How the Flag’s 13 Stripes Came to Be

Long credited for designing and sewing the first U.S. flag, Philadelphia upholsterer Betsy Ross probably didn’t have anything to do it, says Reader’s Digest. Grandson William Canby appears to have invented that account, presenting it to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870. That first official design included 13 stripes for the original 13 states, but when Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union, a new flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes debuted — and that’s the version that was immortalized in Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner.” Later designs returned to the original 13 stripes and added stars for new states. #FlagDay