Happy Birthday, Uncle Sam

On this day in 1813, the United States government got the nickname "Uncle Sam," according to History.com. Apparently, a Troy, N.Y. meatpacker named Samuel Wilson, who supplied beef to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, began stamping barrels of supplies "U.S." Soldiers took to calling the provisions "Uncle Sam's," and the moniker eventually came to be used to refer to the entire American government.

It wasn't until the late 1860s that cartoonist Thomas Nast came up with the bearded, stars-and-stripes clad image of Uncle Sam that became indelibly associated with the name.

(Hat tip: Chris Dorobek)