Roland Stone (1900 - 1969)

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

In 1900, in the year that Roland Stone was born, when Floradora opened on Broadway. A huge success in London - opening in 1899 and running for 455 performances - the musical was even more successful in New York - running for 552 performances. The "Floradora girls" were the hit of the show - a "sextette of tall, gorgeous damsels, clad in pink walking costumes, black picture hats and carrying frilly parasols who swished onto the stage and captivated New York for no other reason than they were utterly stunning" ("tall and gorgeous" translated to 5'4"). A sensation, each Floradora girl was said to have married a millionaire.

In 1923, Roland was 23 years old when Harlem's Cotton Club opened in New York City. Owned by a bootlegger and gangster, it was a 700 seat speakeasy that catered to a "white only" clientele. But most of the entertainers were African-American and featured some of the best entertainers of the time such as Lena Horne, the Nicholas Brothers, Ethel Waters, and Cab Calloway.

In 1930, Roland was 30 years old when on August 6th, N.Y. Supreme Court Judge Joseph Crater went through papers in his office, destroyed some of them, withdrew all his money from the bank - $5,150, sold his stock, met friends at a restaurant for dinner and disappeared after getting into a taxi (or walking down the street - his friends' testimony later changed). His disappearance was reported to the police on September 3rd - almost a month later. His wife didn't know what happened, his fellow Justices had no idea, and his mistresses (he had several) said that they didn't know. While his disappearance was front page news, his fate was never discovered and after 40 years the case was closed, still without knowing if Crater was dead or alive.

In 1940, he was 40 years old when on September 16th, the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, was enacted - the first peacetime draft in U.S. history. Men between 21 and 36 were required to register with their draft boards. When World War II began, men between 18 and 45 were subject to service and men up to 65 were required to register.

In 1969, in the year of Roland Stone's passing, in August, a previously planned small concert turned into a (free) more than 400,000 strong gathering of attendees and bands at Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York - now called Woodstock. Just some of the 32 acts: Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe, Santana, The Band, and Sly and the Family Stone.