Salvatore Abbate (1882 - 1978)

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

In 1882, in the year that Salvatore Abbate was born, on March 22nd, the Edmunds Act - passed by Congress - made polygamy a felony. The Act also banned "bigamous" relationships and "unlawful cohabitation", making it illegal for polygamists and those who simply lived together without marrying to vote, be on a jury, or hold a public office.

In 1918, by the time he was 36 years old, on November 11th, an armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany, ending the fighting on the Western Front in World War I. This meant a complete defeat of Germany although Germany never formally surrendered. It took another six months of negotiations to sign an actual peace treaty between the warring parties.

In 1934, when he was 52 years old, on June 6th, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was formed as a response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the continuing Great Depression. Previously, the states regulated the offering and sales of stocks - called "blue sky" laws. They were largely ineffective. Roosevelt created a group (one member was Joseph Kennedy, father of the future President Kennedy) who knew Wall Street well and they defined the mission and operating mode for the SEC. The new organization had broad and stringent rules and oversight and restored public confidence in the stock market in the United States.

In 1968, at the age of 86 years old, Salvatore was alive when on April 4th, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader, was shot and killed by an assassin in Memphis. James Earl Ray was apprehended and plead guilty to shooting Dr. King. Ray died in jail in 1998.

In 1978, in the year of Salvatore Abbate's passing, on July 25th, Louise Brown, the first "test-tube baby", was born at Oldham Hospital in London. Louise was conceived through IVF (in vitro fertilization), a controversial and experimental procedure at the time.