Esther Williams (1840 - 1920)

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

In 1840, in the year that Esther Williams was born, on July 23rd, Upper Canada and Lower Canada were merged by the British Parliament, creating the United Province of Canada. This area later became the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

In 1855, at the age of only 15 years old, Esther was alive when on November 17th, David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer, became the first known European to see Victoria Falls. He named the falls in honor of Queen Victoria but locally it was - and is - Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means "The Smoke That Thunders".

In 1866, she was 26 years old when on February 13th, the first robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang - a daylight bank robbery - occurred in Liberty, Missouri. Jesse's presence has been disputed but most historians agree that he was there.

In 1870, Esther was 30 years old when on June 26th, Christmas was declared an official federal holiday in the United States. By 1860, 14 states had declared Christmas a legal holiday but the practice of celebrating Christmas was a local - and religious - choice previously.

In 1920, in the year of Esther Williams's passing, the National Football League, first called the American Professional Football Association, was created. College football was more popular than pro football and rising player salaries were bankrupting league owners. In response, owners created the NFL, using the pro baseball association as a model. Eleven teams were formed: the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Dayton Triangles, Decatur Staleys, Hammond Pros, Massillon Tigers, Muncie Flyers, Racine Cardinals, Rochester Jeffersons and Rock Island Independents.