Anna S Matthews (1890 - 1919)

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

In 1890, in the year that Anna S Matthews was born, on July 3rd, Idaho became the 43rd state in the United States. On July 10th, Wyoming became the 44th state.

In 1900, she was only 10 years old when when Floradora opened on Broadway. A huge success in London - opening in 1899 and running for 455 performances - the musical was even more successful in New York - running for 552 performances. The "Floradora girls" were the hit of the show - a "sextette of tall, gorgeous damsels, clad in pink walking costumes, black picture hats and carrying frilly parasols who swished onto the stage and captivated New York for no other reason than they were utterly stunning" ("tall and gorgeous" translated to 5'4"). A sensation, each Floradora girl was said to have married a millionaire.

In 1903, at the age of only 13 years old, Anna was alive when the United States Department of Commerce and Labor was created by President Theodore Roosevelt to control the excesses of big business. Renamed the Department of Commerce 10 years later, many departments concerned with workers were transferred to the Department of Labor at that time. Another spin-off, the Bureau of Corporations, became the Federal Trade Commission.

In 1919, in the year of Anna S Matthews's passing, in the summer and early autumn, race riots erupted in 26 U.S. cities, resulting in hundreds of deaths and even more people being badly hurt. In most cases, African-Americans were the victims. It was called the "Red Summer". Men who were returning from World War I needed jobs and there was competition for those jobs among the races. Tension was heightened by the use by many companies of blacks as strikebreakers.