Alice Emily Brown (1889 - 1972)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Alice's lifetime.

In 1889, in the year that Alice Emily Brown was born, on February 22nd, President Cleveland signed a bill allowing North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington to become states. North and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states on November 2nd, Montana became the 41st state on November 8th, and Washington became the 42nd state on November 11th.

In 1891, she was just 2 years old when from March 9th through the 12th, a blizzard hit the south and west of England. Called the Great Blizzard of 1891, it led to snow drifts of up to 15 feet and killed 200 people and 6,000 animals. Fourteen ships sank.

In 1903, when she was just 14 years old, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company was begun by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson - with help from Arthur's brother, Walter. Their first prototype - a "motor-bicycle" - couldn't climb hills without also pedaling, so they went back to the drawing board, and in 1904 their new version came in 4th in a race. Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company were the only two major motorcycle companies to survive the Great Depression.

In 1910, she was 21 years old when Halley's comet, which returns past the earth every 75 - 76 years was observed photographically for the first time. Two fortuitous events occurred - photography had been invented since the last time the comet had passed and the comet was relatively close. There was panic because one astronomer claimed that the gas from its tail "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet." People bought gas masks, "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas".

In 1972, in the year of Alice Emily Brown's passing, on November 7th, Richard Nixon won re-election, amidst the dawning knowledge of the Watergate scandal, by 60.7% to anti-war candidate George McGovern's 37.5%.