Florene Cravey (1914 - 1977)

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

In 1914, in the year that Florene Cravey was born, in August, the Panama Canal opened to traffic. Begun by the French in the 1880's and abandoned, the United States undertook further construction in 1904. After 10 years, and the elimination of malaria carrying mosquitoes (which caused immense delays for the French and the Americans), the 48 mile long artificial waterway - a series of locks - created a shortcut for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

In 1928, when she was merely 14 years old, aviatrix Amelia Earhart, age 31, became the first woman to fly solo across North America and back in August. In June, she had been part of a 3 man crew that flew the Atlantic Ocean but since she had no instrument training, she couldn't fly the plane - she kept the flight log. The North American flight became one of her many "firsts" as a female pilot.

In 1945, Florene was 31 years old when on January 20th, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in to his fourth term as President of the United States. He died 82 days into his term and his new Vice-President, Harry Truman, became President.

In 1962, when she was 48 years old, on February 20th, Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth. The Friendship 7 flew three times around the earth in 4 hours and 55 minutes. At age 77, Glenn returned to space - the oldest person to fly in space.

In 1977, in the year of Florene Cravey's passing, on May 25th, Star Wars premiered in theaters. Eventually, it became the highest-grossing film of all time - until E.T. surpassed it a few years later. It was an immediate hit with theatergoers.