John Crenner (1916 - 1986)

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

In 1916, in the year that John Crenner was born, in June, the U.S. Congress authorized a plan to expand the armed forces over the next five years. Called the National Defense Act of 1916, the national law expanded the National Guard and Army (the Army added an aviation unit), created the Reserves, and gave the President expanded authority to federalize the National Guard. It also allowed the government to stockpile, in advance, materiel to be used in wartime.

In 1927, at the age of merely 11 years old, John was alive when the first "talkie" (a movie with music, songs, and talking), The Jazz Singer, was released. Al Jolson starred as a cantor's son who instead of following in his father's footsteps as expected, becomes a singer of popular songs. Banished by his father, they reconcile on his father's deathbed. It was a tear-jerker and audiences went wild - especially when they heard the songs. Thus begun the demise of silent films and the rise of "talkies".

In 1945, at the age of 29 years old, John was alive when on April 12th, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. At 1p, he was sitting for a portrait when he complained that he had a "terrific pain" in the back of his head and collapsed. A doctor was summoned and the doctor gave him a shot of adrenaline into his heart. It didn't help and he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. A slow moving train took him back to Washington D.C. while thousands of mourners lined the tracks. He was buried at his home in Hyde Park, New York.

In 1967, he was 51 years old when on October 2nd, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first black US Supreme Court justice. Marshall was the great-grandson of a slave and graduated first in his class at Howard University Law School. His nomination to the Supreme Court was approved by the Senate, 69 to 11.

In 1986, in the year of John Crenner's passing, on September 8th, the Oprah Winfrey Show went into national syndication. A popular talk show, it was number 1 in the ratings since its debut. The last show aired on May 25, 2011.