Muriel I Benning (1906 - 1990)

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

In 1906, in the year that Muriel I Benning was born, President Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Prize for Peace. The award was considered controversial at the time because many thought that he was an imperialist. But he had brokered peace between Russia and Japan a year previous and had allowed a dispute between Mexico and the U.S. to go to arbitration, resolving the issue peacefully rather than resorting to military conflict. For these two reasons, the Nobel Prize committee chose him for the Peace Prize.

In 1940, when she was 34 years old, in July, Billboard published its first Music Popularity Chart. Top recordings of the year were Tommy Dorsey's "I'll Never Smile Again" (vocal Frank Sinatra) - 12 weeks at the top, Bing Crosby's "Only Forever" - 9 weeks at the top, and Artie Shaw's "Frenesi" - 12 weeks at the top.

In 1958, by the time she was 52 years old, on January 31st, Explorer I, the United States' answer to Sputnik I (and 2,) was launched. America had entered the Space Race. The first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt, it remained in orbit until 1970.

In 1974, at the age of 68 years old, Muriel was alive when on August 9th, Gerald R. Ford became the 38th President of the United States. He had been Vice President for 8 months when he became President due to the resignation of President Nixon.

In 1990, in the year of Muriel I Benning's passing, on April 24th, the Hubble telescope was launched into space after long delays due to the Challenger explosion. An optical flaw was found within weeks of launch but was fixed within three years. The discoveries made possible by the Hubble have contributed to scientists' understanding of the universe.