Felice A Valcourt (1906 - 1990)

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

In 1906, in the year that Felice A Valcourt was born, English biochemist Frederick Hopkins concluded that vitamins are essential to the human body and that a lack of vitamins caused scurvy and rickets. Scurvy and rickets were both huge problems in sailors that were at sea for extended time and the addition of vitamin C, vitamin D, and calcium in their diets helped eradicate the problem.

In 1926, this person was 20 years old when on October 31st, Harry Houdini died in Michigan. Houdini was the most famed magician of his time and perhaps of all time, especially for his acts involving escapes - from handcuffs, straitjackets, chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, and more. He was president of the Society of American Magicians and stringently upheld professional ethics. He died of complications from a ruptured appendix. Although he had received a blow to the area a couple of days previously, the connection between the blow and his appendicitis is disputed.

In 1948, when this person was 42 years old, on May 14th, the State of Israel was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel's first Premier, and the U.S. officially recognized Israel. That evening, Egypt launched an air assault on Israel.

In 1974, at the age of 68 years old, Felice was alive when on February 5th, Patty Hearst, age 19 - granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst and daughter of publisher of the San Francisco Examiner Randolph Hearst - was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a left wing terrorist group. She was found, alive, 19 months later.

In 1990, in the year of Felice A Valcourt's passing, after 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the movement to end South African apartheid was released on February 11th 1990.