Galja B Votaw (1896 - 1994)

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

In 1896, in the year that Galja B Votaw was born, on January 4th, Utah became the 45th state in the United States. After the LDS Church banned polygamy in 1890, Utah's application for statehood became acceptable to Congress and the Utah Territory became Utah..

In 1926, Galja was 30 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 1949, by the time this person was 53 years old, comedian Milton Berle hosted the first telethon show. It raised $1,100,000 for cancer research and lasted 16 hours. The next day, newspapers, in writing about the event, first used the word "telethon."

In 1981, this person was 85 years old when on August 1st, MTV debuted. It was the first music video TV channel. The first music video played was the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" - the second was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run".

In 1994, in the year of Galja B Votaw's passing, on May 6th, former political prisoner, lawyer, and activist Nelson Mandela was elected the first black President of South Africa. He was 75 when he was elected and he served one five-year term.