William I Mendenhall (1913 - 1994)

William's biography
This collaborative biography is for you to show & tell William's life so that he is always remembered. What's this?
Ethnicity & Lineage
Nationality & Locations
Education
Religion
Baptism
Professions
Personal Life
Military Service
Average Age
Life Expectancy
View other bios of people named William Mendenhall
Family Tree
William's Family Tree
![]()
Partner
Child
Partner
Child
|
Sibling
|
Friends
Friends can be as close as family. Add William's family friends, and his friends from childhood through adulthood.
Photos
Nobody has shared photos of William I Mendenhall! Please help add a face to the name by sharing a photo of William.
Comments
Leave a comment to ask questions, share information, or simply to show that you care about William.
Obituary
Share William's obituary or write your own to preserve his legacy.
1913 - 1994 World Events
Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during William's lifetime.
In 1913, in the year that William I Mendenhall was born, Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. It had previously taken 12 hours to assemble a whole vehicle - now it took only two hours and 30 minutes! Inspired by the production lines at flour mills, breweries, canneries and industrial bakeries, along with the disassembly of animal carcasses in Chicago’s meat-packing plants, Ford created moving belts for parts and the assembly line was born.
In 1926, William was merely 13 years old when on October 31st, Harry Houdini died in Michigan. Houdini was the most famed magician of his time and perhaps of all time, especially for his acts involving escapes - from handcuffs, straitjackets, chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, and more. He was president of the Society of American Magicians and stringently upheld professional ethics. He died of complications from a ruptured appendix. Although he had received a blow to the area a couple of days previously, the connection between the blow and his appendicitis is disputed.
In 1936, when he was 23 years old, on November 3rd, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reelected to a second term. He ran against Republican Governor Alf Landon (Kansas), defeating Landon in the popular vote by 60.8% to 36.5%. Vermont and Maine were the only two states in which Landon won. John Nance Garner IV became the Vice-President in this election.
In 1968, he was 55 years old when on January 31st, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, a turning point in the Vietnam War. 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces swarmed into South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese and US troops held off the offensive but it was such fierce fighting that the U.S. public began to turn against the war.
In 1994, in the year of William I Mendenhall's passing, on May 6th, the Channel Tunnel or "Chunnel" was officially opened. The Chunnel is a railway tunnel beneath the English Channel that connects Great Britain to mainland France. Original plans for such a tunnel were developed in 1802 and approved by Napoleon Bonaparte but the British rejected the plan fearing that Napoleon would use the railway to invade.
Other Biographies
Other William Mendenhall Biographies


Other Mendenhall Family Biographies
