Lonnie Engle Sr. (born 1901)

In 1901, in the year that Lonnie Engle Sr. was born, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. Chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896, had provided in his will for prizes in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine, who have produced the most distinguished literary work of an idealist tendency, and who have contributed the most toward world peace. The winners in 1901 were: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen for physics, Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff for chemistry, Emil Adolf von Behring for physiology or medicine, Sully Prudhomme for literature, and Jean Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy for peace.

In 1927, 10 years after the United States bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from the Danish government, the inhabitants were granted U.S. citizenship. While they can vote in congressional elections and presidential primaries, they cannot vote for President.

In 1948, on January 30th, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by a member of a Hindu nationalist party who thought that Gandhi was too accommodating to Muslims. The man, Nathuram Godse, shot Gandhi 3 times. He died immediately. The shooter was tried, convicted, and hung in November 1949.

In 1971, in March, Congress passed the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18 (from 21). It was a response to the criticism that men could fight at 18, but not vote for the policies and politicians who sent them to war. The states quickly ratified the Amendment and it was signed into law on July 1st by President Richard Nixon.

In 1997, on June 26th, the first Harry Potter book by J. K. Rowling was released. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was an immediate success and spawned not only sequels but also movies, video games, plays, and amusement park attractions. J.K. Rowling, at the time of the first book a poor single mother, has become a multi-billionaire.