International Lighthouse Day

August 18 is International Lighthouse Day. To honor these graceful and romantic structures, here are a few lighthouse facts:

~There are more than 9000 surviving lighthouses around the world.

~The first known lighthouse was built at Alexandria, Egypt around 300 B.C. The Pharos of Alexandria was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

~The oldest existing lighthouse is the one at La Coruna, Spain. It is believed to date from 20 B.C.

~The US state with the most lighthouses was not California or Florida, but Michigan, which borders on three of the Great Lakes. The state had 90 lighthouses at one time.

~The first US lighthouse was built on Boston’s Little Brewster Island in 1716.

~The tallest lighthouse ever built was at Cape Hatteras, NC. It stands 196 feet tall.

^{(photo of Cleveland Ohio’s West Pierpoint Lighthouse © istockphoto)}