Benjamin Franklin Henry (1847 - 1931)

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

In 1847, in the year that Benjamin Franklin Henry was born, on May 7th, In Philadelphia, an association of physicians and medical students was founded - the American Medical Association or AMA. The association, the first of its kind, wanted to create uniform standards for medical training, education, and practices.

In 1859, Benjamin was merely 12 years old when on February 27th, US Congressman Daniel Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key - a US. District Attorney and son of Francis Scott Key, writer of the national anthem, for having an affair with his wife. Sickles claimed temporary insanity - the first to do so - and was acquitted.

In 1870, he was 23 years old when on March 31st, Thomas Mundy Peterson was the first African-American male who voted in an election - a local election about the town charter. Peterson, a school principal, was also the first to hold elected office and the first to sit on a jury.

In 1926, when he was 79 years old, on October 31st, Harry Houdini died in Michigan. Houdini was the most famed magician of his time and perhaps of all time, especially for his acts involving escapes - from handcuffs, straitjackets, chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, and more. He was president of the Society of American Magicians and stringently upheld professional ethics. He died of complications from a ruptured appendix. Although he had received a blow to the area a couple of days previously, the connection between the blow and his appendicitis is disputed.

In 1931, in the year of Benjamin Franklin Henry's passing, on May 1st, the Empire State Building opened in New York City. At 1,454 feet (including the roof and antenna), it was the tallest building in the world until the World Trade Center's North Tower was built in 1970. (It is now the 34th tallest.) Opening at the beginning of the Great Depression, most of the offices in the Empire State Building remained unoccupied for years and the observation deck was an equal source of revenue and kept the building profitable.