John Newlands (1833 - 1899)

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

In 1833, in the year that John Newlands was born, on March 4th, Andrew Jackson was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Jackson had won the election over Henry Clay of Kentucky - Jackson got 54.2 % of the popular vote.

In 1855, John was 22 years old when on June 29th, The Daily Telegraph began in London. The newspaper began as The Daily Telegraph and Courier and still has the reputation of being a quality paper.

In 1867, John was 34 years old when on March 30th, Alaska was bought by the US from Russia for $7.2 million dollars, which worked out to about 2 cents per acre. The newspapers called it "Seward's Folly" because United States Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase and Alaska was seen as frozen, useless land.

In 1886, John was 53 years old when on May 4th, a general strike began in Chicago. Workers were striking for an 8 hour workday and in protest of the killing - by police - of several workers the day before. When an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb, the strike became violent. Seven policemen were killed as well as 4 civilians. It became known as the Haymarket Riot and eventually resulted in an 8 hourwork day as well as commemorations on May 1st for worker's rights.

In 1899, in the year of John Newlands's passing, 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.