Minnie Belle (Wilson) Goodman (1877 - 1918)

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

In 1877, in the year that Minnie Belle (Wilson) Goodman was born, on March 2nd, the U.S. presidential election of 1876 was ended with the selection of Rutherford B. Hayes as the winner. Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote in November 1876 but 20 votes in the electoral college were in dispute. An informal agreement was made in which Hayes agreed to remove federal troops from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, ending Reconstruction in the South. So, on March 4th, Rutherford B. Hayes became the 19th President of the United States.

In 1882, she was only 5 years old when on August 3rd, President Chester Arthur signed the 1882 Immigration Act. "Criminals, the insane, or any person unable to take care of him or herself" were not allowed in the U.S. according to the Act. It also imposed a "head tax" on non-citizens entering the U.S.

In 1894, she was 17 years old when on March 12th, for the first time, Coca-Cola was sold in individual bottles as a drink for consumer consumption. Previously, it was sold as a syrup for upset stomachs - over the counter.

In 1908, at the age of 31 years old, Minnie was alive when a mysterious Siberian explosion leveled over 770 square miles of forest. There were no human casualties. Explanations of the explosion have included a comet, meteorite, natural atomic explosion, or a crashed UFO. Although it is called an impact event - the largest one in recorded earth history - there is no crater and it is widely thought that the explosion was caused by a meteor exploding 3 to 6 miles above the earth.

In 1918, in the year of Minnie Belle (Wilson) Goodman's passing, following European countries, Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States in March. It was an effort to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power. This was a war effort and proved unpopular so in most areas of the United States, Daylight Saving Time ended after World War I. It returned during World War II.