Catherine “Kitty” Gertrude (Hay) Hoffman (1886 - 1966)

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

In 1886, in the year that Catherine “Kitty” Gertrude (Hay) Hoffman was born, on February 14th, the first train left Los Angeles for the East -by the way of the transcontinental railroad - with a cargo of oranges. Due to irrigation and the import of water, Los Angeles was the ideal place to grow oranges - which became a popular addition to Christmas stockings.

In 1901, when she was only 15 years old, shortly after beginning his second term, President McKinley was assassinated by the self proclaimed anarchist Leon Czolgosz. The last President to have served in the Civil War - he began as a private and ended the war as a brevet major - McKinley was a Republican. First elected in 1896, he was re-elected in 1900. Six months after the swearing in, McKinley was shot - and died of the gangrene that set in as a result.

In 1926, when she was 40 years old, on November 15th, NBC was founded. It was the U.S.'s first major broadcast network. Ownership of the network was split between RCA (a majority partner at 50%), its founding corporate parent General Electric (which owned 30%), and Westinghouse (which owned the remaining 20%).

In 1945, when she was 59 years old, on May 8th, World War II in Europe ended when Germany surrendered. Hitler had committed suicide a week before.

In 1966, in the year of Catherine “Kitty” Gertrude (Hay) Hoffman's passing, on September 8th, the first Star Trek episode, "The Man Trap," was broadcast on NBC. The plot concerned a creature that sucked salt from human bodies. The original series only aired for 3 seasons due to low ratings.