Elvin Brooks (1881 - 1967)

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

In 1881, in the year that Elvin Brooks was born, on November 19th, a meteorite landed a few miles southwest of Odessa, Ukraine. According to one report: "About 7 o'clock one morning a bright and serpentine tail of fire was seen passing over the town by the inhabitants of Odessa, and M. Prendel, editor of one of the Odessa papers, surmising that the phenomenon betokened a fall of meteorites, offered a reward to any person who would bring him one. Three days afterward a gentleman of Grossliebental brought him one which had been found by a peasant who was nearly frightened out of his senses at its fall. It fell beside him while at work in his field and buried itself .55 meters (almost 2 ft) into the ground." The recovered piece was about 17.5 lbs.

In 1922, at the age of 41 years old, Elvin was alive when the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. on May 30th. More than 35,000 people attended the dedication including Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, and many Union and Confederate veterans - although the audience was segregated. The Memorial took 10 years to complete.

In 1932, he was 51 years old when on February 27th, actress Elizabeth Taylor was born in London. Her parents were Americans living in London and when she was 7, the family moved to Los Angeles. Her first small part in a movie was in There's One Born Every Minute in 1942 but her first starring role was in National Velvet in 1944. She became as famous for her 8 marriages (to 7 people) as she was for her beauty and films.

In 1957, at the age of 76 years old, Elvin was alive when on October 4th, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man made earth-orbiting satellite - and triggered the Space Race. Sputnik I was only 23 inches in diameter and had no tracking equipment, only 4 antennas, but it had a big impact.

In 1967, in the year of Elvin Brooks's passing, on November 7th, President Johnson signed legislation passed by Congress that created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which would later become PBS and NPR. The legislation required CPB to operate with a "strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature".