Alma Whitaker (1901 - 1981)

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

In 1901, in the year that Alma Whitaker was born, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. Chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896, had provided in his will for prizes in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine, who have produced the most distinguished literary work of an idealist tendency, and who have contributed the most toward world peace. The winners in 1901 were: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen for physics, Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff for chemistry, Emil Adolf von Behring for physiology or medicine, Sully Prudhomme for literature, and Jean Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy for peace.

In 1945, at the age of 44 years old, Alma was alive when on March 12th, a riot erupted at a Japanese internment camp in Santa Fe New Mexico. Two days earlier, white shirts with the Rising Sun on the back had been confiscated and the prisoners objected. Three leaders of the protest were removed and sent to another camp. Guards at the Santa Fe camp were armed with submachine guns, shotguns, and gun masks. On the morning of the 12th, prisoners began throwing rocks at the guards. When the "rioters" wouldn't disperse, the guards were ordered to use tear gas and batons. Four men were badly injured as a result.

In 1968, she was 67 years old when on April 4th, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader, was shot and killed by an assassin in Memphis. James Earl Ray was apprehended and plead guilty to shooting Dr. King. Ray died in jail in 1998.

In 1977, by the time she was 76 years old, on May 25th, Star Wars premiered in theaters. Eventually, it became the highest-grossing film of all time - until E.T. surpassed it a few years later. It was an immediate hit with theatergoers.

In 1981, in the year of Alma Whitaker's passing, on January 20th, Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the United States. He ran against the incumbent, Jimmy Carter, and won 50.7% of the popular vote to Carter's 41.0%.