Virginia Dare Born

August 18, 2009

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Profile America — Tuesday, August 18th. Virginia Dare — the first child of English settlers in America — was born on this date in 1587 to Ellinor and Ananias Dare, at Roanoke Island, part of today’s North Carolina. Little else is known of her, since four years later, the entire settlement had vanished. The fate of what is known as the “Lost Colony” remains an intriguing, unsolved mystery of the early days of the country. At the time of Virginia Dare’s birth, the population of the area was very sparse. Even a hundred years later, just over 4,000 colonists lived there. Now, North Carolina has a population of just over 9 million, and every day in the U.S., more than 11,500 babies are born. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureauonline at <www>.

Sources: Chase's Calendaor of Events 2009, p. 410
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 1178
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 4, 12
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html