Ada Gertrude (White) Youle (born 1889)

In 1889, in the year that Ada Gertrude (White) Youle was born, on March 31st, the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated. Because the elevators were not yet in operation, officials had to climb to the top of the tower - it took an hour. On May 15th, the Tower opened to the public - still without working elevators - but around 30,000 visitors still made the climb. The elevators went into operation on the 26th. The Tower wasn't considered aesthetically pleasing at the time but is now one of the most iconic structures in the world.

In 1901, shortly after beginning his second term, President McKinley was assassinated by the self proclaimed anarchist Leon Czolgosz. The last President to have served in the Civil War - he began as a private and ended the war as a brevet major - McKinley was a Republican. First elected in 1896, he was re-elected in 1900. Six months after the swearing in, McKinley was shot - and died of the gangrene that set in as a result.

In 1959, on January 3rd, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States and the first state not a part of the contiguous United States. The flag was changed to display 49 stars.

In 1985, in May, a paper published in Nature by three British scientists reported that a huge hole was discovered in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. It was much larger than expected and is due to the use of manmade chemicals.

In 1990, after 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the movement to end South African apartheid was released on February 11th 1990.