Nancy M Shaw (1889 - 1967)

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

In 1889, in the year that Nancy M Shaw was born, on January 15th, the Coca-Cola Company was incorporated - originally as the "Pemberton Medicine Company". The Coca-Cola drink was originally created by John Stith Pemberton, first as a patent medicine and then as a soda fountain drink. Pemberton had sold the company in 1888, shortly before he died.

In 1907, by the time she was 18 years old, radiometric dating, a recently discovered technology that could date rocks, found that the earth was 2.2 billion years old which was dramatically older than previously thought. Later refinements and advancements in science would date the age of the earth at over 4.5 billion years.

In 1923, by the time she was 34 years old, on August 2, President Warren G. Harding died in office, apparently of a heart attack. He was staying at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco after completing a nationwide tour. Suffering from cramps, indigestion, a fever and shortness of breath, his doctor thought he had food poisoning. After several days of being ill, he suddenly shuddered, slumped over, and died. There were rumors of foul play (some thought that his wife had poisoned him because of his affairs) but no evidence has ever been found.

In 1948, when she was 59 years old, on May 14th, the State of Israel was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel's first Premier, and the U.S. officially recognized Israel. That evening, Egypt launched an air assault on Israel.

In 1967, in the year of Nancy M Shaw's passing, on October 2nd, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first black US Supreme Court justice. Marshall was the great-grandson of a slave and graduated first in his class at Howard University Law School. His nomination to the Supreme Court was approved by the Senate, 69 to 11.