James Mclaughlin (1849 - 1960)

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

In 1849, in the year that James Mclaughlin was born, on February 14th, President James Polk had his photograph taken in New York City. He was the first President to have his photo taken.

In 1851, at the age of just 2 years old, James was alive when on March 27th, the first recorded visit of white men to Yosemite Valley occurred. The Mariposa Battalion, chasing Native Americans, went into the valley. One man, Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, wrote "the grandeur of the scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the valley -- light as gossamer -- and by the clouds which partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emotion."

In 1933, at the age of 84 years old, James was alive when on December 5th, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The 21st Amendment said "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." Alcohol was legal again! It was the only amendment to the Constitution approved for the explicit purpose of repealing a previously existing amendment. South Carolina was the only state to reject the Amendment.

In 1941, when he was 92 years old, in his State of the Union address on January 6th, President Roosevelt detailed the "four freedoms" that everyone in the world should have: Freedom of speech, Freedom of worship, Freedom from want, and Freedom from fear. In the same speech, he outlined the benefits of democracy which he said were economic opportunity, employment, social security, and the promise of "adequate health care".

In 1960, in the year of James Mclaughlin's passing, on September 26th, the first televised debate for a Presidential campaign in the United States - Kennedy vs Nixon - was held. Seventy million people watched the debate on TV. The debate pre-empted the very popular Andy Griffith Show.