Mary (Topp) Fraser (1846 - 1931)

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

In 1846, in the year that Mary (Topp) Fraser was born, on February 26th, the Liberty Bell was rung for George Washington's birthday. It is said that when it was rung, a previous crack was worsened, leading to the crack seen today. A paper of the time said that at "around noon, it was discovered that the ringing had caused the crack to be greatly extended, and that the old Independence Bell...now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and forever dumb".

In 1853, when she was just 7 years old, on March 4th, Franklin Pierce became the 14th President of the United States. His son had been killed in a train accident that also involved Pierce and his wife on January 6 - the only of 3 sons to survive until then. Due to the resultant depression and his unpopular policies, he was not re-nominated for President and served only one term.

In 1884, when she was 38 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 1905, by the time she was 59 years old, federal spending was $0.57 billion, unemployment was 4.3%, and the cost of a first-class stamp was $0.02. Current U.S. government spending is $4.268 trillion.

In 1931, in the year of Mary (Topp) Fraser's passing, on May 1st, the Empire State Building opened in New York City. At 1,454 feet (including the roof and antenna), it was the tallest building in the world until the World Trade Center's North Tower was built in 1970. (It is now the 34th tallest.) Opening at the beginning of the Great Depression, most of the offices in the Empire State Building remained unoccupied for years and the observation deck was an equal source of revenue and kept the building profitable.