William Reitz (1907 - 2001)

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

In 1907, in the year that William Reitz was born, the state of Oklahoma was admitted to the United States on November 16. Previously called "Oklahoma Territory" and "Indian Territory", the two areas were merged and Oklahoma became the 46th state. It is the 28th most populous state.

In 1911, by the time he was only 4 years old, British physicist Ernest Rutherford (born in New Zealand), along with German physicist Hans Geiger, discovered the structure of an atom. He found that atoms had nuclei (a nucleus) and were circled by electrons, much as planets orbit the sun.

In 1921, William was only 14 years old when hugely popular Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, silent film star, was arrested for rape and manslaughter after an actress died following a party at his house. He was acquitted after three trials and the jury wrote a formal letter apologizing for the charges, but his career never recovered. His films were at first banned - the ban was lifted after a year - and he was mostly ostracized by the community. He died at 46..

In 1966, by the time he was 59 years old, on September 8th, the first Star Trek episode, "The Man Trap," was broadcast on NBC. The plot concerned a creature that sucked salt from human bodies. The original series only aired for 3 seasons due to low ratings.

In 1978, by the time he was 71 years old, on July 25th, Louise Brown, the first "test-tube baby", was born at Oldham Hospital in London. Louise was conceived through IVF (in vitro fertilization), a controversial and experimental procedure at the time.