Mary E (Collins) Stebbins (1852 - 1933)

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

In 1852, in the year that Mary E (Collins) Stebbins was born, on February 11th, the first women's public toilet was opened in London. Paris had public toilets much sooner and Berlin had opened one in 1820.

In 1873, by the time she was 21 years old, on September 18th, the New York stock market crash - due to the failure of a number of banks - began the Panic of 1873. After the boom following the Civil War, the Coinage Act of 1873 and other factors led to the market crash. Thus began the "Long Depression" - also called the "Great Depression" until the 1930's.

In 1894, by the time she was 42 years old, on March 12th, for the first time, Coca-Cola was sold in individual bottles as a drink for consumer consumption. Previously, it was sold as a syrup for upset stomachs - over the counter.

In 1908, at the age of 56 years old, Mary was alive when the Federal Bureau of Investigation was established as the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States; it simultaneously served as the nation's prime federal law enforcement agency. Stanley Finch was the first Chief (now called Director).

In 1933, in the year of Mary E (Collins) Stebbins's passing, on December 5th, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The 21st Amendment said "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." Alcohol was legal again! It was the only amendment to the Constitution approved for the explicit purpose of repealing a previously existing amendment. South Carolina was the only state to reject the Amendment.