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

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William's Family

Not Stated Neal

Stated Not Neal

William Rich Neal

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Not Stated Neal

Unknown - Unknown

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Stated Not Neal

Unknown - Unknown

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Barbara J Ahrens

Herbert Floyd Neal

Latrisha L. (Smithson) Oneal

Latrisha L. (Smithson) Oneal

Amanda Stevenson

Patricia Neal Family

Patricia Neal Family

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

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

In 1881, in the year that William Rich Neal was born, on November 19th, a meteorite landed a few miles southwest of Odessa, Ukraine. According to one report: "About 7 o'clock one morning a bright and serpentine tail of fire was seen passing over the town by the inhabitants of Odessa, and M. Prendel, editor of one of the Odessa papers, surmising that the phenomenon betokened a fall of meteorites, offered a reward to any person who would bring him one. Three days afterward a gentleman of Grossliebental brought him one which had been found by a peasant who was nearly frightened out of his senses at its fall. It fell beside him while at work in his field and buried itself .55 meters (almost 2 ft) into the ground." The recovered piece was about 17.5 lbs.

In 1905, William was 24 years old when 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 1919, when he was 38 years old, in Norfolk Virginia, the first rotary dial telephones were introduced by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), making it easier to make a call without an operator.

In 1925, at the age of 44 years old, William was alive when gangster Al "Scarface" Capone took over the Chicago bootlegging racket at age 26. Previously right hand man to boss Johnny Torrio, Capone took over when Torrio was shot and severely injured and decided to resign. The bootlegging and brothel organization was massive and when asked what he did, Capone often replied "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want".

In 1950, in the year of William Rich Neal's passing, in February, Joe McCarthy gave a speech alleging that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring" who worked in the State Department. He went on to chair a committee that investigated not only the State Department but also the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the Voice of America, and the U.S. Army for communist spies - until he was condemned by the U.S. Senate in 1954.