Frank Conti (1899 - 1976)

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

In 1899, in the year that Frank Conti was born, on February 14th, the first voting machines were approved by Congress for use in federal elections. Several states were already using voting machines in their elections and the Federal government was finally convinced of their safety and accuracy.

In 1917, when he was 18 years old, it is believed that a worldwide influenza pandemic began in Asia. By 1920, it is estimated that 50 - 100 million died throughout the world (3 - 5% of the population). In the U.S. alone, 500,000 perished from what came to be called the Spanish Flu or the 1918 flu.

In 1938, when he was 39 years old, on June 25th (a Saturday) the Fair Labor Standards Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt (along with 120 other bills). The Act banned oppressive child labor, set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents, and established the maximum workweek at 44 hours. It faced a lot of opposition and in fighting for it, Roosevelt said "Do not let any calamity-howling executive with an income of $1,000 a day, ...tell you...that a wage of $11 a week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry."

In 1946, he was 47 years old when pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock's book "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" was published. It sold half a million copies in the first six months. Aside from the Bible, it became the best selling book of the 20th century. A generation of Baby Boomers were raised by the advice of Dr. Spock.

In 1976, in the year of Frank Conti's passing, on August 4th, a mysterious illness struck an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. Within a week, 25 people had died and 130 people had been hospitalized. It was the first known instance of what came to be called "Legionnaires Disease."