John Cannon (1887 - 1918)

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

In 1887, in the year that John Cannon was born, on July 1st, the assembly for the supports of the Eiffel Tower began . A wrought iron lattice tower, it was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel - who also contributed to the building of the Statue of Liberty. There are 18,000 pieces in the Eiffel Tower - which had to be built separately and then assembled in place - with rivets - to complete the Tower.

In 1893, by the time he was just 6 years old, a songbook, called Song Stories for the Kindergarten, was published by sisters Patty and Mildred Hill. One of the songs included in the book was "Good Morning to All" - later the lyrics were changed and it became "Happy Birthday to You".

In 1899, John was only 12 years old when on February 14th, the first voting machines were approved by Congress for use in federal elections. Several states were already using voting machines in their elections and the Federal government was finally convinced of their safety and accuracy.

In 1905, by the time he was 18 years old, the Niagara Falls conference was held in Fort Erie, Ontario. Led by W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter, a group of African-American men met in opposition to racial segregation and disenfranchisement. Booker T. Washington had been calling for policies of accommodation and conciliation and these two men, along with the others who attended the conference, felt that this was accomplishing nothing. The group was the precursor to the NAACP.

In 1918, in the year of John Cannon's passing, on November 1, an elevated train on the Brooklyn line of the subway - driven by an inexperienced operator because of a strike - tried to navigate a turn at 30mph. The limit on the curve was 6 mph. The 2nd and 3rd cars of the 5 car wooden train were badly damaged and at least 93 people were killed, making it the deadliest crash in New York subway history.