Mary (Petrarca) Williams (1921 - 2013)

Mary (Petrarca) Williams’s biography is built and maintained by people like you. Create an online profile of Mary so that her life is remembered forever. If any factual information is incorrect, please edit Mary’s biography.

Pictures really do say a thousand words. Add photos of Mary during various points of her life.

1921 - In the year that Mary (Petrarca) Williams was born, the silent film The Sheik, directed by George Melford and starring Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres (also featuring Adolphe Menjou) debuted on October 21st. Critics weren't enthusiastic but the public loved it - in the first few weeks 125,000 people had seen the movie - and it eventually exceeded $1 million in ticket sales. And Rudolph Valentino, an Italian American, became the heartthrob of a female generation.

1924 - She was only 3 years old when J. Edgar Hoover, at the age of 29, was appointed the sixth director of the Bureau of Investigation by Calvin Coolidge (which later became the Federal Bureau of Investigation). The Bureau had approximately 650 employees, including 441 Special Agents. A former employee of the Justice Department, Hoover accepted his new position on the proviso that the bureau was to be completely divorced from politics and that the director report only to the attorney general.

1926 - When she was merely 5 years old, on October 31st, Harry Houdini died in Michigan. Houdini was the most famed magician of his time and perhaps of all time, especially for his acts involving escapes - from handcuffs, straitjackets, chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, and more. He was president of the Society of American Magicians and stringently upheld professional ethics. He died of complications from a ruptured appendix. Although he had received a blow to the area a couple of days previously, the connection between the blow and his appendicitis is disputed.

1952 - Mary was 31 years old when on July 2, Dr. Jonas E. Salk tested the first dead-virus polio vaccine on 43 children. The worst epidemic of polio had broken out that year - in the U.S. there were 58,000 cases reported. Of these, 3,145 people had died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis.

1987 - Mary was 66 years old when was the first time that a criminal in the United States - a serial rapist - was convicted through the use of DNA evidence.

Who was Mary’s parents? Did she get married and did they have children? Share Mary’s family tree to share her legacy and genealogy pedigree.

What do you remember about Mary (Petrarca) Williams? Share your memories of special moments and stories you have heard about her. Or just leave a comment to show the world that Mary is remembered.