George Howe (1900 - 1917)

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

In 1900, in the year that George Howe was born, the U.S. population exceeded 75 million, rising about 13 million from the 1890 census. 87.9% of the population was white, 11.6% was African-American, 0.7% was Hispanic, and 0.5% was Native American, Asian, and other minorities.

In 1911, when he was only 11 years old, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire occurred, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history. 146 workers (123 women and 23 men, many of them recent Jewish and Italian immigrants) died from the fire or by jumping to escape the fire and smoke. The garment factory was on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of a building in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. Doors to stairwells and exits had been locked in order to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to prevent theft, so they couldn't escape by normal means when the fire broke out. Due to the disaster, legislation was passed to protect sweatshop workers.

In 1913, he was merely 13 years old when Woodrow Wilson became the 28th President of the United States in March. Previously the Governor of New Jersey and President of Princeton University, he was the first Southerner to serve as President since Zachary Taylor, over 60 years previous. A Democrat, he led the U.S. during World War I and championed the League of Nations.

In 1917, in the year of George Howe's passing, the U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in January. While they are U.S. citizens, Virgin Islanders are ineligible to vote for the President of the United States.