Raymond Hussung (1913 - 1971)

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

In 1913, in the year that Raymond Hussung was born, the 17th Amendment, establishing the direct election of U.S. Senators, was adopted. Previously, Senators were elected by state legislatures. As early as 1826, a call to elect senators through popular vote was championed and previous to the 17th amendment, two states had already changed their process. Governors are still able to appoint senators to vacant seats until an election can be held.

In 1924, when he was just 11 years old, on January 21st, Vladimir Lenin, a leader of the Russian Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union died. He had survived two assassination attempts but had subsequent physical problems, suffering 3 strokes. He was in such great pain, it is said that he asked Stalin to poison him. The circumstances of his death are still disputed. He did oppose Stalin as the next leader - nonetheless, Stalin won a power struggle and ruled as a Soviet dictator until his death in 1953.

In 1937, at the age of 24 years old, Raymond was alive when on May 28th, the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge opened to cars. Taking 5 years to build, the 4,200-foot-long suspension bridge was an engineering marvel of its time - 11 men died during construction. The "international orange" color was chosen because it resisted rust and fading. To the present, it is the symbol of the City that is known throughout the world.

In 1940, by the time he was 27 years old, on July 27th, the cartoon character Bugs Bunny debuted in his first film A Wild Hare - voiced by Mel Blanc. He has since appeared in more short films, feature films, compilations, TV series, music records, comic books, video games, award shows, amusement park rides, and commercials than any other cartoon character. He even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "What's up, Doc?"

In 1971, in the year of Raymond Hussung's passing, in March, Congress passed the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18 (from 21). It was a response to the criticism that men could fight at 18, but not vote for the policies and politicians who sent them to war. The states quickly ratified the Amendment and it was signed into law on July 1st by President Richard Nixon.