PITTSBURGH — Editor's note: The above video is from May 14.
Today is "H" Day—a day where the citizens of Pittsburgh informally celebrate the re-addition of the "H" to the end of the city's name. But why did it need to be re-added in the first place? And why was there a debate?
It all started in 1758, when General John Forbes sent a letter to William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham, referring to Fort Duquesne as "Pittsburgh." This is the earliest known reference to the city as such, according to Visit Pittsburgh. In the letter, the city was called "Pittsbourgh," and notified the earl that his name had been given to the city. In the city's charter, dated March 18, 1816, the "Pittsburgh" spelling was used, but apparently a printing error led to the spelling of "Pittsburg" on official copies of the document.
Generally, however, the "Pittsburgh" spelling stuck around until 1891, when the United States Board on Geographic Names adopted "thirteen general principles to be used in standardizing place names," also according to Visit Pittsburgh. One of these principles stated that place names ending in -burgh should ditch the "h." Because of this principle, the city's name was formally changed to "Pittsburg," and officials referenced the "misspelled" copies of the city's charter to argue that that was the city's name all along.
The name change was met with much resistance. The Pittsburgh Gazette for example, refused to adopt the board's decision, as did the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange, also according to Visit Pittsburgh. This resistance did not wane, and the board reversed the decision (for Pittsburgh, Pa. only) on July 19, 1911.
Other "Pittsburgs" across the United States still have the old spelling, however, such as Pittsburg, Kan. and Pittsburg, Calif. But Pittsburgh, Pa. remains an "H" city.