Serge-Max Borstcher (1938 - 1942)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Serge-Max's lifetime.

In 1938, in the year that Serge-Max Borstcher was born, on October 30th, a Sunday, The Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast Orson Welles' special Halloween show The War of the World's. A clever take on H.G. Wells' novel, the show began with simulated "breaking news" of an invasion by Martians. Because of the realistic nature of the "news," there was a public outcry the next day, calling for regulation by the FCC. Although the current story is that many were fooled and panicked, in reality very few people were fooled. But the show made Orson Welles' career.

In 1940, at the age of only 2 years old, Serge-Max was alive 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 1941, at the age of merely 3 years old, Serge-Max was alive when on June 25th, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry. EO 8802 was the first federal action to prohibit employment discrimination - without prejudice as to "race, creed, color, or national origin" - in the U.S. Civil Rights groups had planned a march on Washington D.C. to protest for equal rights but with the signing of the Order, they canceled the March.

In 1942, in the year of Serge-Max Borstcher's passing, on June 17th, Roosevelt approved the Manhattan Project, which lead to the development of the first atomic bomb. With the support of Canada and the United Kingdom, the Project came to employ more than 130,000 people and cost nearly $2 billion. Julius Robert Oppenheimer, a nuclear physicist born in New York, led the Los Alamos Laboratory that developed the actual bomb. The first artificial nuclear explosion took place near Alamogordo New Mexico on July 16, 1945.

In 1944, Serge-Max was merely 6 years old when on June 6th, the largest amphibious invasion in history was launched - the Normandy landing (called D-Day). Soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada, and the Free French landed on Normandy Beach and were later joined by Poland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and the Netherlands. Almost 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers were involved. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on D-Day - Allied casualties on the first day were at least 10,000. 4,414 were confirmed dead.