Robert Osterheldt (1922 - 1987)

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

In 1922, in the year that Robert Osterheldt was born, on November 4th, British Egyptologists George Carnarvon and Howard Carter unearthed the first step leading to King Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. By the end of the month they had unearthed the steps and broken through the door into the intact tomb. This was the only tomb that had remained unlooted that had been found (and is, to date). Filled with gold, jewels, and ancient everyday items, the find was priceless - in terms of money and history.

In 1939, by the time he was 17 years old, on the 1st of September, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. On September 17th, the Soviet Union invaded Poland as well. Poland expected help from France and the United Kingdom, since they had a pact with both. But no help came. By October 6th, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany held full control of the previously Polish lands. Eventually, the invasion of Poland lead to World War II.

In 1943, when he was 21 years old, on June 20th through June 22nd, the Detroit Race Riot erupted at Belle Isle Park. The rioting spread throughout the city (made worse by false rumors of attacks on blacks and whites) and resulted in the deployment of 6,000 Federal troops. 34 people were killed, (25 of them black) - mostly by white police or National Guardsmen, 433 were wounded (75 percent of them black) and an estimated $2 million of property was destroyed. The same summer, there were riots in Beaumont, Texas and Harlem, New York.

In 1965, by the time he was 43 years old, on March 8th, the first US combat troops arrived in Vietnam. The 3500 Marines joined 23,000 "advisors" already in South Vietnam. By the end of the year, 190,000 American soldiers were in the country.

In 1987, in the year of Robert Osterheldt's passing, on October 19th, stock exchanges around the world crashed. Beginning in Hong Kong then spreading to Europe, the crash then hit the United States. It was called Black Monday. The Dow Jones fell 508 points to 1,738.74 (22.61%).