Alvin Randolph MAYS

Born

12 April 1873 , West Virginia, USA

Died

24 October 1958 , Boone, West Virginia, USA

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Born: 12 April 1873 in West Virginia, USA

Father: Unknown

Mother: Unknown

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

Alvin Randolph married Elizabeth "Betty" BUTCHER 14 December 1900 in Huntington, West Virginia, USA . The couple had (at least) 1 child.
Elizabeth "Betty" BUTCHER was born 26 December 1876 in West Virginia, USA. Elizabeth "Betty" died 20 June 1943 in Low Gap, Boone, West Virginia, USA.

Alvin Randolph MAYS died 24 October 1958 in Boone, West Virginia, USA.
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A Glimpse into the Everyday Life of the Average American Man in the Mid-1900s

Spouse & Children of Alvin Randolph MAYS

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Alvin Randolph MAYS married

Elizabeth "Betty" BUTCHER
Marriage date: 14 December 1900
Marriage place: Huntington, West Virginia, USA

Children of Alvin Randolph MAYS and Elizabeth "Betty" BUTCHER

Alexander Elwood MAYS

Born: 26 November 1901, Barboursville, West Virginia, USA
Died: 30 November 1938, Panama City, Florida, USA

Married: Floria Atless COOPER 1 May 1927

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Birth — 1873
12 April 1873
West Virginia, USA

1876 - March 7 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a United States patent for an invention he calls the telephone.

1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes becomes President of the United States

1877 - November 21 - Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record sound.

1879 - Incandescent light bulb is invented (Thomas Alva Edison, United States)

1881 - The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton.

1881 - March 4 - James A. Garfield becomes President of the United States

1881 - July 2 - James A. Garfield was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 am on Saturday, July 2, 1881. He died in Elberon, New Jersey, two months later on September 19, 1881. The shooting occurred less than four months into his term as president. Charles J. Guiteau was convicted of Garfield's murder and executed by hanging one year after the shooting. Chester Arthur becomes President of the United States.

1884 - Photographic film is invented (George Eastman, United States)

The first gravity roller coaster amusement ride (LeMarcus A. Thompson, United States)

1885 - Grover Cleveland becomes President of the United States

1886 - October 28 - Statue of Liberty is Unveiled

1889 - The automobile is invented (Gottlieb Daimler, Germany)

1889 - Benjamin Harrison becomes President of the United States

1891 - The zipper is invented (Whitcomb L. Judson, United States)

The motion picture camera is invented (Thomas Alva Edison, William K.L. Dickson, United States)

First Perforated Toilet Paper Roll is Patented

1893 - Grover Cleveland becomes President of the United States

1897 - Aspirin is invented (Felix Hoffmann (Bayer), Germany)

1897 - William McKinley becomes President of the United States

1898 - April 25 – Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain

1898 - December 10 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War.

1900 Marriage / Partner
Alvin Randolph MAYS and Elizabeth "Betty" BUTCHER 14 December 1900, Huntington, West Virginia, USA

He was 27 years old.

1901 - King Camp Gillette and William Emery Nickerson invented the world's first disposable razor blade in 1901. (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)

1901 - William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was shot on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901, six months into his second term. He was shaking hands with the public when an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, shot him twice in the abdomen. Theodore Roosevelt becomes President of the United States.

1901 Birth of Child
Alexander Elwood MAYS was born 26 November 1901, Barboursville, West Virginia, USA

Alvin Randolph was 28 years old.

1902 - July 17 - Willis Haviland Carrier designed the first modern air-conditioning system. (Buffalo, New York, USA)

1903 - The first engine-powered airplane is invented (Wilbur & Orville Wright, United States)

1904 - June 28 - U.S. begins construction of Panama Canal.

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)

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.

1938 Death of Child
Alexander Elwood MAYS died 30 November 1938, Panama City, Florida, USA

Alvin Randolph was 65 years old.

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)

1943 Death of Spouse/Partner
Elizabeth "Betty" BUTCHER died 20 June 1943, Low Gap, Boone, West Virginia, USA

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.

Death — 1958
24 October 1958
Boone, West Virginia, USA
He died at the age of 85.

RECORD HISTORY

Record added: 2/19/2026 12:43:16 PM
Last updated: 2/19/2026 12:43:57 PM

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Although the name 'Kanawha' was considered, 'West Virginia' was ultimately chosen to name the western counties of the state of Virginia which refused to secede from the Union in 1863. (statesymbolsusa.org)

June 20, 1863 - West Virginia becomes 35th U.S. state. It was part of Virginia until statehood.

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