John M Jernigan (1895 - 1983)

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

In 1895, in the year that John M Jernigan was born, on September 3rd, in Latrobe, PA, the first professional football game was played. The game was between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club. Latrobe won 12 - 0.

In 1929, by the time he was 34 years old, on October 29th (Black Tuesday), the stock market crashed in the United States. Billions of dollars were lost and some investors committed suicide as a result, having lost their fortunes. This ushered in the 12 year, worldwide Great Depression.

In 1935, John was 40 years old when on August 14, the Social Security Act was signed into law. The purpose was to "provide federal assistance to those unable to work". The law established the Social Security Administration whose primary focus was to "provide aid for the elderly, the unemployed, and children". The Act survived many Supreme Court challenges and the Administration continues until today.

In 1968, by the time he was 73 years old, on April 4th, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader, was shot and killed by an assassin in Memphis. James Earl Ray was apprehended and plead guilty to shooting Dr. King. Ray died in jail in 1998.

In 1983, in the year of John M Jernigan's passing, physicist Sally K. Ride, 32, became the first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger on June 18th. She was also the youngest (32) astronaut to go into space. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space in 1963.