Sophie Louise (Halling) Glassman (born 1851)

In 1851, in the year that Sophie Louise (Halling) Glassman was born, from May through August, the Midwest was hit with record rain, causing the Great Flood of 1851. Iowa was hardest hit - the town of Des Moines was flooded and mostly destroyed. Many rainfall records held for over 160 years.

In 1869, on February 5th, prospectors in Victoria, Australia, discovered the biggest loose gold nugget ever found. Known as the "Welcome Stranger", it was discovered only 1.2 inches below ground and weighed a whopping 214.1 lbs. It would be worth over $4 million today.

In 1889, on April 20th, Adolf Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary - now Austria. In his early 30's, he began his rise to power in German politics, eventually becoming the leader of the Nazi Party and Führer of Nazi Germany. He presided over the death of millions of civilians as well as leading Germany through World War II.

In 1913, ratified in February the 16th Amendment, establishing a Federal income tax, became law. Previously, customs duties (tariffs) and excise taxes were the primary sources of federal revenue. With the passage of the 16th Amendment, incomes of couples exceeding $4,000, as well as those of single persons earning $3,000 or more, were subject to a 1% Federal tax (that would be about $98,000 and $74,000 now). Rates rose to 7% for incomes over half a million dollars. Less than 1% of the population was subject to income tax.

In 1943, on March 31st, the Broadway musical Oklahoma! opened. Written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (the first of their string of successful collaborations), audiences loved it. The musical ran for 2,212 performances originally and was made into a movie in 1954.