Mary Elizabeth Cameron (1839 - 1894)

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

In 1839, in the year that Mary Elizabeth Cameron was born, in The Boston Morning Post, on March 23rd, the first recorded use of the word "OK" appeared. A columnist in the paper said this: "The "Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells, is one of the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via Providence, he of the Journal, and his train-band, would have his 'contribution box,' et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward." While this is the first known time that OK appeared in print, where the word came from is still disputed.

In 1866, at the age of 27 years old, Mary was alive when on May 10th, the "banker's bank" - London bank Overend, Gurney and Company - collapsed, beginning the Panic of 1866. Unemployment went up to 8% and wages went down. Only about 16% of joint-stock companies - a company whose stock is owned jointly by the shareholders - weathered the Panic.

In 1878, Mary was 39 years old when on September 12th, Cleopatra's Needle, built in Egypt in 1450 B.C. and transported to England, was erected in London. It had arrived in England on January 21st, having been towed by boat.

In 1884, when she was 45 years old, on August 5th, the cornerstone for the base of the Statue of Liberty - a gift from the people of France - was laid. 120,000 people - most donations were $1 - donated to the completion of the base. An 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus was also written to raise funds. That poem was included in the base of the statue and is well known today. The most famous phrase: "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In 1894, in the year of Mary Elizabeth Cameron's passing, on April 21st, a coal miners' strike closed mines throughout the central United States. The Panic of 1893, and the resulting depression, hit coal miners hard and the miners only struck for 8 weeks - they couldn't afford to live without their wages any longer.