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Click on a hyperlink in the timeline to learn more about a subject. |
Milwaukee Timeline 1912-1945
1912
Suffrage Button
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World News: RMS Titanic Sinks
Also: Republic of China Formed, Piltdown Man Fraud, Royal Flying Corps Forms in England US News: Arizona and New Mexico Become States Also: Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii Brings Surfing to Mainland US, Oreo Cookie First Introduced Milwaukee News: Theodore Roosevelt Shot Outside Gilpatrick Hotel Also: Wisconsin Voters Do Not Give Women The Vote, First National Bank Bldg Started |
1913
Brewers Image Courtesy Borchertfield.com
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World News: Mexican General V Huerta Takes Power
Also: Suffragette Davison Struck at Derby, Greek King George I Assassinated, Zipper Patented US News: Federal Personal Income Tax Introduced Also: Women's Suffrage Parade in Washington DC, NYC Grand Central Terminal Opens Milwaukee News: American Assoc Milwaukee Brewers Win First Pennant Also: First Graduates from Marquette University School of Medicine, Metropolitan Sewage Commission Formed |
1914
Bucyrus steam shovel in Panama Canal, image courtesy Caterpillar Inc.
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World News: Panama Canal Opens
Also: Archduke of Austria Assassinated-WWI Begins, Shackleton Voyage to Antartica US News: Pres. Wilson Proclaims Mother's Day a Holiday Also: Weegham Park (Wrigley Field) Constructed, Militia Attacks Strikers at Ludlow in Colorado Milwaukee News: Muirdale Sanatorium in Wauwatosa Opens Also: New Northwestern Mutual Life Building Opens, Mt. Sinai Hospital Moves to New Building at 12th and Kilbourn, Falk Company Supplies Gears for Panama Canal Locks |
1915
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World News: Lusitania Sunk By German U-Boat
Also: Germany Uses Poison Gas, Second Battle of Ypres, Turkey Commits Armenian Genocide US News: Alexander Graham Bell Makes First Long-Distance Phone Call Also: US Coast Guard Founded, 1 Millionth Model T Built Milwaukee News: Milwaukee Mile Holds Its First 100-Mile Auto Race Also: First Electric Blender Invented in Racine, Riverside Park Becomes New Home for the Mens Milwaukee Curling Club |
1916
Wonderland Park
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World News: WWI Battle of Verdun
Also: Trans-Siberian Railroad Connects Moscow with Vladivostok, Uprising in Ireland US News: US Cavalry Chases Pancho Villa Into Mexico Also: Boy Scouts of America Incorporated, Piggly Wiggly- First Self-Service Grocery Store Milwaukee News: Daniel Hoan Elected Mayor for First Term Also: Coast Guard Station Moved to McKinley Marina, Golda Meir Graduates from North Division High, Last Year of Operation for Wonderland Park, Milwaukee Enterprise Newspaper Created |
1917
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World News: Civil War in Russia Ends Rule of the Czars
Also: Constitution of Mexico Approved, National Hockey League founded in Canada US News: United States Enters World War I Also: First Pulitzer Prizes Awarded, Zimmerman Note Outrages Public, Boys Town Established Milwaukee News: Anarchist Bomb Explodes in Police Station Killing Ten Also: Wisconsin Is First State to Number Highways |
1918
Milwaukee Free Press
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World News: Great War (WWI) Ends
Also: Poland Reformed as Independent Nation, Spanish Flu Pandemic, Zuiderzee Dike Begun US News: U.S. Regular Air Mail Begins Also: Standard Time Act Officially Establishes Time Zones, Pulitzer Prizes Debut Milwaukee News: Victor Berger Elected to Congress Also: Wells Street Power Plant Becomes First U.S. Power Station to Use Pulverized Coal |
1919
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World News: Treaty of Versailles Signed
Also: Micronesia and Marshall Islands Granted to Japan, Massacre at Amritsar in India US News: U.S. Federal Prohibition Outlaws Manufacture of Beer Also: White Sox World Series Scandal, Boston Molasses Disaster, Sir Barton first Triple Crown winner Milwaukee News: First Milwaukee County Public Airport at Currie Park Also: White Star Yeast Renamed Red Star Yeast, Normal School Moves to Eastside Campus, Briggs & Stratton Acquires A.O. Smith Motor Wheel Engine, Polar Bear "Zero" Born At Zoo |
1920
Lake Fisheries
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World News: League of Nations Established
Also: Outbreak of Bubonic Plague in India, Pancho Villa Retires, Ottoman Empire Dissolved US News: 19th Amendment Passes Giving U.S. Women the Vote Also: U.S. Census Reports Population Above 100 Million People, Charles Ponzi's Scheme Collapses Milwaukee News: City Begins to Evict the Kashubes from Jones Island Also: First Milwaukee Traffic Lights Installed, Typhoid and Diptheria Immunization for Children, Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company Introduces Motor Coach Service |
1921
1912 A.O. Smith Co. Ad
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World News: Germany Experiences Extreme Inflation
Also: Mussolini Forms Italian Fascist Party, Albert Einstein Wins Physics Nobel Prize US News: National Quotas on Immigration Also: U.S. Figure Skating Association Formed, Tomb of the Unknowns Dedicated at Arlington Milwaukee News: A.O. Smith Builds First Fully Automated Assembly Line Also: Metropolitan Sewerage District Established, Master Lock company founded |
1922
Downtown Gimbel's Store
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World News: Russian Civil War Ends
Also: Tutankamen's Tomb Explored, Irish Free State Formed as British Dominion US News: Teapot Dome Scandal Rocks Federal Cabinet Also: California Grizzly Bear Extinct, Insulin Discovered, Reader's Digest First Published Milwaukee News: Gimbel's Dept. Store Opens First Radio Station in City Also: First Milwaukee Policewomen Hired, All Milwaukee Steetlights Electrified, Grocery Store Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co. Introduce Their Own Private Brand Label |
1923
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World News: 100,000 People Die in Japanese Earthquake
Also: Mt Etna Erupts, Pancho Villa Assassinated, France and Belgian Occupy German Ruhr US News: US President Harding Dies in Office Also: Appalachian Trail Opens First Section, Time Magazine Debuts, Harlem's Cotton Club Opens Milwaukee News: Milwaukee Bears of Negro National League Baseball Also: Milwaukee Area Technical College Moves to New Building on 6th Street, Cruiser USS-Milwaukee Commissioned |
1924
Milwaukee Sentinel Robbery Coverage
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World News: France Hosts First Ever Winter Olympic Games
Also: Vladimir Lenin Dies, Canadian National Hockey Leaugue Expands to the U.S. US News: J. Edgar Hoover Heads the Bureau of Investigation Also: Indian Citizenship Act, Leopold and Loeb Murder Student, First Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Milwaukee News: First Milwaukee Bank Robbery at Northwestern National Also: First Milwaukee African-American Police Officer Hired, Marquette University Football Stadium Completed, Record of Twenty Inches of Snow in 24 Hours Over February 4-5 |
1925
Monkey Island
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World News: Unemployment Insurance Act Passed in England
Also: Hitler's Mein Kampf Published, Sergei Eisenstein Makes Potemkin Film US News: Scopes Monkey Trial Decided Also: Texas & Wyoming Inaugurate First Women Governors, Dog Sled Delivers Serum to Nome, AK Milwaukee News: Monkey Island Addition to Washington Park Zoo Also: Jones Island Sewage Plant Completed, Wunder Hall Completed as Concordia College Grows |
1926
Eagles Club
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World News: First Assassination Attempt on Mussolini
Also: First World Table-Tennis Championship Held, League of Nations Abolishes Slavery US News: Troops Land in Nicaragua Also: Actor Rudolph Valentino Dies at 31, NBC Radio Forms, Colonial Williamsburg Restoration Milwaukee News: Milwaukee County Buys Hamilton Field For Public Airport Also: Last Season of Milwaukee Badgers Pro Football Team, Milwaukee Brewers Win 21 Straight Baseball Games, Eagles Club Constructed, Our Lady of Guadalope Mission Built |
1927
Lincoln Memorial Bridge
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World News: Greece Freed of Ottoman Occupation
Also: NHL's Toronto St Patricks Become Maple Leafs, German Economy Collapses US News: Charles Lindbergh Lands In Paris From New York Also: First Talking Movie "The Jazz Singer", Pan American Airlines Forms, Snowmobile Patented Milwaukee News: Lincoln Memorial Bridge Opens Also: Oriental Theater Opens, Air Mail Service to Chicago Begins, Mabel Raimey Graduates From Marquette University Law School and Becomes Wisconsin's First African-American Female Attorney |
1928
Milwaukee Public Library and Museum
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World News: Alexander Fleming Discovers Penecillin
Also: Chemico Works of Birmingham in England Develops Brylcreem, Stalin's First Five Year Plan US News: First Regular Television Programming Begins Also: First Mickey & Minnie Mouse Cartoon, First Machine-Sliced Bread, Hoover Elected President Milwaukee News: Bootlegging Raid at the Hotel Lincoln Also: Milwaukee Public Museum Expedition to Africa, Original St. Luke's Hospital Opens |
1929
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World News: Global Economic Depression
Also: Jewish Agency for Palestine Forms, Unilever Forms by Merger, Trotsky Expelled from USSR US News: Great Depression Begins With Market Crash on Wall Street Also: Al Capone's Gang Commits St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Grand Teton Ntl Park Founded Milwaukee News: Victor Berger, Socialist and Congressman, Dies Also: Mount Mary College Opens, Harbor Breakwater Completed, North Milwaukee Consolidates Into City of Milwaukee, Federal Building Begins Large Building Addition |
1930
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World News: First Recorded Cure Using Penicillin
Also: First FIFA World Cup, Ghandi Salt March to the Sea, Selassie Becomes Emperor of Ethiopia US News: Frozen Foods First Marketed Also: Nestle Toll House Cookie Invented, Pluto Discovered, National Unemployment Reaches 8.9% Milwaukee News: Sacred Heart School of Nursing Opens Also: Atty Virginia North is First Female Prosecutor, Sociedad Mutualista Hispano-Azteca Founded |
1931
Milwaukee County Courthouse
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World News: Empire of Japan Invades Manchuria
Also: Christ Monument Built in Rio de Janeiro, Auguste Piccard Reaches Stratosphere in a Balloon US News: Star Spangled Banner Made Official US National Anthem Also: Empire State Building Completed, First Clinical Use of Penicillin, Al Capone Imprisoned Milwaukee News: Current Milwaukee County Courthouse Completed Also: Milwaukee Adopts New Street Numbering System, First Year of the Nine High School City Basketball League |
1932
German-English Academy
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World News: Mayan Archaeological Site of Calakmul Rediscovered
Also: Indian's First Test Cricket Match, 200,000 English Textile Workers Strike US News: Charles Lindbergh's Son Kidnapped Also: Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected President for the First of Four Terms, Zippo Lighter Invented Milwaukee News: Greenfield Park Opens the County's First Outdoor Pool Also: MSOE Expands Into the Former German-English Academy Building, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music Moves into the McIntosh-Goodrich Mansion |
1933
Only Whaleback Passenger Ship - SS Christopher Columbus
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World News: Adolf Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
Also: Loch Ness Monster First Spotted, First Nazi Concentration Camp Constructed US News: 21st Amendment Ends Prohibition Also: "King Kong" Premiers, FDR Launches New Deal, Monopoly Game Invented, Gold Standard Ends Milwaukee News: Mayor Hoan Organizes a National Conference of Mayors Also: Number of Employed Milwaukeeans Falls 75%, SS Christopher Columbus Ends Passenger Service |
1934
Exterior of Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco
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World News: Mao Zedong's Long March
Also: Great Terror in Soviet Union, Hitler Bloodily Purges Nazi Party, Dionne Quintuplets Born US News: Alcatraz Prison Opens Also: Monopoly Game Created, Max Baer Becomes Boxing Champ, Dust Bowl in Plains States Milwaukee News: Children Immunized City-Wide for Scarlet Fever Also: Record High of 105 Set on July 24th |
1935
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World News: Germany Passes Anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws
Also: First Electronically Scanned Television Service Started in Berlin, Persia Becomes Iran US News: U.S. Passes the Social Security Act Also: Babe Ruth Retires from MLB, First Beer Available in Cans, Alcoholics Anonymous Founded Milwaukee News: Work on Parklawn Housing Project Begins Also: Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha Train Service Starts, Welfare Costs Make Up Half the County Budget, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp Introduces New Lightweight Hammer-Drill |
1936
April 6, 1936 Cover
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World News: King Edward Abdicates British Throne
Also: Italy Annexes Ethiopia, Tasmanian Tiger Extinct, Spanish Civil War Begins US News: Jesse Owens Wins 4 Gold Medals at the Olympics in Berlin Also: Hoover Dam Completed, Carnegie Publishes "How to Win Friends and Influence People" Milwaukee News: Mayor Hoan Appears on the Cover of Time Magazine Also: Alverno Teachers College Opens |
1937
Milwaukee Auditorium - Main Hall Seats 10,000
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World News: First Long Term Use of Insulin to Control Diabetes
Also: Japan Invades China, Britain Introduces 999 Emergency Telephone Number US News: Hindenburg Bursts into Flames over New Jersey Also: Golden Gate Bridge Opens, Chester Carlson Patents Copying Machine, Earhart Disappears Milwaukee News: Allis-Chalmers Introduces the "Model B" Tractor Also: Explosion at the Krause Milling Co, Allen-Bradley Employees Form Union - Local 1111, Hall of Health Exhibit at Auditorium Draws Over 100,000 People |
1938
October 31, 1938 Milwaukee Sentinel
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World News: Hitler and Nazi Party Annexes Austria
Also: Oil Found in Saudi Arabia in Commercial Quantities, Kristallnacht, Volkswagen Beetle First Sold US News: U.S. National Minimum Wage Enacted at Twenty-Five Cents Also: March of Dimes Founded, "War of the Worlds" Radio Drama Airs Milwaukee News: Toy Loan Project Opens Also: Over 7,000 People Play Bingo At the Milwaukee Auditorium, Marquette University Opens First Women's Dorm the Alumnae House, Town of Lake Octagonal Water Tower Built |
1939
Packers End Don Hutson
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World News: Germany Invades Poland and World War II Begins
Also: Earthquake in Chile Kills 30,000, Helicopter Invented, British White Paper Issued US News: "Gone With the Wind" and "Wizard of Oz" Premier Also: U.S. Little League Formed, Batman Debuts in DC Comics, Rice Krispie Treats Invented Milwaukee News: Packers Win NFL Title Game Held At WI State Fair Park Also: Greatest Depth of Atlantic Ocean Discovered by USS Milwaukee and Named Milwaukee Deep |
1940
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World News: France Surrenders to Germany
Also: Winston Churchill Becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Trotsky Assassinated US News: First McDonald's Opens Also: Nylon Stocking Introduced, American Negro Theater Organized in Harlem Milwaukee News: Daniel Hoan Defeated in Election by Carl Zeidler Also: |
1941
General Billy Mitchell
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World News: Germany Invades Russia
Also: Nazi Rudolf Hess Peace Mission to Britain, Seige of Leningrad, Bismarck Sunk US News: Japan Attacks U.S. At Pearl Harbor Also: Mt. Rushmore Completed, Glen Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" Reaches #1, Jeep Invented Milwaukee News: Milwaukee County Airport Renamed Gen. Mitchell Field Also: |
1942
Doolittle planes-Image from National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
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World News: Bataan Death March
Also: Anne Frank Goes into Hiding, Japanese Empire Reaches Furthest Expansion US News: Doolittle Raid Bombs Tokyo Also: Daylight Saving Time Adopted, Grand Coulee Dam Finished, Manhattan Project Begins Milwaukee News: Mayor Carl Zeidler Enlists in the U.S. Navy and is KIA Also: |
1943
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World News: German 6th Army Surrenders to End the Battle of Stalingrad
Also:Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Italy Leaves Axis Powers and Joins the Allies US News: Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter Appears on Saturday Evening Post Also: Meat, Butter & Cheese Rationed, FDR Freezes Wages, Prices and Employment Milwaukee News: Also: Cardinal Stritch College Opens Innovative Reading Program |
1944
June 12, 1944 Stars and Stripes Liberation Issue
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World News: Allied Forces Land at Normandy Beach in France
Also: Paris Liberated, Hitler Assassination Attempt, Biro Ball Point Pens First Sold, Soviets Invade Finland US News: Elizabeth Taylor Stars in Film "National Velvet" Also: P-59 is First US Jet Fighter, "Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" Debut on CBS Radio Milwaukee News: Milwaukee Chicks Win AAGPBL Pennant Also: Due to Rationing the State Fair Cream Puff is Unavailable, Leroy Simmons Voted First Black Assemblyman in Milwaukee, First International Holiday Folk Fair Held |
1945
Gertie The Duck statue on the Wisconsin Ave. bridge over the Milwaukee river
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World News: Germany, Then Japan, Surrenders to End WWII
Also: Nuclear Weapons Dropped on the Cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan US News: Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Dies in Office Also: Microwave Oven Patented, Flight 19 Disappears Over the Bermuda Triangle Milwaukee News: Gertie the Duck Nests Under Wisconsin Avenue Bridge Also: |
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Some Sources: |
Milwaukee Sentinel Archives, Milwaukee Journal Archives, National Archives, www.linkstothepast.net Anderson, Harry and Olson, Frederick. Milwaukee, At the Gathering of the Waters. Tulsa: Continental Heritage Press, 1991, Print Edition Gurda, John. The Making of Milwaukee. Milwaukee: Milwaukee County Historical Society, 1999, Print The majority of images are from the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear |
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