U.S. Flag Day’s roots reach 235 years in past

Poster commemorating U.S. Flag Day on June 14, 1917. (U.S. Library of Congress)In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first official national Flag Day, but the Continental Congress approved creating a national flag 235 years ago, in 1777.

Flag designs have varied—according to the U.S. Library of Congress, there have been 27 versions. In 1912 President William H. Taft, a Republican, set the design of the stars into six rows of eight. The fiftieth star was added August 21, 1959 when Hawaii became a state.

Congress made Flag Day official in 1949.

Flags evolved from signaling on the battlefield and sea.

(Filed by Kay B. Day/June 14, 2012)