Chronological
Look at the
Life of Harry S. Truman and His Times
| 1884 |
Harry S. Truman is born in Lamar,
Missouri - May 8 |
1884 |
Grover Cleveland is elected U.S.
President. The Statue of Liberty's cornerstone is laid. |
| 1890 |
Harry S. Truman's family moves to
Independence, Missouri from grandparent's farm in
Grandview. |
1890 |
Idaho is admitted as the 43rd
state. Wyoming is admitted as the 44th state. |
| 1892 |
Enter elementary school in
Independence, Missouri. |
1892 |
Abraham Lincoln's birthday becomes
an official national holiday. One of America's first
successful automobiles is built - a horse-buggy powered
by an engine. |
| 1900 |
Serves as page at the Democratic
National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri |
1900 |
William Jennings Bryan wins the
Democratic nomination. |
| 1901 |
Graduates from high school and
begins as a clerk for the Santa Fe Railroad |
1901 |
President Wm. McKinley is
assassinated. Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 25th
President. |
| 1906 |
Harry S. Truman moves to
grandparents' farm and operates it until 1917. |
1906 |
Susan B. Anthony, pioneer of the
women's suffrage movement, dies in New York. |
| 1917 |
Truman joins the army to fight in
World War I; later promoted to lieutenant, captain, then
major. |
1917 |
President Wilson declares war
against Germany. Women are given the right to vote in New
York. The first Congresswoman is seated in the House of
Representatives. |
| 1919 |
Harry S. Truman is discharged as a
major; begins a men's clothing store with an army buddy;
marries his childhood sweetheart, Bess Wallace. |
1919 |
The 18th Amendment prohibiting the
manufacture and sale of alcohol is ratified. Navy
seaplane makes the first air crossing of the Atlantic
Ocean, taking 18 days. |
| 1920 |
Haberdashery fails due to the
troubled economy; it took Harry Truman 15 years to pay
off his business debts. |
1920 |
The 19th Amendment is passed giving
women the right to vote in national elections. |
| 1922 |
Serves as a Jackson County judge
for one 2-year term; lost his bid for re-election. |
1922 |
The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated
in Washington D.C.. Alexander Graham Bell dies in Nova
Scotia |
| 1924 |
Daughter Mary Margaret is born to
the Trumans. |
1924 |
The U.S.S.R. adopts its
constitution giving the Communist Party complete control
of the government. Lenin dies. |
| 1926 |
Serves as presiding judge
supervising county road construction until 1934. |
1926 |
Gertrude Ederle, a 19 year old
American, becomes the first woman to swim across the
English Channel in 14 hours, 13 minutes. |
| 1934 |
Harry Truman is elected to the U.S.
Senate; while Senator, Truman heads a committee to
investigate wartime expenses; committee saves the federal
government millions of dollars. |
1934 |
Criminal careers of Bonnie and
Clyde, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face
Nelson come to an end. |
| 1944 |
Harry S. Truman is elected Vice
President of the United States. |
1944 |
FDR is re-elected for a 4th term as
President - a first in history. World War II continues. |
| 1945 |
Harry S. Truman becomes the 32nd
President upon the death of FDR. World War II is still
being fought. |
1945 |
Truman orders the use of the atomic
bomb against Japan. Germany surrenders at Reims, Germany.
Japan surrenders at Tokyo Bay, ending WWII. |
| 1946 |
President Truman ends steel strike
by using National Guard Troops. The United Nations is
established. |
1946 |
A radar beam from a U.S. Army lab
is bounced off the moon, returning to earth in 2.4
seconds. The Philippine Islands is given full
independence from the U.S. |
| 1948 |
Philippines gives the U.S. 99-year
leases on several military and naval bases. U.S. sends
aid to Greece and Turkey. Program announced to check on
the loyalty of U.S. government workers. Marshall Plan is
proposed to assist European economic recovery. U.S. sends
more than 18,000,000 tons of food to the starving
throughout the world. Truman asks Congress to pass civil
rights legislation and to study job discrimination. The
White House is gutted and renovated. The first family
lives in Blair House during renovation. Truman adds a
balcony to the White House. |
1948 |
Margaret Truman debuts as a singer
with the Detroit Symphony. Jackie Robinson becomes the
first black man to sign with a major league baseball
team. Orville Wright dies in Ohio. The largest telescope
in the world is dedicated at Mount Palomar Observatory in
California. The Supreme Court rules that Oklahoma must
provide equal educational facilities for the study of law
to black and white students. |
| 1949 |
President Truman signs a bill
raising the annual presidential and vice presidential
salaries. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is
signed by 12 nations. |
1949 |
The 17-month
"Wilhelmstrasse" trial ends with the conviction
of 19 of 21 Nazi officials for cruel acts during WWII.
The minimum wage is raised from $.40 to $.75 per hour. |
| 1952 |
CIA is established. Truman
announces that the Soviet Union has developed and tested
the atomic bomb. An assassination attempt is made on
Truman's life by two Puerto Ricans. Truman signs a bill
to provide economic assistance to the Navajo and Hopi
Indians. Truman streamlines national defense and orders
troops into South Korea under the command of General
Douglas MacArthur. Truman seizes the steel mills. Truman
fires General MacArthur for insubordination. He signs a
veteran's bill to provide educational and other benefits
for Korean War veterans. Truman announces he will not run
for a third term and begins plans for a Korean peace
parley. |
1952 |
The 22nd Amendment prohibiting any
President from holding office more than two terms. Ethel
and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death in Federal
Court for conspiring to steal atomic secrets. U.S.
Supreme Court upholds a New York state law banning public
school teachers who are members of subversive
organizations. Floods in Kansas and Missouri kill 41 and
leave 200,000 homeless. Dwight David Eisenhower is
elected President of the U.S. |
| 1953 |
The Trumans return to Independence.
President Truman writes and gives lectures. |
1953 |
President Eisenhower fulfills his
campaign promise to end the Korean War. |
| 1955 |
Mr. Truman's book Memoirs is
published. |
1955 |
Scientist Albert Einstein, 76, dies |
| 1956 |
Margaret marries Clifton Daniels. |
1956 |
President Eisenhower wins
re-election by a huge majority |
| 1957 |
Harry S. Truman Library is
dedicated. Mr. Truman works on his memoirs in his
retirement at the Library. |
1957 |
The first atomic power plant in the
U.S. begins to produce electric power. |
| 1960 |
Truman published his book Mr.
Citizen which told about his years as a former president. |
1960 |
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B.
Johnson are nominated for President and Vice President at
the Democratic convention in Los Angeles. |
| 1965 |
Truman High School, of
Independence, Missouri, is dedicated to both President
and Mrs. Truman. The class selected Patriots as its team
name and red, white and blue as the school colors. Mr.
Truman attends first graduation ceremonies. |
1965 |
Doug Allen and Gary Krohm, part of
the team that helped put this program together, were in
that first graduating class of Truman High, and were
fortunate to meet and shake hands with Mr. Truman at the
graduation ceremony. |
| 1972 |
Mr. Truman dies and is buried in
the courtyard of the Truman Library following a military
and Masonic funeral. |
1972 |
Four men arrested in the break-in
at the Democratic National Committee offices in the
Watergate building complex. |
