Ralph David Abernathy was born #100yearsagotoday in Alabama. A civil rights activist, Abernathy worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, helping to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. Abernathy was also co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
#xyearsagotoday

Margot Frank, elder sister of diarist, Anne Frank, was born in Germany #100yearsagotoday. The Frank family moved to the Netherlands in 1933 to escape the Nazis. When Margot received a deportation order, the family went into hiding. Margot eventually died in Bergen-Belsen at age 19.
#xyearsagotoday

John W. Langley, a congressman from Kentucky, resigned his congressional seat #100yearsagotoday. Convicted of various Prohibition-era criminal offenses, Langley was sentenced to two years in prison. Langley received a presidential pardon in 1928.
#xyearsagotoday

Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born #100yearsagotoday. After a career in radio and stand up comedy, Van Dyke transitioned to television and later Broadway. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of Rob Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," Van Dyke has appeared on over 70 television shows.
#xyearsagotoday

Samuel George Davis, Jr. was born in New York City #100yearsagotoday. Davis, a member of the renowned Rat Pack, recorded dozens of albums and appeared in dozens of feature films and television shows. He also performed on Broadway and in Las Vegas.
#xyearsagotoday

Robert Francis Kennedy, was born #100yearsagotoday in MA. The 3rd of 4 sons, Kennedy practiced law before becoming Attorney General in his brother's presidential administration. Kennedy later became a US Senator. Kennedy was assassinated during his own presidential run in 1968.
#xyearsagotoday

A major day in history and one that affected my family who lived in Dolgarrog. My Taid (grandad) helped with the rescue #OTD #100yearsagotoday #centenary #dolgarrogdamdisaster

Born 100 years ago today.

On October 23, 1925, the greatest talent to ever sit behind a talk show desk anywhere on this planet was born in Corning, Iowa. Happy Centennial, Johnny Carson. We still miss you.

#JohnnyCarson #100thBirthday #100YearsAgoToday #Centennial #TheTonightShow #Legend #TV

Oct. 19, 1925 — Calvin Coolidge’s progressive speech in Omaha focusing on a post-war America continued to ruffle feathers #100yearsagotoday :

October 15, 1925 — After the KKK marched on Washington, Calvin Coolidge hit on the danger of growing intolerance in America during a speech in Omaha. His remarks were highlighted in a full page ad in The Post #100yearsagotoday.

October 14, 1925 — The representatives from 24 tribes of the New England region gathered for their third-annual pow-wow in Rhode Island #100yearsagotoday. It was the year after Calvin Coolidge, who claimed to have “a trace of Indian blood”, championed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924…🧵

Oct. 10, 1925 — New D.C. police superintendent Edwin B. Hesse made his first address to officers #100yearsagotoday. “Nothing is more important to the police department than the deportment of its individual members,” he said. Their duty is to citizens, he said, asking officers to prioritize courtesy.

Oct. 8, 1925 - The Post made history #100yearsagotoday by using a motorcycle, airplane and car in a bold race to get readers photos from the 1925 World Series in Pittsburgh. Head to my Substack for more about the (sometimes dodgy) ways newspapers transmitted photos before we all had send buttons.

🧵…lobotomies, insulin-induced comas and aversion therapy — lead to violence, chaos and federal investigations #100yearsagotoday . The massive campus is now home to the Department of Homeland Security…and some happier things. #history

#100yearsagotoday, Johnson took the time to write and tell her which of his children is the best ball player. Take a guess. (You go, girl!) #history #womeninbaseball #walterjohnson #leagueoftheirown #womensprobaseballleague #girlsbaseball

September 29, 1925 — Yup, you get cancelled for being ageist #100yearsagotoday. Meyer’s Shop in D.C. ran a cheeky ad telling “old chap(s)” they had more than the wide-leg pants and suits in “ice cream shades” that young guys were wearing. The outcry was enough for an apology in print the next day.

Sept 24, 1925 — A mystery illness was killing babies #100yearsagotoday at the Florence Crittenton Home, a refuge for “fallen women” that was also an orphanage. Pictured is a window baby display in 1914, pet shop style…🧵

Sept. 16, 1925 — A DC woman met a small alligator outside her Foggy Bottom home #100yearsagotoday. He was captured and sent to the zoo, joining two other gators who also used to lived in that posh area, swimming in Herbert Hoover’s bathtub before he moved to the White House. #history #alligatorpets

Riley B. King was born #100yearsagotoday. After learning a few chords from a local minister, King spent his childhood teaching himself how to play guitar. Adopting the stage name, B. B. King, he recorded over 40 studio albums and was nominated for over 20 Grammys, winning several.
#xyearsagotoday

Sept 15, 1925 — A record was set in traffic court #100yearsagotoday. It was 45 days in jail +$165 for a Black man with no permit/registration/tail lights.
Meanwhile, a white dude driving drunk who totaled his car after careening around Connecticut Ave. “was released” and charged with drunk driving.

Sept. 2, 1925 — The listing of everyone’s income taxes were on the front page of The Washington Post #100yearsagotoday! Three times in U.S. history, income taxes were made public …🧵

August 18, 1925 - A psych professor at George Washington University ran tests #100yearsagotoday to determine “the truth about the woman driver.” Conclusion? “…the woman stacks up higher than the male of the species”. (The first woman to get a license in the U.S. was Anne French — in 1900, in D.C.! )

August 17, 1925 — The DC National Guard had a very different assignment #100yearsagotoday — drills and swimming in Virginia Beach. #history

August 15, 1925 — As the U.S. faced a growing crime wave #100yearsagotoday, an editorial suggested we look at the U.K.’s precipitous drop in crime and the theory that their prison reform was a factor. It wasn’t ice cream socials and yoga, but they enacted a 1925 version. #historymatters

August 14, 1925 — “There is no factor more potent in determining the character of a future citizen than play,” a D.C. commissioner said #100yearsagotoday, in a report urging a playground accessible to every child in D.C., supervised and open year-round. #historymatters

Aug. 11, 1925 — The federal budget director wanted say over running D.C. #100yearsagotoday. The District has been “neglected” and deserves more money for improvements as it becomes “an ideal residential city” and is “growing even faster than any other front-rank city”. How nice they were…#history

August 8-9, 1925 — The nation’s capital was overwhelmed by the massive KKK march #100yearsagotoday. After D.C. mandated that the klansmen march unmasked, thousands lined the parade route in civilian clothes, suspected sympathizers who left their robes at home, but cheered on from the sidelines.

#100yearsagotoday, the KKK (in its 2nd iteration) held a march in Washington DC. The march, which proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue and stopped at the Washington Memorial, included some 30,000 marchers from all over the United States. The marchers were ordered not mask their faces.
#xyearsagotoday

Aug, 5, 1925 — Helen H. Gardener donated her brain to science #100yearsagotoday. The highest ranking woman in federal government, Gardener furiously refuted the Surgeon General’s assertion that women do not deserve equality because their brains are simply inferior to those of men…🧵

Aug. 4, 1925 - The Naval Academy launched its first class of aviators #100yearsagotoday, the start of integrating aeronautics into the curriculum.