50 Star American Flag-1960
On 20 July 1969, two men stepped onto uncharted territory, where no human being had ever set foot, and raised the American Flag. The two men were Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, and the territory was the moon. The 50-star American Flag was the first Flag planted in space.
The admission of Hawaii in 1959 brought the number of stars on the Flag to 50. Designing a new Flag became a popular school art project. The Eisenhower Administration received more than 3000 suggestions, several of which were for nine rows of alternating five and six stars. A six-member committee chose this design. The 50-Star Flag became the official Flag of the United States at 12:01 AM on July 4th, 1960, when it was raised over Fort McHenry.
Dear Reader, to learn more of how our current Flag came to be, please consult the following sources:
Calabro, Marian. “Annin Flagmakers: An Illustrated History” p.47, (2013) Corporate History.net LLC https://annin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Annin_History_Book.pdf
Eisenhower Presidential Library. “Design for the 50-Star Flag, Design C” (1958) [DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 370, OF-102-C American Flag (3); NAID #18313257]
Eisenhower Presidential Library. “Program from flag raising ceremony at Fort McHenry” (1960) [Fred A. Seaton Papers, Speeches Series, FAS Subseries, Box 47, 50-Star Flag Raising Ceremony Fort McHenry Maryland; NAID #18253451] https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/flag/1960-07-04-program.pdf
Eisenhower Presidential Library. “Design of the 49- and 50-Star Flags” Retrieved 8 November 2024 from https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/design-49-and-50-star-flags
Eisenhower, Dwight. “Executive Order 10834: The Flag of the United States” (1959) [DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 370, OF-102-C American Flag (7); NAID #18494806]
Executive Order 10834 regarding 49-star flag design and specifications, 8/21/1959
Furlong, William and McCandless, Byron. “So Proudly We Hail, The History of the United States Flag” pp. 218-221, (1981) Smithsonian Institution Press
Eisenhower Presidential Library. “Memorandum for the President Regarding the 50-Star Flag” (1959) [DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 370, OF-102-C American Flag (8); NAID #18494809]