John Murphy (1919 - 1986)

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

In 1919, in the year that John Murphy was born, the "Black Sox Scandal" rocked baseball fans during the World Series. Eight players on the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series, thus allowing the Cincinnati Reds to win, and making money off of the losses. All of the players were found not guilty by a jury but the fallout lasted for decades. The players were banned from baseball even though they were found innocent.

In 1923, John was merely 4 years old when on August 2nd, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th President of the United States due to the sudden death of Warren G. Harding. After the scandals of the Harding presidency, Coolidge restored public confidence and was very popular. He won the Presidential election in 1924 but declined to run again in 1928.

In 1934, John was merely 15 years old when on November 11th 1933, an extremely strong dust storm hit South Dakota, stripping topsoil. Other strong dust storms had occurred during 1933. Severe droughts continued to hit the Great Plains and the dust storms devastated agricultural production as well as people's' lives for several years. The Roosevelt administration and scientists eventually determined that farming practices had caused the conditions that led to the dust storms and the changes they implemented in farming stopped the Dust Bowl.

In 1957, he was 38 years old when on October 4th, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man made earth-orbiting satellite - and triggered the Space Race. Sputnik I was only 23 inches in diameter and had no tracking equipment, only 4 antennas, but it had a big impact.

In 1986, in the year of John Murphy'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.