Beverly Smith Wishon (1949 - 2009)

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

In 1949, in the year that Beverly Smith Wishon was born, comedian Milton Berle hosted the first telethon show. It raised $1,100,000 for cancer research and lasted 16 hours. The next day, newspapers, in writing about the event, first used the word "telethon."

In 1953, at the age of only 4 years old, Beverly was alive when on July 27th, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The Armistice was to last until "a final peaceful settlement is achieved". No peaceful settlement has ever been agreed upon.

In 1976, Beverly was 27 years old when on August 4th, a mysterious illness struck an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. Within a week, 25 people had died and 130 people had been hospitalized. It was the first known instance of what came to be called "Legionnaires Disease."

In 1987, she was 38 years old when was the first time that a criminal in the United States - a serial rapist - was convicted through the use of DNA evidence.

In 1995, when she was 46 years old, on October 16th, the Million Man March took place on the National Mall in Washington DC. The March was organized to address "the ills of black communities and call for unity and revitalization of African American communities". An estimated 850,000 people attended.