Vida Pershall (1883 - 1970)

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

In 1883, in the year that Vida Pershall was born, on June 16th, children at a children's variety show in Victoria Hall began rushing the stage area and lobby for promised prizes. In the stampede, 183 children of the 1100 present - most of them 3 to 4 years old - were crushed and asphyxiated.

In 1922, this person was 39 years old when the Reparations Commission assessed German liability for World War 1 at 132 billion gold marks (over $32 billion U.S. dollars at the time). This led to hyperinflation in Germany and created the political and social atmosphere in which Hitler was able to rise to power.

In 1938, at the age of 55 years old, Vida was alive when 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 1943, when this person was 60 years old, on September 3rd, the Armistice of Cassibile was signed in Sicily. Under the terms of the Armistice, Italy surrendered to the Allied Powers. After the Armistice was made public on September 8th, Germany attacked and occupied Italy. It took 20 months of fighting for the Allies to reach the northern borders of Italy.

In 1970, in the year of Vida Pershall's passing, on April 10th, Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving the Beatles. (John Lennon had previously told the band that he was leaving but hadn't publicly announced it.) By the end of the year, each Beatle had his own album.