On this day in 1800, President John Adams (1735-1826) ordered the federal government to pack up, leave Philadelphia, and set up shop in the nation’s new capital -- Washington, D.C. After Congress adjourned its last meeting in Philadelphia on May 15, Adams told his cabinet to make sure Congress and all federal offices were up and running in their new headquarters by June 15, 1800. Philadelphia served as the nation’s capital from 1790 until June 10, 1800. Official archives and documents were transferred from Philadelphia to the new capital via ship over inland waterways. President and Mrs. Adams did not move in to the president’s mansion, which sat unfinished, until November of that year. Settling in to the White House was no walk in the park for the new first lady. In December, Abigail Adams wrote to a friend that she had to line-dry their clothes in what eventually was dubbed the East Room. John Adams was the first president to live in the White House. It was President Theodore...

When most people think of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), they think of a bespectacled, older-looking Founding Father of the United States who also happened to dream up some pretty neat inventions.  I find him to be the most fascinating of the Founding Fathers, alongside Thomas Jefferson. Not only were these guys masters in the art of politics, they each went on to design everything from buildings to stoves. In essence, it could be argued they statesmen as much as they were inventors.  In this post, I'd like to share five interesting facts about Franklin that I recently dug up. If you already knew these or would like to share any others not mentioned here, please feel free to do so in the comments section.  1. Franklin designed a musical instrument used by musical geniuses Mozart and Beethoven. Franklin designed what he dubbed a “glass armonica,” an instrument meant to replicate the distinct sound that a wet finger makes when rubbed along the rim of a glass. ...