Virginia Geiss
(1900 - 1983)
Ethnicity & Lineage
Nationality & Locations
Religion
Personal Life
Military Service
Average Age
Life Expectancy
View other bios of people named Virginia Geiss
Friends:
Pictures really do say a thousand words. Share photos of Virginia and the Geiss family.
Photo
Share Virginia's obituary or write your own to preserve her legacy.
Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Virginia's lifetime.
In 1900, in the year that Virginia Geiss was born, the U.S. helped put down Boxer Rebellion. The Boxer Rebellion took place in China, where the presence of "outsiders" (foreigners) was resented. The United States, along with Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia, had business interests in China and these countries all sent troops to put down the Rebellion and keep China open to their presence and to Christian missionaries.
In 1924, Virginia was 24 years old when in May, wealthy college students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and killed 14 year old Robert Franks "in the interest of science". Leopold and Loeb thought that they were intellectually superior and that they could commit the perfect crime and not be caught. They were brought in for questioning within 8 days and quickly confessed. Clarence Darrow was hired as their defense lawyer, getting them life imprisonment instead of a death sentence. Loeb was eventually killed in prison - Leopold was released after 33 years, dying of a heart attack at age 66.
In 1949, by the time she was 49 years old, on April 4th, NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established. Twelve nations originally signed the North Atlantic Treaty - the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Portugal. Greece, Turkey, and West Germany later joined. Today, there are 26 nations in NATO.
In 1979, at the age of 79 years old, Virginia was alive when on March 28th, a partial nuclear meltdown occurred at the power plant at Three Mile Island Pennsylvania. Radiation leaked into the environment, resulting in a rating of 5 on a scale of 7 ("Accident With Wider Consequences") . It ended up costing $1 billion to clean up the site.
In 1983, in the year of Virginia Geiss's passing, physicist Sally K. Ride, 32, became the first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger on June 18th. She was also the youngest (32) astronaut to go into space. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space in 1963.
Other Geiss
Other Bios
These stories will warm your heart and inspire you to share your memories of the people important to you.