George J Dufresne (1909 - 1994)

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

In 1909, in the year that George J Dufresne was born, William Howard Taft became the 27th President of the United States on March 4th. Previously Secretary of War, Judge on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Solicitor General of the U.S., and Governor of both the Philippines and Cuba, Taft was the only President who went on to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

In 1939, at the age of 30 years old, George was alive when on the 1st of September, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. On September 17th, the Soviet Union invaded Poland as well. Poland expected help from France and the United Kingdom, since they had a pact with both. But no help came. By October 6th, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany held full control of the previously Polish lands. Eventually, the invasion of Poland lead to World War II.

In 1958, he was 49 years old when on January 31st, Explorer I, the United States' answer to Sputnik I (and 2,) was launched. America had entered the Space Race. The first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt, it remained in orbit until 1970.

In 1976, when he was 67 years old, 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."

In 1994, in the year of George J Dufresne'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.