William James Aikman (1863 - 1949)

William's immediate relatives including parents, siblings, partnerships and children in the Aikman family tree.

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William's Parents

Aikman James Aikman

Isabella Stein Aikman

William James Aikman

Parents:

Aikman James Aikman

Unknown - Unknown

Isabella Stein Aikman

Unknown - Unknown

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William's Parents

James Aikman

Isabella Stein Aikman

William James Aikman

Parents:

James Aikman

Unknown - Unknown

Isabella Stein Aikman

Unknown - Unknown

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In 1863, in the year that William James Aikman was born, on January 1st, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation made the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It also immediately freed 50,000 slaves, with the rest freed as Union armies advanced into Confederate states. The Proclamation wasn't a Congressional law - it was an Executive Order.

In 1882, William was 19 years old when on September 4th, the switch to the first commercial electrical power plant in the U.S. - at 255-257 Pearl Street - was flipped by Thomas Edison. It lit one square mile of lower Manhattan and was powered by coal. The "electrical age" had begun.

In 1918, William was 55 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 1928, at the age of 65 years old, William was alive when Mickie Mouse was born! He first appeared in Disney's Steamboat Willie, along with Minnie. Although they were in two previous shorts, this was the first to be distributed. Steamboat Willie took advantage of the new technology and was a "talkie" - music was coordinated with the animation. It became the most popular cartoon of its day.

In 1949, in the year of William James Aikman's passing, 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.