Maria Picella (1879 - 1919)

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

In 1879, in the year that Maria Picella was born, on November 10th, Bell Telephone and Western Union reached an agreement. Bell Telephone would keep out of the telegraphy business and Western Union would stay out of the telephone business - leading to success for both.

In 1887, Maria was just 8 years old when on July 1st, the assembly for the supports of the Eiffel Tower began . A wrought iron lattice tower, it was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel - who also contributed to the building of the Statue of Liberty. There are 18,000 pieces in the Eiffel Tower - which had to be built separately and then assembled in place - with rivets - to complete the Tower.

In 1899, she was 20 years old when 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.

In 1904, by the time she was 25 years old, the first underground line of the New York City subway system opened. London's underground system was opened in 1863 and Boston opened one in 1897, but New York quickly became the largest system in the U.S. More than 100,000 people paid 5 cents to ride under Manhattan that first day.

In 1919, in the year of Maria Picella's passing, on January 6th, President Theodore Roosevelt died. Having gone to bed the previous night after being treated for breathing problems, the ex-President died in his sleep from a clot that had traveled to his lungs. He was 60. After a simple service, Roosevelt was buried on a hillside overlooking Oyster Bay.