Why is Today's Date Special for the City of Pittsburgh?

Happy H Day Pittsburgh!

On July 19, 1911, the city of Pittsburgh added the “h” back to the spelling of its name. During my days at IUP, my friends from the Eastern part of the state and I always joked about the best “burgh” in PA. Harrisburg vs. Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh was named after William Pitt, the former prime minister of England with Scottish roots, and the “h” was included to pay homage to his Scottish roots. In Scotland, most towns are spelled “burgh.”

In 1890, in an effort to keep uniformity among city names, the federal government dropped our “h” even though most local Pittsburghers and many local institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Gazette still kept it in. Pittsburgher’s won the “h” back in a meeting on July 19, 1911, and that’s why today is special.

Let’s take this day to recognize all things Pittsburgh. It should be a day of pride for Western PA. A day to celebrate our uniqueness:

·        Steelers

·        Pirates

·        Penguins

·        Riverhounds

·        Bridges

·        Mr. Rogers

·        Prmanti’s

·        Steel Mills

·        Heinz

·        Andrew Carnegie

·        Potholes

·        Mt. Washington

·        Michael Keaton

·        Jeff Goldblum

·        Arnold Palmer

·        Andy Warhol

·        Black and Gold

·        Christina Aguilera

·        Yinzers

·        Terrible Towels

·        PNC Park

·        Mario Lemieux

·        Bruno Sammartino

Let me know what I missed…have a great week!