Mary Hearst (1892 - 1985)

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

In 1892, in the year that Mary Hearst was born, on January 1st, Ellis Island opened to process immigrants. 700 passed through on the first day - in the first year, 450,000 were processed. The processing center was originally a 3 story wooden building - with outbuildings - that burned down a few years later.

In 1909, at the age of 17 years old, Mary was alive when the U.S. penny was changed to the Abraham Lincoln design. The Lincoln penny was so popular that it soon had to be rationed and it sold on the secondary market for a quarter. Abraham Lincoln was the first historical figure to be on a U.S. coin - which was released to commemorate his 100th birthday. This penny was also the first U.S. cent to include the words "In God We Trust.".

In 1947, at the age of 55 years old, Mary was alive when on November 25th, the Hollywood "Black List" was created by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Ten Hollywood writers and directors had refused to testify to the Committee regarding "Communists" or "Reds" in the movie industry. The next day, the blacklist was created and they were fired.

In 1969, by the time she was 77 years old, on January 20th, Richard M. Nixon became the 37th President of the United States. Previously the Vice President to President Eisenhower, Nixon was the only President to resign in office - in his second term.

In 1985, in the year of Mary Hearst's passing, in May, a paper published in Nature by three British scientists reported that a huge hole was discovered in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. It was much larger than expected and is due to the use of manmade chemicals.