Houston Kincaid (1900 - 1971)

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

In 1900, in the year that Houston Kincaid was born, when Floradora opened on Broadway. A huge success in London - opening in 1899 and running for 455 performances - the musical was even more successful in New York - running for 552 performances. The "Floradora girls" were the hit of the show - a "sextette of tall, gorgeous damsels, clad in pink walking costumes, black picture hats and carrying frilly parasols who swished onto the stage and captivated New York for no other reason than they were utterly stunning" ("tall and gorgeous" translated to 5'4"). A sensation, each Floradora girl was said to have married a millionaire.

In 1917, at the age of 17 years old, Houston was alive when on July 28, between ten and fifteen thousand blacks silently walked down New York City's Fifth Avenue to protest racial discrimination and violence. Lynchings in Waco Texas and hundreds of African-Americans killed in East St. Louis Illinois had sparked the protest. Picket signs said "Mother, do lynchers go to heaven?" "Mr. President, why not make America safe for democracy?" "Thou shalt not kill." "Pray for the Lady Macbeth's of East St. Louis" and "Give us a chance to live."

In 1927, at the age of 27 years old, Houston was alive when in September, the Columbia Broadcasting System (later called CBS) became the second national radio network in the U.S. The first broadcast was a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from radio station WOR in Newark, New Jersey.

In 1946, Houston was 46 years old when on July 4th, the Philippines gained independence from the United States. In 1964, Independence Day in the Philippines was moved from July 4th to June 12th at the insistence of nationalists and historians.

In 1971, in the year of Houston Kincaid's passing, in March, Congress passed the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18 (from 21). It was a response to the criticism that men could fight at 18, but not vote for the policies and politicians who sent them to war. The states quickly ratified the Amendment and it was signed into law on July 1st by President Richard Nixon.