The Famous Americans 1940 Dr. Walter Reed 5c Stamp & FDC First Day Cover is our blog post today heading into the weekend.
It is the first of three in a series of blog posts I’m writing this weekend given the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Seeing so many event cancellations in my email inbox today (more on that at the end of my post), is inspiring the theme of sharing stamps from our history recognizing overcoming medical adversity.
First, it is amazing to me a mint condition stamp of it is so affordable. I’m seeing one available for 75 cents at Mystic Stamp. Also, one used stamp is 35c. Furthermore, the First Day Cover is only five dollars.
Secondly, the Issue Date was on April 17, 1940, for the Scott #877 1940 5¢ Walter Reed USPS stamp. One of the Famous Americans Series – Scientists stamp. It is in an Ultramarine color. The header image above is of a First Day Cover commemorating it.
Famous Americans 1940 Dr. Walter Reed 5c Stamp & FDC First Day Cover
Next, I’m including some of the excerpts about the postage stamp commemoration.
“Major Walter Reed, M.D., was born on September 13, 1851, in Belroi, Gloucester County, Virginia.
Reed spent his childhood in Murfreesboro, North Carolina with his mother and her family while his father, a traveling Methodist minister, went on speaking tours. Reed went on to attend the University of Virginia and received his M.D. degree two months before his 18th birthday, making him the youngest-ever recipient of that degree from that university…
… next 16 years at various outposts taking care of American military troops and their families as well as Native American tribes. At one point he cared for several hundred Apaches, including Geronimo. Working in these outposts, Reed witnessed unsanitary conditions and decided to study pathology and bacteriology as well…
… earned significant recognition for his work as a medical investigator…
In 1900, Reed returned to Cuba to study tropical diseases. Through his study of yellow fever (based largely on the work of Carlos Finlay), it was determined the disease was transmitted by mosquitoes and not by contact with those who were sick with the disease. Reed’s findings helped reduce the number of yellow fever cases. They discovered not only that a certain mosquito carried the disease, they also developed a treatment. He made it possible to build the Panama Canal without the large loss of life that the French suffered when they attempted to construct a canal 20 years before...“
Also, the Mystic Stamp listing for the Dr. Walter Reed 5c stamp continues with describing the background of the Post Office in 1938 announcing plans for the Famous Americans series and categories.
Today is 1 of 3 posts this weekend theme - stamps from our history recognizing overcoming medical adversity
Circling back to the beginning of this post, my inbox today contains many email-blasts including one from the American Philatelic Society and one from Hallmark about awareness of the unfolding Covid-19 Pandemic. In addition, numerous events for the month are canceling, including the email announcing postponing to a later date the remaining local weekly Lenten Lunches this month.
Should you be finding yourself at home in the coming days and weeks more than normal, I’m encouraging us to write a few notes of encouragement to send to family and friends.
Join me tomorrow as we look at the second of three stamps I’m looking forward to sharing that celebrate overcoming adversity. If you would like to guess as to what the two remaining stamps are I’ll be sharing tomorrow, and on Sunday, you are welcome to use the contact form on the Home Page. I’m happy to let you know if you guessed correctly. Let me know if you are fine with me sharing your first name for bragging rights in my post should you be spot on! Until then…
Anchors Aweigh,
Helen
P.S. We can still get St. Patrick’s Day cards and notes into the outgoing mail tomorrow, Saturday, morning!
Attribution & Thank you to the following who I am referencing today
AnchoredScraps Panama Canal Diplomatic History Correspondence, October 10, 2016
Addendum: formatting updated for SEO 03142020 2:40AM
