Edward John Smith (1850 - 1912)

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

In 1850, in the year that Edward John Smith was born, on June 1st, the 1850 census was conducted. The population of the US was counted as 23,191,876 - which included 3,204,313 slaves. It was the first census in the US to count every person of a household - including women, children, and slaves - and to ask the place of birth of household members.

In 1860, at the age of merely 10 years old, Edward was alive when on February 26th, near Eureka California, white settlers attacked a tribe of Wiyot Indians on Indian Island. Over 60 women, children and older people died. Bret Harte - a writer and friend of Mark Twain - reported the news about the massacre to the papers in San Francisco.

In 1879, he was 29 years old when on April 26th, the National Park - later renamed the Royal National Park - the 2nd oldest national park in the world, was formally proclaimed in New South Wales, Australia. It was the first park to have the word "national" in its name.

In 1903, at the age of 53 years old, Edward was alive when the Harley-Davidson Motor Company was begun by two childhood friends, William Harley and Arthur Davidson - with help from Arthur's brother, Walter. Their first prototype - a "motor-bicycle" - couldn't climb hills without also pedaling, so they went back to the drawing board, and in 1904 their new version came in 4th in a race. Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company were the only two major motorcycle companies to survive the Great Depression.

In 1912, in the year of Edward John Smith's passing, Arizona was admitted to the United States in February (on Valentine's Day). It became the 48th state in the Union. Previously a Spanish - then Mexican - territory, the U.S. paid $15 million dollars for the area in 1848. Arizona was the last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the United States.