’s claims of racial superiority, the gold medal went to the Hungarian Ilona Ela, also half-Jewish.

After the Olympics, she returned to the United States where she studied and taught German and fencing at American universities. She became a nine-time U.S. fencing champion. She received American citizenship in 1941 but returned to Germany in 1952 where she died from breast cancer in 1953.

Source: Centre for Jewish History, Wikipedia 

Deutsche Bundespost Rudolph Harbig

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 6 June 1968 issued a First Day Cover of sports personalities, including Rudolf Waldemar Harbig (1913 – 1944). These stamps -- five in total  -- were semi-postals with postage values and surcharges added for cultural donation, or in this case the surtax (20pf+10pf) was used for the Foundation to Promote the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Rudolf Harbig was a German middle distance runner best known for the 800 metre world record of 1:46.6 min that he set in Milan in 1939.  Belgian runner Roger Moens eventually would break Harbig's record in 1955 and set a new world record of 1:45.7. Also, in 1939 Harbig set a world record over 400 m on a 500 m-track in Frankfurt in 46.0 sec. In Dresden in 1941 he set a world record over 1000 m in 2:21.5. These records would stand until 1955 as well.

A member of the Nazi party and professional soldier,  holding the rank of Sargent, Harbig was sent to the Eastern Front in 1941 and fought in the Battle of Moscow. During the Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive against the Wehrmacht Army Group South, he was killed fighting with the 2nd Parachute Division at the Voronezh Front near Kirovohrad, Ukraine in 1944.

USPS "Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp Series"

USPS began in 1974 what is now its longest running series; United States "Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp Series". The series had its roots in a 1975 planning meeting of the Queens County, New York, Bicentennial Committee Present at the meeting was the founder of the Black American Heritage Foundation (BAHF), Clarence L. Irving. Mr. Irving petitioned the U.S. Postal Service to include black Americans in a stamp programme associated with the upcoming Bicentennial of the United States. The proposal received very favorable response. Since then and until now (2024) "Black Heritage" stamps of notable black Americans remains in circulation. Jerry Pinkney designed the initial stamps.  

Shown here is a block of four First Day Cover stamps honouring prominent African Americans: 

- Harriet Tubman (13c stamp issued in 1978)

- Mary McLeod Bethune (22c stamp issued in 1985)

- Whitney Moore Young Jr. (15c stamp issued in 1981) 

- Martin Luther King Jr. (15c stamp issued in 1979). 

Harriet Tubman was the first African American woman honored on a U.S. postage stamp. Born into slavery, she escaped and became a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, helping over 300 slaves to freedom. She also served as a spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. 

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was an influential educator, civil rights activist, and advocate for women's rights. She founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904, which later became Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune also served as an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on minority affairs, and was the first Black woman to lead a federal agency. 

Whitney Moore Young, Jr. was a moderate civil rights leader who urged African Americans to work within the system. He served as executive director of the National Urban League for 10 years. In 1969, he received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom.

This stamp honors the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize winner and champion of non-violence.  A Baptist minister, King sought equality for all Americans and fought for peaceful solutions to racial issues. He was assassinated in 1968.

Egypt Post 50th anniversary of the October War

EGYPT POST on 6 October 2023 issued a set of four First Day Cover stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The stamps feature images related to the war, including soldiers, military equipment, and the pyramids, President Annuar Sadat. The text on the stamps is in both Arabic and English, with the Arabic text reading "ذكرى انتصارات أكتوبر" which translates to "Anniversary of the victories of October." The  stamps also show the the Islamic calendar date of 1445. Each stamp carried a face value of 1.60 Egyptian pounds. 

The postcards (maxim cards) featured  four multi-colored, counterfeit-proof offset stamps equipped with QR code technology, enabling  access to interactive knowledge about this occasion.

The Yom Kippur War, also known as the October War or Ramadan War, began on 6 October 1973. It was a surprise attack by a coalition of Arab nations led by Egypt and Syria against Israel.

The war had significant consequences. The Arab world, humiliated by the 1967 defeat, felt psychologically vindicated by its early and late successes in 1973. Meanwhile, Israel, despite battlefield achievements, recognised that future military dominance was uncertain. 

The war served as a direct antecedent of the 1978 Camp David Accords. The impetus for the talks came when United States President Jimmy Carter invited both Sadat and Begin to a summit at Camp David to negotiate a final peace. The talks took place from 5–17 September 1978. Ultimately, the talks succeeded, and Israel and Egypt signed the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Israel subsequently withdrew its troops and settlers from the Sinai, in exchange for normal relations with Egypt and a lasting peace, with the last Israeli troops exiting on 26 April 1982.