Harold Stebbins (1908 - 1984)

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

In 1908, in the year that Harold Stebbins was born, Henry Ford developed the first Model T automobile, often called the Tin Lizzy or flivver. Produced from 1908 through 1927, it first sold for $850 - which made it affordable for every middle class family. Previously, cars were the province of the upper class and the introduction of the Model T and its availability changed U.S. culture. Within days of its release, over 15,000 cars had been ordered.

In 1921, Harold was only 13 years old when in May, the Emergency Quota Act - or Emergency Immigration Act - was passed. The law restricted the number of immigrants to 357,000 per year. It also established an immigration quota in which only 3 per cent of the total population of any ethnic group already in the USA in 1910, could be admitted to America after 1921. Although the Act was supposed to be temporary, it stayed in effect until 1965.

In 1944, at the age of 36 years old, Harold was alive when on November 7th, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reelected to a fourth term as President of the United States. Running against Thomas Dewey, Governor of New York, Roosevelt won 53.4 of the popular vote, Dewey got 45.9%.

In 1974, when he was 66 years old, on August 9th, Gerald R. Ford became the 38th President of the United States. He had been Vice President for 8 months when he became President due to the resignation of President Nixon.

In 1984, in the year of Harold Stebbins's passing, on January 1, "Baby Bells" were created. AT&T had been the provider of telephone service (and equipment) in the United States. The company kept Western Electric, Bell Labs, and AT&T Long Distance. Seven new regional companies (the Baby Bells) covered local telephone service and were separately owned. AT&T lost 70% of its book value due to this move.