Lester Hutchins (1881 - 1965)

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

In 1881, in the year that Lester Hutchins was born, on April 28th, Billy the Kid escaped from the Lincoln County Jail in New Mexico. He killed James Bell and Robert Ollinger in the escape and then stole a horse and rode out of town. On July 14th, Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid in Billy's friend's home near Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

In 1910, by the time he was 29 years old, Halley's comet, which returns past the earth every 75 - 76 years was observed photographically for the first time. Two fortuitous events occurred - photography had been invented since the last time the comet had passed and the comet was relatively close. There was panic because one astronomer claimed that the gas from its tail "would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet." People bought gas masks, "anti-comet pills" and "anti-comet umbrellas".

In 1928, Lester was 47 years old when aviatrix Amelia Earhart, age 31, became the first woman to fly solo across North America and back in August. In June, she had been part of a 3 man crew that flew the Atlantic Ocean but since she had no instrument training, she couldn't fly the plane - she kept the flight log. The North American flight became one of her many "firsts" as a female pilot.

In 1939, Lester was 58 years old when on the 1st of September, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. On September 17th, the Soviet Union invaded Poland as well. Poland expected help from France and the United Kingdom, since they had a pact with both. But no help came. By October 6th, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany held full control of the previously Polish lands. Eventually, the invasion of Poland lead to World War II.

In 1965, in the year of Lester Hutchins's passing, on March 8th, the first US combat troops arrived in Vietnam. The 3500 Marines joined 23,000 "advisors" already in South Vietnam. By the end of the year, 190,000 American soldiers were in the country.