William Leslie Marfell (1885 - 1949)

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

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William's Family

Mary Ann Thresher Marfell

Marfell John Marfell

William Leslie Marfell

Parents:

Mary Ann Thresher Marfell

Unknown - Unknown

Marfell John Marfell

Unknown - Unknown

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In 1885, in the year that William Leslie Marfell was born, on January 24th, the Fenians - Irish Nationalists - set off dynamite bombs in the House of Commons chamber, Westminster Hall, and the Tower of London. Four civilians and two policemen were injured.

In 1905, by the time he was 20 years old, the first movie theater opened in the United States in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first theater to show nothing but movies - silent films. Two men, John P. Harris and his brother-in-law Harry Davis, opened the Nickelodeon on Smithfield Street - charging 5 cents for admission. The first day, 450 people watched movies at the new theater - on the second day, more than 1500 people stood in line to get in.

In 1912, by the time he was 27 years old, Arizona was admitted to the United States in February (on Valentine's Day). It became the 48th state in the Union. Previously a Spanish - then Mexican - territory, the U.S. paid $15 million dollars for the area in 1848. Arizona was the last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the United States.

In 1928, he was 43 years old 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 Leslie Marfell's passing, comedian Milton Berle hosted the first telethon show. It raised $1,100,000 for cancer research and lasted 16 hours. The next day, newspapers, in writing about the event, first used the word "telethon."