1929 - October 29 - Black Tuesday - Stock market crash - The Great Depression Begins - It lasted until 1941 (WW2)
1934 - The metal beverage can is invented (American Can Co., United States)
1940 Fitchburg, Worcester, Massachusetts
Name: Alvin Thomas
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1940
Event Place: Ward 2, Fitchburg, Fitchburg City, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Marital Status: Single
Race (Original): White
Race: White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Son
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
BirthPlace: Massachusetts
Birth Year (Estimated): 1921
Last Place of Residence: Same Place
District: 14-77
Family Number: 36
Sheet Number and Letter: 2B
Line Number: 66
Affiliate Publication Number: T627
Affiliate Film Number: 1647
Digital Folder Number: 005460919
Image Number: 00413
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head Joseph Z Thomas M 49 Canada
Wife Julia Thomas F 45 Canada
Son Frank J Thomas M 22 Canada
Son Lazare G Thomas M 21 Canada
Son Gilbert Thomas M 20 Canada
Son Alvin Thomas M 19 Massachusetts
Son Leo G Thomas M 17 Massachusetts
Son Arthur Thomas M 15 Massachusetts
Daughter Anna M
1940 - April - 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1942 Army Enlistment
Name: Alvin J Thomas
Birth Year: 1921
Race: White, Citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Massachusetts
State of Residence: Massachusetts
County or City: Worcester
Enlistment Date: 2 Oct 1942
Enlistment State: Massachusetts
Enlistment City: Fort Devens
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: Grammar school
Civil Occupation: Unskilled occupations in manufacture of textiles, n.e.c.
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 71
Weight: 145
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.
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.
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.
1981 - June 5 - First reported case of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
1986 - January 28 - Space Shuttle Challenger accident - The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members.
1989 - The World Wide Web is invented at CERN (Tim Berners-Lee, UK)
Grave - St. Joseph's Cemetery, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
St. Joseph's Cemetery
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA
Photo taken by us
Death — 199819 July 1998
Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
He died at the age of 77.
Birth — 1921
 THOMAS - 1943 photo from newspaper (unknown)
Thanks to Deb Thomas Sheldon){kind=small}
 THOMAS - 1946 Honorable Discharge){kind=small}
 THOMAS - Obituary){kind=small}
 THOMAS - Grave - St. Joseph's Cemetery, Fitchburg, Massachusetts){kind=small}
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