Rose Mclaughlin (died 1902)

In 1837, on March 4th, Martin Van Buren was sworn in as the eighth President of the United States. Van Buren won 50.8% of the popular vote over election rival Harrison's 36.6%, largely due to Van Buren's promise to continue (previous) President Jackson's policies. But Van Buren only served one term because of the Panic of 1837 - which was due to Jackson's economic policy.

In 1845, on September 9th, a potato blight began in Ireland, leading to the Great Famine - also called the Great Hunger and the Irish Potato Famine. About one-third of the population of Ireland had been dependent on the potato and the failure of potato crops led to a million people dying and the emigration of another million people.

In 1869, on January 20th, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, speaking about women's rights - including the right to vote - was the first woman to testify before the US Congress. In May, she and Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA).

In 1894, large reserves of oil were discovered on the Osage Indian reservation in Oklahoma. Previously thought to be "useless" land - not even good for farming - the tribe had bought the land themselves. The discovery of oil made the Osage the "richest group of people in the world" at the time.

In 1902, in the year of Rose Mclaughlin's passing, about 150 thousand United Mine Workers went on strike in eastern Pennsylvania for a wage increase and more suitable hours. They eventually got a 10% raise and their workday was reduced from 10 hours to 9. Because winter was coming and most people at the time heated their homes with coal, President Teddy Roosevelt arbitrated between the owners and the workers - the first time that the Federal government arbitrated in a strike.