U.S. #873 commemorates Booker T. Washington, the first president of the Tuskegee Institute. It was the first time an African American was pictured on a U.S. postage stamp. Washington was born a slave, and after the Civil War he worked his way through the Hampton Institute and Wayland Seminary. In 1881, at age 25, he was named the president of the newly created Tuskegee Institute.
Frederic Remington, shown on U.S. # 888, was an American painter and sculptor famous for his portrayals of the Wild West. Remington often accompanied soldiers and witnessed a number of skirmishes and battles – including Teddy Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War. His statuettes usually featured cowboys, Indians, and soldiers on the Western plains.