Thomas Oconnor (1876 - 1955)

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

In 1876, in the year that Thomas Oconnor was born, on February 14th, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone. So did Elisha Gray. A month later, on March 7th, Bell was granted the patent and on the 10th, he made his first successful telephone call - in which he said: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

In 1904, Thomas was 28 years old when the first underground line of the New York City subway system opened. London's underground system was opened in 1863 and Boston opened one in 1897, but New York quickly became the largest system in the U.S. More than 100,000 people paid 5 cents to ride under Manhattan that first day.

In 1910, Thomas was 34 years old when the Mann Act, also called the White-Slave Traffic Act, was signed into law. Its purpose was to make it a felony to engage in interstate or foreign commerce transport of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose". But the language was so broad that it was also applied to consensual sex between adults when wished.

In 1931, when he was 55 years old, in March, “The Star Spangled Banner” officially became the national anthem by congressional resolution. Other songs had previously been used - among them, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", "God Bless America", and "America the Beautiful". There was fierce debate about making "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem - Southerners and veterans organizations supported it, pacifists and educators opposed it.

In 1955, in the year of Thomas Oconnor's passing, in January, President Eisenhower sent direct aid to South Vietnam. In February, U.S. advisors were sent to train troops.