Click on any of the News, Events, or Discoveries buttons above to see historical things that happened during
William 'Bill' Simpson's life. These are only some of the major events that affected the life and times of
William 'Bill', his family, and friends. For example, William 'Bill' is 2 years old when Widespread prosperity of the 1920s ends abruptly with the stock market crash in October
| Age | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1 |
1928 |
The Tamiami Trail opens. It opens the southernmost 275 miles of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 (SR 5) in Miami, Florida to tourist. It also destroys many of the Seminole Indian waterways and hinders their economy. |
| Age | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1 |
1928 |
Big bang theory was introduced |
| 9 |
1936 |
The first regular television broadcast happens in England |
| 11 |
1938 |
Hahn, Strassmann, Meitner and Frisch discover nuclear fission |
| Age | Date | Event |
|---|
| 11 |
1938 |
NEWS HEADLINES: Orson Wells' radio production of H.G. Well's War of the Worlds causes a national panic. |
| 12 |
1939 |
NEWS HEADLINES: The first regular television broadcast happens in the United States |
| 14 |
1941 |
NEWS HEADLINES: December 7, 1941 -- Japan launches a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the US officially declares war on Japan the following day. World War II begins for American soldiers. |
| Age | Date | Event |
|---|
| 2 |
1929 |
Widespread prosperity of the 1920s ends abruptly with the stock market crash in October |
| 3 |
1930 |
Drought in the Great Plains area begins, creating hardship for farm families in 19 states. |
| 5 |
1932 |
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The infant son of Charles Lindbergh is kidnapped and murdered. |
| 6 |
1933 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected president under his "New Deal" campaign. Frances Perkins becomes the first woman to hold a cabinet post when FDR appoints her secretary of labor. On December 5, the 21st Amendment is added to the Constitution, repealing Prohibition. Drinks for everyone! |
| 7 |
1934 |
Farm families must leave the dust bowl-stricken Great Plains areas. The dust bowl includes areas in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Arkansas. Radio picks up the "Okie" songs. In all, 400,000 people leave the Great Plains. |
| 7 |
1934 |
Congress passes the Indian Reorganization Act which allows remaining Indian tribes to reorganize. |
| 8 |
1935 |
Congress passes the Social Security Act, giving elder Americans Social Security money for the first time. |
| 12 |
1939 |
Hollywood releases The Wizard of Oz, one of the first films to be made in color. |
| 16 |
1943 |
Japanese Americans are relocated to internment camps; Almost 400,000 coal miners go on strike; Race riots break out in Los Angeles and Detroit. |
| 17 |
1944 |
On June 6, Allied forces invade Normandy (referred to as "D-Day") |
| 18 |
1945 |
President Roosevelt dies; The United Nations is established; the first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. |
| Age | Date | Event |
|---|
| 11 |
1938 |
Hitler annexes Anschluss into Germany. At the Munich Conference, Germany is given a portion of Czechoslovakia. |
| 12 |
1939 |
Hitler takes over all of Czechoslovakia. On Sept. 1st, Germany invades Poland. On Sept. 3rd, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. World War II has begun. |
| 18 |
1945 |
World War II ends with a Japanese delegation signing instrument of surrender aboard battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. |
