A century ago, America and the world had just emerged from both a ghastly World War and a global pandemic.  The combined death toll numbered in the tens of millions.  It was not surprising that the newly elected U.S. President, Warren G. Harding, had won with the platform, “Return to Normalcy”.  One hundred years later, the new U.S. President has won with the same slogan, and the world is still experiencing a global pandemic and rumors of wars. ¹

It is profoundly interesting that history is indeed repetitive.

Looking back at the past century, here are some of the events for the years that end in the same number as our current year:

It took many decades, but Germany paid the money.  The debt sent the already war-torn land spiraling into economic ruin, angering its citizens.  One veteran who rose to prominence because of the angst of the people was Adolf Hitler.  In 1921 he formed the People’s Socialist Party – which soon changed its name to the Nazi Party.

In the United States, the former senator and newspaper editor from Ohio, Warren Harding, took the oath of office.  He was the first President elected due to an influx of female voters.  Seeing the national funds in terrible disarray due to the recent war, Harding could not fathom that there was no national budget.  He wisely selected the son of a prominent Civil War veteran, Charles Dawes, to oversee the budget.  Dawes, the son of Gettysburg veteran Rufus Dawes, soon fixed the money issues.

While Americans were eagerly returning to economic stability and freedom from terrible illness, many other nations were not as fortunate.  In Spain, Prime Minister Eduardo Date was assassinated.  In Japan, Premier Takashi Hara was also murdered in a coup.  Portugal’s leading statesman Santos was assassinated during a rebellion in Lisbon.  There was also great unrest in Ireland.  Citizens of that country were divided in their loyalties to Britain.  It led to the formation of two nations: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the latter wishing to remain in English hands.

In 1921 the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the Great War (World War I) was placed in Arlington National Cemetery.  That same year former President William Howard Taft was named as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  During the summer, a future President endured a life-threatening illness that changed his life forever.  Franklin D. Roosevelt, spending the summer on his family’s retreat in Campobello on the Atlantic coast, woke up with a high fever and in terrible pain.  He had contracted polio.  He managed to survive, but for the rest of his life could not walk without help.

That same year, sculptor Gutzon Borglum resumed his work on Stone Mountain in Georgia.  Having been commissioned before the war, Borglum had to cease work because of the conflict.  He spent much of the year raising funds to complete the project.

In 1921, Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of photo-electric effect, or the effect that light, as energy, could produce electricity in metal substances.  He proved that the greater the light, the more profound was the effect.  It was the introduction to Quantum Physics.  Einstein was already famous for his Theory of Relativity, from the year 1916.

In 1921 author Edith Wharton was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature with her bestselling book The Age of Innocence, about New York high society in the late nineteenth century.

In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Ernie’s Texas Lunch opened.

On May 31, 1921 a terrible race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma destroyed a successful ethnic neighborhood.  A thousand homes were burned, many businesses were leveled, and black citizens were gunned down as they attempted to escape the burning buildings.  In Russia, over five million people perished in a famine.

That same year, Sweden abolished the death penalty.

The U.S. population in 1921 was one hundred and seven million, less than one third of our population today.  Some who were born that year included future First Lady Nancy Davis (Reagan), astronaut and statesman John Glenn, author Alex Hailey, film stars Lana Turner and Esther Williams, Russian physicist and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov, and famed mathematician and engineer Mary Jackson.  Opera singer Enrico Caruso and Dodge City lawman Bat Masterson died.

In 1931, Hattie Caraway from Arkansas, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, took her seat in Congress.

Jane Addams won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Hull House, a home for the destitute in Chicago.  Robert Frost won the Pulitzer Prize in literature for his book of collected poetry.  Babe Ruth hit his 600th home run.  The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series.  That same year, gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada.  Australia became independent of the British Empire.  Spain deposed its king, Alfonso XIII, and was declared a republic.  In New York City, the Empire State building was completed – at the time the tallest building in the world.  In Great Britain, David, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) met American divorcee Wallis Simpson at a party in London.

The Star-Spangled Banner, written in 1814 during the War of 1812 by Francis Scott Key, was adopted as our national anthem.

Ninety years ago, the horror films Dracula (starring Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein (with Boris Karloff) were hugely popular at the box office.  With many out of work during the Great Depression, movies provided a brief escape.

Some who were born in 1931 included actors Clint Eastwood and James Dean, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, South African cleric Desmond Tutu, and baseball greats Willie Mays and Micky Mantle.  That same year famed inventor Thomas Edison died.

In 1941, Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower celebrated their 25th anniversary in San Antonio, Texas – where the couple had met.  In Washington, D.C. the National Gallery of Art opened its doors.  M&Ms and Cheerios were invented.  Joe DiMaggio, the center-fielder for the New York Yankees, enjoyed a 56-game hitting streak that summer.

In July, actress Mary Pickford, the granddaughter of a Confederate soldier, came to Gettysburg with Helen Longstreet, the widow of General James Longstreet.  The pair had planned an equestrian statue of Lee’s lieutenant general, and participated in a ground-breaking ceremony.

In 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had begun his third term as President of the United States.  In Germany, Adolf Hitler oversaw the invasion of most countries in western Europe and northern Africa, or had allies on his side in those regions.  Hitler had begun building the Atlantic Wall to keep Britain, which he intended to overtake, and the United States from breaching his newly won conquests.  That same year, Germany launched the battleship Bismarck.  By the summer, Hitler had invaded eastern European nations as well, including Greece, Russia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.  He and his allies were called the Axis Powers, which included Italy and Japan.

That same year Japan invaded mainland China.

Because the colonialism of Britain, France, and the Netherlands were hampered in Asia, as they were busy fighting Hitler, the governmental leaders of Japan considered it a good time to take over those colonies.  President Roosevelt, however, imposed an oil embargo against Japan, which kept them from their goal.  As a result, they launched an attack on the U.S. Naval Fleet in Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu on the morning of December 7, 1941.  Over 2,400 Americans were killed in the surprise attack.  Nearly half of them were from those aboard the ill-fated ship, the USS Arizona.  One of the few survivors of the Arizona, Donald Stratton, wrote years later, “Gone in a blinding flash of light, an eerie whoosh, and a cascading devastation of explosions.  One only has to stand in the shrine room of the USS Arizona Memorial, where all 1177 names are chiseled onto a white marble wall, stained indelibly with black ink, to get a sense of the enormity of the loss.”²

The attack, nearly 80 years ago, brought America into World War II.  The statue of General Longstreet at Gettysburg would have to wait.

Among those who were born that year were politicians Jesse Jackson and Dick Cheney, Cincinnati Reds third baseman Pete Rose, musicians Bob Dylan and both Simon & Garfunkel, singer Ann-Margret and kitchen diva Martha Stewart.

In addition to the many thousands who perished in Europe, Asia, and Pearl Harbor, Mount Rushmore artist Gutzon Borglum and baseball legend Lou Gehrig died.

The President of the United States in 1951 was Harry Truman – and as he proved in August 1945 with the atomic bombing of two Japanese cities, he was not someone to provoke.

In 1951, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, worked on restoring their Gettysburg farm.  Purchased in 1950, the old buildings needed considerable refurbishing.

That same year, nuclear testing began in the deserts of Nevada near Las Vegas.  The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting the service of U.S. Presidents to two terms, was ratified.

Author J.D. Salinger published his most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye.

During the spring of 1951 there were great floods in the midwestern part of the country, and terrible wildfires in the Southwest, the Intermountain West and Canada.

Some who were born in 1951 included astronaut Sally Ride, actors Jane Seymour and Mark Harmon, and radio host Rush Limbaugh. Singer Fannie Brice, baseball great Shoeless Joe Jackson, author Sinclair Lewis, and publisher William Randolph Hearst died.

 The Year 1961:  In January, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, after serving for two terms, left office.  The youthful former senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President, the second youngest in history.  Ike and Mamie drove in snow and ice to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where a sizable crowd greeted them.  They settled into their farm south of town. ³

The new President established the Peace Corps  in 1961.  That same year, Kennedy answered South Vietnam’s call for aid and sent troops there.

In 1961 the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote in elections.  Across the Atlantic, a new musical quartet, The Quarrymen, performed at The Cavern Club in Liverpool.  By the following year they would be famous and change their name to The Beatles. 

That same year, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was convicted of war crimes in Jerusalem. 

In 1961 the notorious Berlin Wall was constructed. Author Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird.  Joseph Heller wrote Catch-22.  The popular Broadway hit West Side Story appeared in film version.

The year 1961 marked the centennial year of the beginning of The Civil War.  A series of 4-cent stamps, issued by the U.S. Postal Service, commemorated the anniversary, as well as a newly minted silver coin.  Time and Life magazines published articles about the historic event – which renewed an interest in visiting battlefields, especially Gettysburg.

Those who were born in 1961 included future President Barack Obama, Lady Diana Spencer, and actor Eddie Murphy.  Some who left us that year were Ernest Hemingway, Ty Cobb, Marion Davies, and former First Lady Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.

In addition to violent protests, mostly by college students and their professors, in America, in Northern Ireland there were also conflicts, rebellion, and destruction.  Troops from Great Britain were deployed there to restore order, but did not fully succeed.

In 1971 Sierra Leone became an independent African nation.  Cambodia, a neighbor to Viet Nam, erupted in a costly civil war. 

Apollo 14 was the third successful landing on the moon.  That same year Apollo 15 followed, using a roving lunar vehicle on the lunar surface for the first time.

Back on earth, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote, was ratified. 

Fifty years ago, cigarette ads were banned from television.  Walt Disney opened Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.  The Ed Sullivan Show aired its final episode.

In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, The Horse Soldier , a store that deals in the acquisition and sale of historic artifacts, opened.

Some who were born in 1971 include Nascar driver Jeff Gordon and award-winning cyclist Lance Armstrong.   Parisian designer Coco Chanel, actor Audie Murphy, and jazz musician Louis Armstrong died.

In 1981, gasoline prices rose to over a dollar a gallon.

On July 29, twenty-year-old Diana Spencer married Charles Mountbatten-Windsor, the Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne of Great Britain.  It was named the Wedding of the Century.  The couple exchanged vows in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

In 1981, Francois Mitterand was elected President of France.  Fernando Marcos was President of the Philippines.  Augusto Pinochet, who had taken over power in Chile after a brutal and murderous coup, was reelected for a second term.

In Egypt, President Anwar Sadat was assassinated while watching a military parade.

Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female justice of the Supreme Court.  The Boeing 767 made its first flight.

General Omar Bradley, one of the leading allied generals during World War II, died at age 88.

In 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved, and instead became again known as Russia.  Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, and Boris Yeltsin was elected President.

In the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, a World War II veteran, was the nation’s President.  He initiated the Gulf War, to quell the invasion of Iraq leader Saddam Hussein against the nation of Kuwait.  After a few weeks of the U.S. troops initiating Operation Desert Storm, Hussein withdrew his troops from Kuwait, setting fire to the oil fields in retaliation.

In 1991 Clarence Thomas was confirmed a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.  Dr. Jack Kevorkian made headlines for assisting with suicides for a terminally ill patient in Michigan.  Bill Clinton, the 45-year-old Governor of Arkansas appeared on national television, announcing his intention to run for the Presidency in the next election.

On Halloween, an historic storm hit the east coast of the United States.  The culmination of a severe cold front in Canada joined with high pressure from the Gulf of Mexico, merging with two storms, including Hurricane Bob, that created a monstrous Nor’easter, which Americans called The Perfect Storm.  Creating huge squalls from New England to South Carolina, the storm claimed many lives, including the crew of the fishing vessel, the Andrea Gail.

Others who left us in 1991 included singer Freddie Mercury, author Dr. Seuss, musician Miles Davis, comedian Redd Foxx, and actor Michael Landon.

The Baltimore Ravens won their first Superbowl, beating the New York Giants.

In Oklahoma City, a National Memorial was dedicated to honor the slain from the destruction of a government building in 1995.  That same year the perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing, Timothy McVeigh, was executed.

Twenty years ago on September 11, 2001, four planes carrying civilians were hijacked by terrorists, the plan of mastermind Osama bin Laden.  Two planes flew into the twin towers of New York City’s World Trade Center, killing thousands and destroying the landmark.  Another flew into the Pentagon.  The last plane, intended for another target in the nation’s capital, was thwarted by the determined passengers of Flight #93.  The plane crashed in the countryside near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  Today a memorial maintained by the National Park Service designates the area.

The terrorist attack instigated President Bush declaring a War on Terror.  For twenty years, American forces have deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Violent protests in Tunisia and Libya resulted in the death of Moammar Ghaddafi, the President of Libya. 

A massive earthquake hit Japan, resulting in a 30-foot tsunami.  A tornado hit the city of Joplin, Missouri, leveling much of the town.  There were great floods in Pakistan and Cambodia and a winter storm blanketed much of the U.S. and Canada.

The son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, William, the future Duke of Cambridge, married Catherine Middleton in Westminster Abbey.

Some who left us in 2011 were former First Lady Betty Ford, boxing champion Joe Frazier, actors Peter Falk and Jane Russell, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

On January 6, just before the inauguration of President Biden, a large mob breached the Capitol building in protest.  One woman was killed, shot by police. 

The year continues to be one of much unrest and unchecked problematic situations.  Gun violence is at an all-time high, especially (but not limited to) large cities like New York City and Chicago.  There have been groups calling to defund the police forces, and some cities, like Minneapolis, have followed suit.

There has been a significant revolt in Cuba against their government due to lack of food, supplies, and much-needed vaccines.  Also in the Caribbean, a volcano erupted on the pristine island of St. Vincent, causing mass evacuations of the island.  A devastating earthquake affected the island of Haiti, killing over 2,000 people and injuring many thousands.  Within a 24-hour period from August 13 to August 14, three other sizable earthquakes were measured in addition to the quake in Haiti:  in the Philippines, the South Pacific, and off the southeastern coast of Alaska.  For the first time in thirty years, (since Hurricane Bob helped create The Perfect Storm) a hurricane, named Henri, directly hit Rhode Island and Connecticut, immediately weakening to a tropical storm. Its outer bands reached from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania and the Del-Mar-Va Peninsula. 

During the year 2021 over a million undocumented immigrants have crossed the U.S. border with Mexico, seeking asylum.  According to NBC news, 18% of those tested have Covid-19.  On other news outlets, the number rises to 40% infected among the immigrants in certain areas. ⁴

The United States government decided to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.  As they have done so, the terrorist group Taliban has moved back, destroying cities, taking over the capital, and killing government officials, military leaders and civilians – especially those who had helped the Americans during the War on Terror.  Some American citizens are among the stranded, although the U.S. government is working on getting thousands of citizens and Afghan allies out of the chaotic country.

Because of the outbreak of Covid-19, the 2020 Olympics, to be held in Tokyo, were postponed until July 2021.  The United States led in winning the most medals in the anticipated event.

In early 2021, a severely cold winter hit the Southwest, and Texas endured the coldest winter on record.  Record snowfall accumulated in the great plains and Colorado.  Much of the intermountain west and the west coast remain in exceptional drought, and wildfires raged all summer from California to Montana, creating smoke-filled skies through much of the nation.  Wildfires have also devastated much of Europe and Asia, with Greece, Turkey, and Siberia being among the areas that have been affected.  There have been many deadly floods in various areas of the United States, in mainland Europe, and throughout China.

In Gettysburg, the seventeen-year locusts invaded much of the battlefield.  The National Park Service worked on the restoration of Culp’s Hill to make it appear as it did in 1863.  They also created trails to help visitors more easily access monuments that were heretofore difficult to find.  The Warfield House, a Civil War era building, was also restored in 2021.

In July, within weeks of each other, billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos launched themselves and other civilians in crafts of their respective designs, to the edge of space and back.

As the years pass into decades and then centuries, we see more clearly that, in spite of progression through time, often things do not change.  We continue to hope, h owever, in the “return to normalcy”.  In enduring difficult situations, we can take courage in the fact that those who came before us faced similar hardships, and if they made it through those times, so may we.