Walter Archer (1901 - 1957)

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

In 1901, in the year that Walter Archer was born, Teddy Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States. TR, as he was known, had been Vice-President for 6 months when President William McKinley was assassinated. At age 42, he became the youngest President to serve although John Kennedy, at age 43, was the youngest President elected. He was a popular progressive and was elected to a second term in 1904 as a Republican, winning 56.4% of the popular vote and 336 electoral votes.

In 1927, by the time he was 26 years old, in September, the Columbia Broadcasting System (later called CBS) became the second national radio network in the U.S. The first broadcast was a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from radio station WOR in Newark, New Jersey.

In 1931, when he was 30 years old, on May 1st, the Empire State Building opened in New York City. At 1,454 feet (including the roof and antenna), it was the tallest building in the world until the World Trade Center's North Tower was built in 1970. (It is now the 34th tallest.) Opening at the beginning of the Great Depression, most of the offices in the Empire State Building remained unoccupied for years and the observation deck was an equal source of revenue and kept the building profitable.

In 1944, when he was 43 years old, on June 22nd, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, called the G.I. Bill, was signed into law, pushed through by the veteran's organizations. Benefits provided for veterans to return to school (high school, vocational school, or college), obtain low interest home mortgages and low interest business loans, and (if needed) one year of unemployment insurance. Since most returning vets immediately found work, less than 20% of the unemployment benefits were distributed.

In 1957, in the year of Walter Archer's passing, on September 24th, the "Little Rock Nine" (nine African-American students) entered Little Rock High School. Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus had previously prevented the students from entering the school at the beginning of the term with the Arkansas National Guard - they blocked the door. President Eisenhower ordered federal troops - the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army - to guard the students and allow them entry.