Sarah Mark (born 1864)

In 1864, in the year that Sarah Mark was born, on October 5th, a cyclone killed 70,000 people in Calcutta, India. Calcutta is in a "very high damage risk" cyclone zone, although this was an especially powerful one.

In 1919, in June, the Treaty of Versailles - officially ending World War I - was signed. The European Allies demanded "compensation by Germany for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies and their property by the aggression of Germany by land, by sea and from the air.” The requirement of compensation is seen by most as the reason for the collapse of the German economy and gave rise to the rule of Hitler.

In 1924, 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 1933, on March 4th, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32nd President of the United States. He was elected four times (equaled by no other President) and guided the United States through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War 2. His wife was his cousin Eleanor Roosevelt (Teddy Roosevelt's niece) who President Truman called "First Lady of the World". Some of the major programs that survive from his presidency are the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wagner Act (The National Labor Relations Act of 1935) , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security.

In 1995, on October 16th, the Million Man March took place on the National Mall in Washington DC. The March was organized to address "the ills of black communities and call for unity and revitalization of African American communities". An estimated 850,000 people attended.