Bennie Kiviat (1876 - 1975)

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

In 1876, in the year that Bennie Kiviat was born, in the Spring, Sioux chief Sitting Bull's encampment in the region of the Little Bighorn River was expanded by "vast numbers" from other tribes. This meeting of Native Americans became the last great gathering of native peoples on the Great Plains.

In 1927, at the age of 51 years old, Bennie was alive when in September, the Columbia Broadcasting System (later called CBS) became the second national radio network in the U.S. The first broadcast was a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from radio station WOR in Newark, New Jersey.

In 1959, when he was 83 years old, on January 3rd, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States and the first state not a part of the contiguous United States. The flag was changed to display 49 stars.

In 1963, at the age of 87 years old, Bennie was alive when the British Secretary of War, 46 year old John Profumo ,was forced to resign when he lied about an affair with 19 year old Christine Keeler. Keeler was also involved with the Soviet naval attaché and charges of espionage were feared. No proof of spying was ever found.

In 1975, in the year of Bennie Kiviat's passing, on September 5th, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme tried to assassinate President Ford in Sacramento, California. She failed when her gun wouldn't fire. President Ford escaped a second assassination attempt 17 days later on September 22 when Sarah Jane Moore tried to shoot him in San Francisco. A bystander saw her raise her arm, grabbed it, and the shot went wild.