Clara ATKINSON

Born

2 April 1905 , Sparta, Illinois, USA

Died

28 June 1983 , Campbell, California, USA

Age: 78
Cause of Death: Cancer

Parents & Family of Clara ATKINSON

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Parents

Ralph James ATKINSON Alice BARNETT

Grandparents

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Spouse & Children

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Born: 2 April 1905 in Sparta, Illinois, USA

Father: Ralph James ATKINSON

Mother: Alice BARNETT

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) and Child(ren):

Clara married Ray Gardner BROWN 20 June 1930 in Pasadena, California, USA . The couple had (at least) 1 child.
Ray Gardner BROWN was born 18 August 1903 in Jacksonville, Oregon, USA. Ray Gardner died 8 January 1984 in San Jose, California, USA. Ray Gardner was the child of Charles BROWN and Ida May GARDNER.

Clara ATKINSON died 28 June 1983 in Campbell, California, USA.

Clara was born in the Manse of the United Presbyterian Church in Sparta, Illinois. (Her father was the minister of that church.)

Clara graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1926. She taught school in Baldwin Park, CA, until her marriage to Ray BROWN on 20 June 1930. A year later, they moved to Shanghai, where Ray was supervising the plumbing on a large construction project. She taught first grade at the Shanghai American School for a few years there. In 1936 they returned to Pasadena, CA. They had two children during the next 4 years. In 1940 the family moved to Panama. While there, Clara worked in the Hydrographics Office. In 1948, the family returned home to Pasadena. Clara worked as a substitute teacher in the West Covina Grammar School before they moved to Arcadia, CA. She then started teaching at Holly Ave. School in Arcadia. After retiring from teaching, she and Ray moved to Newport Beach, CA. Clara came down with lymphoma, fought it with all she had, before dying at the home of her daughter. She was alert until the end of her life, determined to live for her and Ray's 57th wedding anniversary. She made it, dying one week later on June 28th!

Details of the family tree of Clara appear below.

WORK & OCCUPATION

Occupation

Recorded occupation: Teacher

Everyday Chronicles: Life of the Average American Woman in the Mid-1900s

Spouse & Children of Clara ATKINSON

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Clara ATKINSON married

Ray Gardner BROWN
Marriage date: 20 June 1930
Marriage place: Pasadena, California, USA
Ray Gardner BROWN was the child of Charles BROWN and Ida May GARDNER

Children of Ray Gardner BROWN and Clara ATKINSON

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Records about Clara ATKINSON and family appear alongside historical events from the same years. Each item is labeled so you can quickly tell family records from historical context.

Birth — 1905
2 April 1905
Sparta, Illinois, USA

1906 - August 22 – The first Victor Victrola, a phonographic record player, was manufactured, revolutionizing the way people listened to music at home.

In 1906, Reginald Fessenden made the first AM radio broadcast on December 24th. This event marked a significant advancement in radio technology, paving the way for the modern broadcasting industry.

1907-1908 - The electric washing machine is invented (Alva J. Fisher, United States)

1908 - First Model-T car is produced by Henry Ford (United States)

1909 - William Howard Taft becomes President of the United States

1912 - April 15 - Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic

1913 - The assembly line is invented (Henry Ford, United States)

The bra is invented (Mary Phelps Jacob, United States)

1913 - Woodrow Wilson becomes President of the United States

1913 - October 31 – The Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across the United States, is dedicated

1915 - January 25 - First United States coast-to-coast long-distance telephone call

1917 - March 2 – The enactment of the Jones Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.

1917 - April 6 – WWI: The United States declares war on Germany

1918 - March 19 – The United States Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time

1919 - June 4 – Women's rights: The United States Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would guarantee suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification

1920 - January 17 - Prohibition goes into effect on January 17, 1920, under the provisions of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution

1921 - Warren G. Harding becomes President of the United States

1921 - Charles Strite of Minnesota patents the pop-up toaster.

1923 to 1927 - Television is invented (Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (Russia), Philo Taylor Farnsworth (United States))

1923 - Calvin Coolidge becomes President of the United States

1927 - The aerosol can is invented (Erik Rotheim, Norway)

1927 - April 7 – Bell Telephone Co. transmits an image of Herbert Hoover (then the Secretary of Commerce), which becomes the first successful long distance demonstration of television

1928 - Sliced bread (bread slicing machine) is invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder (United States)

1929 - Herbert Hoover becomes President of the United States

1929 - October 29 - Black Tuesday - Stock market crash - The Great Depression Begins - It lasted until 1941 (WW2)

1930 - Scotch tape is invented (Richard Drew (3M), United States)

1930 Marriage / Partner
Clara ATKINSON and Ray Gardner BROWN 20 June 1930, Pasadena, California, USA

She was 25 years old.

In 1930, on February 18, Pluto was discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, marking a significant milestone in the study of our solar system.

1931 - The paper towel is invented (Arthur Scott, United States)

1931 - March 3 – The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the United States National anthem.

1933 - Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes President of the United States

1933 - December 5 – The 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed, repealing Prohibition

1934 - The metal beverage can is invented (American Can Co., United States)

1935 - The snowmobile was invented by Joseph Bombardier (Quebec, Canada)

1935 - August 14 – United States President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law

1938 - The ballpoint pen is invented (Lazlo Biro, Hungary)

1938-1944 - Sunscreen is invented (Franz Greiter, Switzerland and Benjamin Green, United States)

1938 - October 27 - Du Pont announces a name for its new synthetic yarn: nylon.

1940 - April - 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1941 - December 8 - (the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor) United States declares war on Japan (WW2)

1944 - D-Day, which occurred on June 6, 1944, was a pivotal World War II operation where Allied forces launched a massive invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France. Known as Operation Overlord, it involved over 156,000 troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other Allied nations. The operation aimed to liberate Western Europe from Nazi German control. The landings marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, leading to the eventual Allied victory in Europe.

1945 - The atomic bomb is invented (J. Robert Oppenheimer, et al., United States)

The microwave oven was invented accidentally in 1945 by Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer. While testing a magnetron, he noticed microwaves melted a candy bar in his pocket. Experimenting further, he discovered microwaves could cook food quickly. Raytheon patented the process, and by 1947, they built the first commercial microwave oven, called the 'Radarange.' Initially used in commercial settings, microwaves becomes affordable for home use by the 1960s and 1970s, revolutionizing cooking.

1945 - Harry S. Truman becomes President of the United States

1945 - On September 2, 1945, World War II officially ended with the formal surrender of Japan. The surrender ceremony took place aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, where Japanese officials signed the Instrument of Surrender in the presence of Allied representatives, including General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz.

1948 - Velcro is invented (George de Mestral, Switzerland)

1950 - June 25 - Korean War begins when North Korean forces invade South Korea.

1953 - Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes President of the United States

1953 - On July 27, 1953, the Korean War ended with the signing of an armistice agreement at Panmunjom. This ceasefire halted the conflict between North Korea, supported by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, backed by United Nations forces primarily from the United States. The agreement established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) near the 38th parallel, effectively maintaining the pre-war boundary and creating a buffer zone between the two Koreas.

1961 - John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States

1961 - Vietnam War officially begins with 900 military advisors landing in Saigon.

1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense 13-day standoff in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S. coast. The crisis is considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. It began when American spy planes discovered the missiles, leading to a U.S. naval blockade of Cuba and intense negotiations. The crisis ended when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba and secretly agreeing to remove American missiles from Turkey.

1963 - I Have a Dream Speech - Martin Luther King's Address at March on Washington August 28, 1963.

In 1963, on November 22, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza. The assassination shocked the nation and the world, leading to widespread mourning and a period of intense national introspection. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States shortly after Kennedy's death. The assassination sparked numerous conspiracy theories and investigations, with the Warren Commission ultimately concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination. Kennedy's death had a profound impact on American politics and society, marking the end of an era often referred to as 'Camelot.'

1968 - The ATM is invented (Don Wetzel, United States)

1969 - Richard M. Nixon becomes President of the United States

1969 - July 20 - Apollo 11 - Man lands on the moon

June 17, 1972 – August 9, 1974 - Watergate Scandal began with the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., in 1972. Members of President Richard Nixon's administration attempted to cover up their involvement. The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration, the resignation of President Nixon in 1974, and the indictment of several administration officials.

1973 - January 22 - Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 and Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179: The U.S. Supreme Court declares that the Constitution protects women’s right to terminate an early pregnancy, thus making abortion legal in the U.S.

1973 - March 29 - The last United States soldier leaves Vietnam

The cell phone was invented by Martin Cooper of Motorola. On April 3, 1973, he made the first handheld mobile phone call with the Motorola DynaTAC. This device weighed 2.5 pounds and was 10 inches long, offering 30 minutes of talk time and requiring 10 hours to charge. The first commercial cell phone was released in 1983, revolutionizing communication and leading to the modern smartphones we use today.

1974 - Gerald R. Ford becomes President of the United States after the resignation of Richard Nixon.

1977 - Jimmy Carter becomes President of the United States

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State occurred on May 18, triggered by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. It caused the largest landslide in recorded history, followed by a massive lateral blast. The eruption killed 57 people, destroyed 250 homes, and spread ash across the U.S.

1981 - Ronald Reagan becomes President of the United States

1981 - June 5 - First reported case of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

1982 - The camcorder is invented (Sony Corp., Japan)