Rowland Hill, a schoolmaster from England, is credited
with inventing the adhesive postage stamp in 1837. The
first official postage stamp appeared in England in 1840
and pictured Queen Victoria's profile. It was called the
Penny Black because the cost was a penny to send a letter
anywhere in England, and the stamp was black and white.
The official debut of postage stamps in the United States
came in 1847, and the first two stamps featured George
Washington and Benjamin Franklin. By 1860 almost all countries
had postage stamps. In 1940, Booker T. Washington was
the first African American featured on a stamp. Effective
May 14, 2007, the cost of a first class postage stamp
increases to 41 cents.
The National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. is one
of the 19 Smithsonian museums.
The hobby of collecting stamps is called "philately".
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