Mary Frances Ballinger (1846 - 1928)

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

In 1846, in the year that Mary Frances Ballinger was born, on November 4th, the Donner Party was stranded in the Sierra Nevada on its way to California. The ill-fated wagon train was snowed in and couldn't get out of the mountains for 3 months. Some went for help - on foot - but the majority of the 87 people in the wagon train were stuck in heavy snow, without food. Only 48 of the original settlers survived - some by cannibalism of the dead.

In 1852, by the time she was only 6 years old, in Springfield Massachusetts, Smith & Wesson was founded. Their first gun was the Volcanic rifle. The company later expanded their line to include revolvers and ammunition.

In 1877, when she was 31 years old, on January 8th, the Battle of Wolf Mountain occurred in southern Montana Territory. Crazy Horse, Two Moon, and their warriors fought the United States Cavalry. The battle was a tactical draw and by May, Crazy Horse and his followers had surrendered at Camp Robinson.

In 1895, Mary was 49 years old when on September 3rd, in Latrobe, PA, the first professional football game was played. The game was between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club. Latrobe won 12 - 0.

In 1928, in the year of Mary Frances Ballinger's passing, Mickie Mouse was born! He first appeared in Disney's Steamboat Willie, along with Minnie. Although they were in two previous shorts, this was the first to be distributed. Steamboat Willie took advantage of the new technology and was a "talkie" - music was coordinated with the animation. It became the most popular cartoon of its day.