May 22, 1933 – The Iowa Legislature votes to make the ‘Eastern Goldfinch’ Iowa’s state bird.
Also known during the time as the ‘wild canary’ and ‘American Goldfinch,’ the suggestion to make the goldfinch Iowa’s official bird came from the Iowa Ornithological Union. When the IOU started brainstorming potential state bird candidates in 1926, the Western Meadowlark seemed to stand as the favorite. The group hatched a plan to have all the school children of Iowa vote from a list of possible birds, however, the plan never got off the ground and for another five years Iowans suffered on without a state bird. However, during the IOU’s 1932 meeting in Des Moines, a new vote found in favor of the Goldfinch. Soon after, IOU member and state representative J. Wilbur Dole introduced a successful motion in the Iowa House.
This Day In History is an Our Iowa Heritage blog series that offers you a little bit of Iowa trivia from a large selection of stories on our website. Subscribe to this FREE blog and you’ll get a new email from us daily. Click to learn more.
