Whitner Thompson (1913 - 1985)

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

In 1913, in the year that Whitner Thompson was born, the 17th Amendment, establishing the direct election of U.S. Senators, was adopted. Previously, Senators were elected by state legislatures. As early as 1826, a call to elect senators through popular vote was championed and previous to the 17th amendment, two states had already changed their process. Governors are still able to appoint senators to vacant seats until an election can be held.

In 1926, at the age of just 13 years old, Whitner was alive when on November 15th, NBC was founded. It was the U.S.'s first major broadcast network. Ownership of the network was split between RCA (a majority partner at 50%), its founding corporate parent General Electric (which owned 30%), and Westinghouse (which owned the remaining 20%).

In 1935, by the time this person was 22 years old, on August 14, the Social Security Act was signed into law. The purpose was to "provide federal assistance to those unable to work". The law established the Social Security Administration whose primary focus was to "provide aid for the elderly, the unemployed, and children". The Act survived many Supreme Court challenges and the Administration continues until today.

In 1973, Whitner was 60 years old when on August 15th, amidst rising calls for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, Congress imposed an end to the bombing of Cambodia.

In 1985, in the year of Whitner Thompson's passing, in May, a paper published in Nature by three British scientists reported that a huge hole was discovered in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. It was much larger than expected and is due to the use of manmade chemicals.