Anna Wasylina (1889 - 1986)

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

In 1889, in the year that Anna Wasylina was born, on January 15th, the Coca-Cola Company was incorporated - originally as the "Pemberton Medicine Company". The Coca-Cola drink was originally created by John Stith Pemberton, first as a patent medicine and then as a soda fountain drink. Pemberton had sold the company in 1888, shortly before he died.

In 1898, when she was merely 9 years old, on February 15th, the USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor. The reason for the explosion has never been found, but it killed 266 men. "Remember the Maine" became a rallying cry and precipitated the United States' declaration of war on Spain two months later - the beginning of the Spanish-American War. On December 10th, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty gave the U.S. Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam - for $20 million - and, temporarily, Cuba.

In 1923, when she was 34 years old, on September 1, an earthquake - the Great Kanto earthquake - destroyed one-third of Tokyo. Measuring 7.9 and with a reported duration of between 4 and 10 minutes, casualties totaled about 142,800 deaths, including about 40,000 who went missing and were presumed dead.

In 1934, Anna was 45 years old when on November 11th 1933, an extremely strong dust storm hit South Dakota, stripping topsoil. Other strong dust storms had occurred during 1933. Severe droughts continued to hit the Great Plains and the dust storms devastated agricultural production as well as people's' lives for several years. The Roosevelt administration and scientists eventually determined that farming practices had caused the conditions that led to the dust storms and the changes they implemented in farming stopped the Dust Bowl.

In 1986, in the year of Anna Wasylina's passing, on September 8th, the Oprah Winfrey Show went into national syndication. A popular talk show, it was number 1 in the ratings since its debut. The last show aired on May 25, 2011.