Data for 1858

Felix Mendelssohn’s Wedding March becomes a popular wedding recessional (Jan 25), the first aerial photography is carried out, from tethered balloon in France (Aug), after a summer of problems, a bill is passed to create a modern sewage system in London (Aug 2), Macy’s department store in New York City opens for business (Oct 28), the city of Denver, Colorado is founded (Nov 17), homosexuality is legalised in the Ottoman Empire – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1853

The clothing company Levi Strauss is founded (Mar), the first passenger railway in India opens (Apr 16), the world’s first public aquarium opens, at the London Zoo (May), U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan with a request for a trade treaty (Jul 8), potato chips are first prepared in New York, according to popular accounts (Aug 24), the Ottoman Empire begins war with Russia over Crimea (Oct 4), the United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest (Dec 30), the Swiss watch company Tissot is founded – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 2000

 

The final daily original Peanuts comic strip is published (Jan 3), Playstation 2 is released in Japan (Mar 4), Pope John Paul II apologizes for the wrongdoings of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the ages (Mar 12), the American version of Survivor premiers on CBS (May 31), the Öresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark is officially opened for traffic (Jul 1), the Nintendo GameCube is revealed (Aug 24), Bofors is sold to United Defense (Sep 6), the last day of no human presence in space takes place (Oct 30) – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1999

The Euro is established (Jan 1), the Mars Polar Lander is launched (Jan 3), Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon (Mar 21), China launches its first spacecraft (Nov 20), Tori Murden becomes the first woman to cross the Atlantic by rowboat alone (Dec 3), 3rd millennium celebrations around the world take place, shadowed by the “Year 2000 problem” (Dec 31) – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1998

19 European nations agree to forbid human cloning (Jan 12), Titanic becomes the first film to gross 1 billion U.S. dollars (Mar 1), data sent from the Galileo probe indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice (Mar 2), the Alashi Kaikyoo Bridge becomes world’s longest suspension bridge (Apr 5), Indonesia’s Suharto resigns after 32 years in power (May 21), Google Inc. is founded in California (Sep 4), India and Pakistan test their nuclear capacity – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1993

Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Jan 1), Bill Clinton is sworn in as the 42nd U.S. president (Jan 20), the 51-day stand-off in Waco, Texas ends with a fire (Apr 19), the stabbing of Monica Seles in Hamburg leads later to more rigorous security at all tennis tournaments (Apr 30), Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia (May 24), Fermat’s Last Theorem is finally solved (Jun 24), Russian troops withdraw from Poland (Sep 17), the Maastricht Treaty formally establishes the European Union (Nov 1), Schindler’s List is released in theaters (Dec 15) – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1997

Alma-Marceau in Paris 2017

The Phoenix lights – a series of UFOs – are seen by hundreds in Phoenix, Arizona (Mar 13), the first space burial takes place (Apr 21), Jeanne Calment, probably the oldest person ever, dies at age of 122 years and 164 days (Aug 4), Princess Diana is killed in a car accident in Paris, France (Aug 31), the death of Mother Teresa a few days later is shadowed by it (Sep 5), the Cassini-Huygens probe is launched to Saturn (Oct 15) – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1995

Austria, Finland and Sweden enter the European Union (Jan 1), Finland wins her first ice hockey world championship in Stockholm, and Jacques Chirac becomes the president of France (May 7), Microsoft releases Windows 95 (Aug 24), the DVD is announced, and eBay is founded (Sep 4), O.J. Simpson is found not guilty in his murder trial (Oct 3), Pokémon media franchise is created by Satoshi Tajiri – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1996

Mountainous crater rim on Mars

France undertakes its last nuclear weapons test (Jan 21), at the urging of Yasser Arafat, PLO drops its clause calling for the removal of Israel, and the Israeli government responds by dropping a similar clause about Palestine (Apr 24), the first cloned mammal – Dolly the sheep – is born in Scotland (Jul 5), data sent back by the Galileo space probe indicates there may be water on of Jupiter’s moons (Aug 13), NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor with the mission to map the planet (Nov 7), the Yugoslav Wars go on – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1992

Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during WW2 (Jan 13), the U.S. and Russia promise not to target each other’s cities with nuclear weapons (Jan 26), and the Cold War is officially over (Feb 1), the Maastrict Treaty creates the European Union (Feb 7), white South Africans vote to in effect end the apartheid (Mar 18), Jay Leno succeeds Johnny Carson as the host of NBC’s Tonight Show (May 25), Lennart Meri becomes the first president of newly independent Estonia (Oct 6), Bill Clinton becomes the president elect (Nov 3), Yugoslavia is split into several independent states – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1910

Modern radio equipment

The first public radio broadcast takes place, in New York City (Jan 13), William D. Boyce founds The Boy Scouts of America (Feb 8), slavery is made illegal in China (Mar 10), comet Halley is visible from Earth (Apr 20), George V becomes King of the United Kingdom (May 6), the first commercial freight flight occurs, in Ohio (Nov 7), the last execution is carried out in Sweden, by guillotine (Nov 23), modern neon lighting is first demonstrated in Paris, France (Dec 3) – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1909

United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War (Jan 28), the NAACP is founded, commemorating the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth (Feb 12), The Kellogg’s Company is founded as Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company (Feb 19), William Howard Taft becomes the 27th U.S. President (Mar 4), work on the anti-aircraft gun commences (Jul 26), the Rosicrucian Fellowship is launched at Seattle, WA (Aug 8), the Montreal Canadiens is founded (Dec 4), the Manhattan Bridge opens (Dec 31) – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1863

Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, making the abolition of slavery an official war goal of the American Civil War (Jan 1), the first section of the London Underground opens officially (Jan 10), Adam Opel founds Opel AG (Jan 21), the foundation for the International Red Cross are laid in Geneva (Feb 9),

FAQ

Here are answers to some of the questions you might have about this site. To find out about anything  to do with adding your ancestors to this site, go here (link coming later) though.

What do all these abbreviations stand for?

B means that the given date is that of baptism, and the actual date of birth probably a couple of days earlier
GD stands for Grand Duchy
N after an occupation means that the person is a Nobel laureate
OG stands for Olympic Gold medalist
P after an occupation stands for President
PC stands for Private Collection i.e. data provided by private citizens about their own family tree. Sometimes with link.
usp stands for President of the United States
WC means that the person is a World Champion

Abbreviations for states and countries are used sparingly so far, but they do appear in order to save space. There is a separate posting about the U.S. states, and later on also of about the provinces and states in Canada and Australia. Each year file will display a link to the U.S. states page in several places so it’s always easy to know what those abbreviations mean.

How do I look for a particular year?
There are two ways. You can either write a year in the Search box, or you can click on Year Files, and find there the appropriate century, and go there to find the year/years.

How do I look for a particular name?
That’s easy. Just write the name in the search box. Keep in mind though that the name may contain special letters, e.g. é, à, ñ, etc. So if you can’t find the person you’re looking for, you either wrote it differently from how it appears here, or it doesn’t exist here yet. You can always suggest new names to be listed here.

Why does the designated date look like that?
It is the Swedish style to write a date, which in this case seems the best one to use. So year first, followed by month and day of month.

Where do I find more articles to read?
As the site progresses, articles start taking over till they will be the main thing here in Journeys of Life. You will find articles either as separate stories or as part of ongoing article series of which there will be plenty of. And you can get access to all of these by clicking at Articles in the main menu, or here.

Do all the links lead to Wikipedia?
Yes they do, as long as such links exist. And most often it is the English Wiki, only in rare occasions it will be in another language. And of course, to read the Wiki article in your preferred language, just change the language.

Updated 1.2.2019

Data for 1846

Many Mormons begin their migration from Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah (Jan 5), the Liberty Bell is cracked while being rung for George Washington’s birthday (Feb 26), the United States declares war on Mexico (May 13), the California Republic declares independence from Mexico (Jun 10), the saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax (Jun 28), Neptune is first observed (Sep 23), the Great Famine continues in Ireland, leading to mass emigration, mainly to the United States – and all these fine people were born:

Data for 1847

1847 Colt Walker

Samuel Colt sells his first revolver to the U.S. government (Jan 4), the American Medical Association is founded (May 7), the United States issues its first postage stamps (Jul 1), Mormon pioneers arrive in what will become Salt Lake City (Jul 24), the world’s oldest vegetarian society is formed in the United Kingdom (Sep 30), Siemens AG, starting out as a telegraph line manufacturer, is founded (Oct 12), chloroform is successfully used as an anesthetic in Edinburgh, Scotland (Nov 4-8), the first brew of Carlsberg beer is finished in Copenhagen (Nov 10), the Mexican-American War rages on,  the Great Famine continues in Ireland – and all these fine people were born: