Walter Pope (1901 - 1981)

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

In 1901, in the year that Walter Pope was born, Edward VII succeeded Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria of England had become Queen in 1837 and reigned until her death in 1901. Her 63 year reign was the longest in history prior to Elizabeth II who recently broke her record. The time during which she led the country was known as the Victorian era and she presided over great changes in the United Kingdom, including the expansion of the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution.

In 1918, he was 17 years old when in January, President Wilson presented his Fourteen Points, which assured citizens that World War I was being fought for a moral cause and outlined a plan for postwar peace in Europe. The only leader of the Allies to present such a plan, the Europeans thought Wilson was being too idealistic. The points included free trade, open agreements, democracy and self-determination. They were based on the research and suggestions of 150 advisors.

In 1935, by the time he was 34 years old, the BOI's name (the Bureau of Investigation) was changed to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and it officially became a separate agency with the Department of Justice. J. Edgar Hoover, the Chief of the BOI, continued in his office and became the first Director of the FBI. The FBI's responsibility is to "detect and prosecute crimes against the United States".

In 1948, by the time he was 47 years old, on January 30th, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by a member of a Hindu nationalist party who thought that Gandhi was too accommodating to Muslims. The man, Nathuram Godse, shot Gandhi 3 times. He died immediately. The shooter was tried, convicted, and hung in November 1949.

In 1981, in the year of Walter Pope's passing, on January 20th, Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the United States. He ran against the incumbent, Jimmy Carter, and won 50.7% of the popular vote to Carter's 41.0%.