Esther Provost (1897 - 1995)

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

In 1897, in the year that Esther Provost was born, on March 4th, William McKinley became the 25th President of the United States. He had beaten William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 election by 51% to 46.7% in the popular vote. Six months into his second term as President, McKinley was assassinated.

In 1925, at the age of 28 years old, Esther was alive when gangster Al "Scarface" Capone took over the Chicago bootlegging racket at age 26. Previously right hand man to boss Johnny Torrio, Capone took over when Torrio was shot and severely injured and decided to resign. The bootlegging and brothel organization was massive and when asked what he did, Capone often replied "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want".

In 1956, Esther was 59 years old when this was the year that the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, became an international sensation. He began the year as a regional favorite and ended the year with 17 recordings having been on the Billboard’s Top 100 singles chart, 11 TV appearances, and a movie. Elvis scandalized adults and thrilled teens.

In 1985, at the age of 88 years old, Esther was alive when on March 7th, the song "We Are the World" was released as a charity effort to alleviate the African famine. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones. They were joined by 37 other famous singers in the recording studio and a phenomena had begun

In 1995, in the year of Esther Provost's passing, on May 19th, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil - before 9/11 - took place in Oklahoma City. A truck bomb went off outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown - killing 68 people, injuring more than 680 others, and destroying one-third of the building. The most disturbing images were of children - a daycare center was hit by the bomb. The deadliest incident of domestic terrorism ever, Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and Michael Fortier were convicted of the bombing.