Joe Bonis (1887 - 1963)

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

In 1887, in the year that Joe Bonis was born, on January 28th, the largest recorded snowflakes fell in a snowstorm in Fort Keogh, Montana. They were supposed to have been 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick. A rancher in the area said that they were “larger than milk pans”. A Wild West tall tale? Not according to the Guinness World Records book.

In 1893, at the age of only 6 years old, Joe was alive when on May 5th, a crash on the New York Stock Exchange started a depression that lasted 4 years. It was the beginning of the Panic of 1893.

In 1902, at the age of merely 15 years old, Joe was alive when the first Rose Bowl game was played in Pasadena, California. Called the "Tournament East–West football game" at the time, the Michigan Wolverines (East) played the Stanford Indians (West) - the Wolverines won 49 - 0. (The Stanford captain requested an end to the game with 8 minutes remaining.) The Tournament of Roses Parade began in 1890 and the football game began as a way to boost tourism in the area.

In 1914, when he was 27 years old, in only his second big-screen appearance, Charlie Chaplin played the Little Tramp, his most famous character. The silent film was made in January and released the following year. Of the character, Chaplin said: "On the way to the wardrobe I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. I wanted everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large." The moustache was added to age his 24-year-old face without masking his expressions.

In 1963, in the year of Joe Bonis's passing, on November 22nd, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th President of the United States when President John Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. Johnson was sworn in on the plane carrying Kennedy's body back to Washington D.C.