Francoise Valcourt (1890 - 1978)

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

In 1890, in the year that Francoise Valcourt was born, on October 9th, in Satory, France, the first fixed-wing, steam powered aircraft flew. "Ader Éole" flew, uncontrolled, for about 160 ft. at a height of just under 8 inches off the ground.

In 1925, Francoise was 35 years old when in July, the Scopes Trial - often called the Scopes Monkey Trial - took place, prosecuting a substitute teacher for teaching evolution in school. Tennessee had enacted a law that said it was "unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school". William Jennings Bryan headed the prosecution and Clarence Darrow headed the defense. The teacher was found guilty and fined $100. An appeal to the Supreme Court of Tennessee upheld the law but overturned the guilty verdict.

In 1947, at the age of 57 years old, Francoise was alive when on November 25th, the Hollywood "Black List" was created by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Ten Hollywood writers and directors had refused to testify to the Committee regarding "Communists" or "Reds" in the movie industry. The next day, the blacklist was created and they were fired.

In 1966, at the age of 76 years old, Francoise was alive when on September 8th, the first Star Trek episode, "The Man Trap," was broadcast on NBC. The plot concerned a creature that sucked salt from human bodies. The original series only aired for 3 seasons due to low ratings.

In 1978, in the year of Francoise Valcourt's passing, on July 25th, Louise Brown, the first "test-tube baby", was born at Oldham Hospital in London. Louise was conceived through IVF (in vitro fertilization), a controversial and experimental procedure at the time.