Decade by Decade: 100 Years of History

by Diana Loski

President Calvin Coolidge

(Library of Congress)

In reviewing the past, an interesting pattern appears – one that shows parallels to modern times. Here are the events of the past century, of the years that end in the number 5, decade by decade:

The year 1925 arrived on a Thursday, one hundred years ago. It was the middle of a prosperous decade known to history as The Roaring Twenties. Economic prosperity reigned, as a terrible world war and a world-wide influenza pandemic were finally over. President Calvin Coolidge and Vice President Charles Dawes were popular, largely due to the good economy and the fact that the pair were personally scandal-free.

The previous President, Warren G. Harding, had died in August 1923, and the scandals of which he had been a part, especially the Teapot Dome Scandal, caused shock and suspicion among members of the populace. That same year, well-meaning citizens in Ohio had begun raising funds for a memorial to the late President. Because of the widening knowledge of the nefarious schemes done by Harding's Cabinet, many refused to donate to the project, and it fell through.1

In 1925, Nellie Taylor Ross became the first woman governor of any state of the United States. She stepped in after the death of her husband, the former governor of Wyoming. Mrs. Ross served as Wyoming’s chief executive for one year, and was not reelected in 1926.

In Europe, the dark clouds of what would later become World War II began to gather. Benito Mussolini was elected dictator of Italy. In the newly created Union of Soviet Socialists Republics, Joseph Stalin replaced the late Vladimir Lenin – who had died in 1924 – as head of state. In Germany, Adolf Hitler, who would be released later in 1925 after serving one year in prison for insurrection, completed his autobiography, Mein Kampf (My Fight). He had dictated the manuscript in prison to his trusted ally and friend, Rudolf Hess. Once freed from prison, Hitler worked to form and strengthen the Nazi party.2

In 1925, the one who would one day defeat the Nazis was attending Command School for U.S. Army Officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Dwight D. Eisenhower was taking a two-year course in an accelerated one-year program. He would graduate the following year, first in his class.3

That same year, a trial in Tennessee made national headlines. A substitute teacher, John Scopes, was arrested for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution to his class and was on trial for his teachings. The nationally acclaimed defense lawyer Clarence Darrow defended Scopes, and the prosecutor was the equally famous four-time Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. Scopes was found guilty but later acquitted on a technicality. It proved to be Bryan’s last case, as he died soon afterward.4

Other newsworthy events from 1925 included a devastating earthquake in Santa Barbara, California, a deadly tornado outbreak in the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, and a diphtheria outbreak in Alaska. Men on dogsleds carried the needed antitoxin in order to save lives from Nome to the outreaches of the territory. That same year the British explorer Percy Fawcett disappeared into the Amazon jungle and was never seen again.5

In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the famous left-handed professional baseball pitcher Eddie Plank was living in retirement, playing for a regional team and helping his brother Ira coach the Gettysburg College baseball team. The brothers organized a special competition that summer for charity.6

During that summer of 1925, the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg fell on the same days of the week as the actual battle – Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

In October, another national monument was dedicated, following an act of Congress that permitted its inception. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his 13-year-old son, Lincoln, attended the ceremony in Keystone, South Dakota to dedicate the yet future Mount Rushmore. The famous sculpture of the four Presidents was not yet even begun, but Borglum had the foresight to receive permission to begin, as he had recently been embroiled in a dispute over the proposed Stone Mountain memorial in Georgia. He believed the new monument in South Dakota would be his vindication.7

The Roaring Twenties brought a change in culture, with the shortening of hemlines and women’s hairstyles. While the older women still wore corsets, the younger generation shunned them for the advocation of a freer lifestyle – and so that they could dance the Charleston, which was extremely popular in 1925. 

That same year Walter Chrysler formed the Chrysler Corporation. Sears and Roebuck opened their first retail store in Chicago, having been a popular mail-order business since 1889. In 1925 Scotch tape was invented, and crossword puzzles appeared in most newspapers. The government of Norway changed the name of their capital city, called Christiana, after a 17th century queen, to Oslo. In Gettysburg, the Majestic Theater opened. Two popular silent films shown there included the epic Ben Hur and The Phantom of the Opera.8

In addition to the death of William Jennings Bryan, others who died in 1925 included the Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa, Chinese leader Sun-Yat-Sen, and English citizen Alexandra Kitchin. The latter was the girl whose family befriended a struggling author named Charles Dodgson. In 1865 he wrote a novel based on a dream Alexandra had shared, and it became an international bestseller. His sobriquet was Lewis Carroll, and the book was Alice in Wonderland.9

The year 1935 began on a Tuesday, and the world was in the throes of the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the middle of his first term at the White House. In order to alleviate some of the distress and suffering, the President signed the Social Security Act into law. He also began his popular Fireside Chats, transmitted by radio from the White House. Not surprisingly, alcoholism resulted from the years-long economic depression and lack of available work. In New York City, the first Alcoholic Anonymous meeting took place.10

That same year the game of Monopoly was introduced. The first Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl games were played. Japan introduced the first Toyota automobile. In the U.S., the Ford Motor Company still outsold all other carmakers, with the average car costing about six hundred dollars.11

On the world stage, Benito Mussolini, like all dictators, had to increase his empire – and invaded Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia). The country of Persia changed its name to Iran. England’s King George V celebrated his 25th anniversary – his silver jubilee – on the throne. Hoover Dam opened. Archaeologists discovered the ancient city of Tepe Gawra in northern Iraq – with a civilization purported to thrive as early as 5000 BC. Adolf Hitler, who had erased the title of Chancellor of Germany, called himself the Führer (the leader) and began assaulting Jews and arrested anyone who opposed him, sending them to Dachau, a concentration camp north of Munich. In 1935, he appeared on the cover of Time magazine as Man of the Year. That same year he gave an impassioned speech in Nuremberg, discussing how to deal with the Jewish population. He first mentioned his “final solution” in that infamous speech.12

In 1935 Dwight D. Eisenhower, with his wife Mamie and son John, lived in Europe to serve on the American Battle Monuments Commission. By September of that year Ike was in the Philippines, serving as the aide to General Douglas MacArthur, who was the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff. Even then, MacArthur and others, Ike included, knew that Hitler was trouble and that another war was imminent. The American populace, tired of the last war, would not listen to the warnings. They had suffered enough from the last conflict, and were battling a crippling economy. Hitler did not concern them. And, the European leaders and news media seemed to speak highly of him. Hitler’s nefarious acts were kept well hidden.13

That same year, Bruno Hauptman was convicted of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne. In South Dakota, Gutzon Borglum lobbied for continued financial backing for his unfinished Mount Rushmore. With Congressional funds dried up, the sculptor appealed to President Roosevelt.14

On Palm Sunday in 1935, a massive dust storm caused sudden and long-term havoc in the Central Plains. From the Dakotas through Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma to the panhandle of Texas, a veritable black blizzard brought perpetual darkness to the residents. The weight of the dust knocked people to the ground, and many ended up dying from breathing the toxic particulates. In Denver, the temperature fell to 25 degrees Fahrenheit in less than an hour. The storm became known as Black Sunday.15

In late summer across the state of Florida, an unnamed but horrific hurricane came ashore along the Keys and continued into the Gulf, causing tremendous devastation and loss of life. A Category 5, it remains the worse hurricane to hit the United States.16

Others who passed on in 1935 include beloved actor and philanthropist Will Rogers, the iconic Lawrence of Arabia, and Gettysburg veteran and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Holmes had served in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry, and fought against Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. Among those who were born in 1935 were singer Elvis Presley, film star Julie Andrews, and director/producer Woody Allen.17

In the year 1945, which began on a Monday, World War II at last came to a close within the year. With the death of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, victory in Europe was achieved in May. In August, after the detonation of two atomic bombs by the U.S. on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the emperor of Japan also capitulated.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was barely into his fourth term as President, died in April in Warm Springs, Georgia. Roosevelt’s Vice-President, Harry S. Truman, succeed him to the White House. It was Truman who made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, in an effort to end the war and ultimately save American lives. His decision remains controversial to this day.

Before the conflict with Japan ended, American correspondent Ernie Pyle, who deployed in the Pacific Theater on the front lines with the soldiers, was killed by sniper fire.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the man who defeated Hitler, and had served through the war as the Supreme Allied commander in Europe. As Hitler’s successors attempted to wriggle out of surrender, Ike countenanced none of it and demanded unconditional surrender. And he got it. Ike became the most popular man in the world for this great achievement.18

The year 1955 began on a Saturday, and proved to be a continuation of a prosperous and peaceful decade for the nation. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the man who had brought a victory to the Allies in World War II, was in the middle of his first term as President of the United States. That year, Ike traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to attend a summit with other world leaders in order to improve relations with the USSR and its new leader, Nikita Khrushchev. The summit was unsuccessful, and Eisenhower returned to the United States, concerned about the looming and seemingly unavoidable Cold War. He was also increasingly concerned about the unrest in Indochina. The recent war had caused many of the former French, Dutch, and other colonies to rise up for independence. And while that was good, the small nations were still weak and divided, and the communists from China and the USSR were quick to take advantage. It was the beginning of entanglements that would lead to a future war in Vietnam. Ike sent advisors to Vietnam, and Congress appropriated funds to keep the struggling nation from the encroachment of communism.19

That same year, while enjoying a short vacation in Colorado, President Eisenhower suffered a major heart attack. His doctors insisted on a long convalescence, as he had nearly succumbed to the attack. Ike recuperated at his Gettysburg farm. Even at Christmastime in 1955, he lit the White House Christmas tree by remote control from Gettysburg.20

That same year, Rosa Parks made history by refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Marian Anderson, the famous opera singer, was the first black woman to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In Buenos Aires, Juan Peron was ousted as President of Argentina. Eighty-year-old Winston Churchill retired as Prime Minister of Great Britain, citing age and health issues.21

In 1955 Cardiff became the capital of Wales. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California. The musical Peter Pan opened on Broadway. Elvis Presley became internationally famous as a singer, beginnig a new genre of modern music.

Some who died in 1955 included famed physicist Albert Einstein, actor James Dean, and Princeton professor Thomas Preston. Mr. Preston had married Frances Cleveland, the widow of a former President. She had preceded him in death in 1947.22

Some who were born in 1955 included Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Apple founder Steve Jobs, Chief Justice John Roberts, and novelist John Grisham.

The year 1965 began on a Friday. It unfolded as a decade of great unrest, unwanted war, and political assassinations. The war in Vietnam ended up costing the nation over 58,000 American lives. The war began in earnest in March with Operation Rolling Thunder, a series of aerial bombardments. By May the draft had begun, and by July the United States was officially at war with North Vietnam.

Lyndon B. Johnson was President of the United States, having been recently elected in 1964. As John F. Kennedy’s Vice President, Johnson took over the Presidency with the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Kennedy’s shocking death brought a change to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s life in Gettysburg. Before Kennedy’s assassination, secret service agents no longer protected former Presidents. Congress passed a statute to protect former heads of state. Now, Ike and Mamie had secret service protection, which would continue for the remainder of their lives.23

In 1965 the Gateway Arch was completed in St. Louis, Missouri. The Astrodome opened in Houston, Texas. In New York City, rolling blackouts, due to an intense heat wave and an overloaded electrical grid, plunged the city and other areas in the northeast in darkness for thirteen days. Gemini 3 was launched, carrying two astronauts. Gus Grisson and John Young were the first two-man crew to leave earth’s orbit, and they returned successfully. That same year the first Cuban refugees, escaping the Communist regime of Fidel Castro, appeared on the shores of the U.S. In other nations, there were other new beginnings: the African country of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) gained independence from Great Britain. The Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean also became a free island nation.24

Some who died in the year 1965 were former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, actors Stan Laurel and Clara Bow, journalist Edward R. Murrow, activist Malcolm X, and famed physician and missionary Albert Schweitzer.

The year 1975 began on a Thursday, and for most of the year the United States suffered an energy crisis. Even Gettysburg’s Eternal Light Peace Memorial was extinguished for much of the year due to the energy shortage.

The war in Vietnam had ended a year earlier. The U.S. simply pulled their troops and all foreign aid. As a result, the city of Saigon fell in 1975 to the North Vietnamese communists, which resulted in the deaths, in Vietnam and Cambodia, of nearly two million people.

Gerald Ford was President of the United States, the only man to serve in that office who had not been elected by the people. In 1974, the Watergate Scandal had caused President Richard Nixon to resign from office. His Vice President, Spiro Agnew, had also resigned. Ford, who had served in Congress, had been appointed by Nixon before the scandal had ruined his legacy as President. 

In 1975 Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts. He also pardoned Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate Scandal, the result of government officials breaking into the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. to eavesdrop on Democrat officials. Gerald Ford urged Congress to issue another pardon that year. General Robert E. Lee was pardoned and his citizenship was restored.25

In 1975 Jimmy Hoffa, the leader of the Teamsters Union, mysteriously disappeared and his body was never found. 

That same year, writer Michael Shaara received the Pulitzer Prize for his 1974 novel The Killer Angels – a book about the Battle of Gettysburg.26 

Secretariat, one of the most famous racehorses of all time, won the Triple Crown at the Belmont Race in New York in 1975. His was an accomplishment that is rarely equaled.

In the summer, the blockbuster film Jaws was released, making many wary of stepping into the sea. That same year, Agatha Christie’s last novel was published, entitled Curtain, starring her famous Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. Spoiler alert: the novel marked the demise of the great detective, and the New York Times published his obituary. Ms. Christie didn’t survive her detective for long – she died in January 1976.

The year 1985 started on a Tuesday, and the year fell in the middle of a mixed decade. While the economy, which had struggled through the 1970s, had improved, there were still high prices and unrest. Gasoline topped a dollar a gallon for the first time. A civil war erupted in Nicaragua, and terrorism reared its head as pirates attacked the Italian ship The Achille Lauro. The terrorists killed a disabled American tourist, which incited anger among many citizens of the United States.

Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, recently elected to a second term. He began working in earnest with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to improve relations between the two nations. While the Reykjavik Summit was a year away, and his appearance at the Brandenburg Gate was still two years away, President Reagan worked to alleviate the Cold War that had been brewing since Eisenhower’s time in the White House.

In 1985, a new disease, AIDS, was discovered, and people began to die from it, including the actor Rock Hudson. Unaware of how infectious the disease was, fear resulted among the populace of the world. That same year Princess Diana of Wales visited a hospital in Great Britain and held the hands of AIDS victims, alleviating many concerns.

The Year 1995 began on a Sunday. Just five years short of the new millennium, Bill Clinton was President of the United States. The recent Gulf War was at an end, but American troops were on the ground in Bosnia.

That same year the first solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a hot-air balloon was accomplished by explorer Steve Fossett. In Washington, D.C., the Korean War Memorial was dedicated. The U.S. Probe Galileo orbited the planet Jupiter.

In 1995 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was assassinated during a peace rally in Israel. O.J. Simpson was found innocent of the murder of his wife, Nicole – and practically every television set in the nation was on to witness the verdict. That same year a massive earthquake struck Japan. In Philadelphia the Liberty Bell exhibit opened near Independence Hall.

The Year 2005 commenced on a Thursday.   Five years into the new millennium, there was much unrest from terrorism all over the world. The fallout from the 9/11 attacks had emboldened many terrorist groups and frightened many residents in the United States and beyond. People from France and Canada, for example, refused to go on tours to the United States, deeming it unsafe – including organized trips to Gettysburg.

George W. Bush, the son of President George Herbert Walker Bush, was President of the United States. He initiated, as a result of the attacks, the Department of Homeland Security, with a color-coded warning system for citizens. Airports, too, made drastic changes to keep airlines safer, and TSA became part of screening passengers before embarking on flights.

One of the nation’s largest disasters occurred on August 29, 2005 with the landfall of Hurricane Katrina – a gigantic Category 4 storm that filled the Gulf of Mexico and directly hit the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Years later, the effects of that storm are still evident in the city of New Orleans, as the enormous intake of water from the sea overflowed the levies, flooding miles of territory, causing the deaths of many who did not – or could not – evacuate.

In 2005, Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away, and President Bush replaced him with Justice John Roberts. Twenty years later, Chief Justice Roberts still serves as our nation’s Chief Justice.

Others who passed away in 2005 included journalist Peter Jennings, Pope John Paul II, activist Rosa Parks, and late-night talk show host Johnny Carson.

The year 2015 began on a Thursday. Just a decade ago, the unrest continued in a world that seems no longer safe. Two assassinations by terrorists occurred in Paris – one involved the assassination of a journalist who drew a caricature of the Islamic prophet Mohammed as a satire. A terrorist attack also took place in San Bernardino, California. The Black Lives Matter movement took root with the deaths of two men in separate cities allegedly caused by police: Michael Brown in Missouri, and Freddie Gray in Baltimore. In Virginia, two journalists were murdered by another newscaster who had recently lost his job and considered his coworkers racists. In Europe, a refugee crisis began that continues ten years later. An influx of Syrian refugees poured into the continent hoping to escape certain death in their nation of origin.

The year 2025 continues to be a year of many events. President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January and continues the first year of his second term. Many scandals of both parties plague the American citizenry. 

In California, the Santa Ana winds brought destructive fires to the Los Angeles region, causing many deaths and an immense loss of property. An inferno in the Grand Canyon prompted evacuations of all in the area, and the century-old lodge on the North Rim was destroyed. There were also immense wildfires in Colorado, Montana, and Canada. In the summer, massive floods tore through the southern and eastern portions of the country. In central Texas, a sudden flood wiped away portions of towns and a sizable girls’ camp – taking the lives of dozens, including children. Kentucky, Tennessee and northern Georgia are also severely flooded. An intense heat wave has plagued much of the east coast – and in central Pennsylvania, overloaded electrical grids failed or caught fire, leaving the residents of several towns without electricity for many days.

In August, the first named hurricane of the season, Erin, was a monster storm causing havoc in the Caribbean and causing hazards on beaches across the eastern seaboard of the U.S.

Santorini, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea and popular vacation destination, was evacuated due to seismic rumblings in the crater upon which the island stands. Many volcano eruptions, earthquakes, and violent storms appear commonplace all over the world.

Just after Easter, Pope Francis died after a long illness. He was replaced by Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope. In July, the murderer of four college students at the University of Idaho finally pled guilty to the crime. Residents of Pennsylvania were aghast to learn he was a native of the Keystone State. In August, astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, passed away at age 97.

While wars between India and Pakistan, and Thailand and Cambodia were averted, the war in Ukraine continues, as well as the war between Israel and Palestine. In August, President Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, then with European leaders in the White House in an attempt to negotiate a peace agreement for Ukraine after more than three years of war.

In an additional attempt to salvage the U.S. economy, President Trump has made trade deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom, and many countries in Asia, South America, and island nations. Tariffs on nations that have declined to make deals with the U.S. continue.

President Trump also federalized the Washington D.C. police department, and brought in the National Guard and the FBI, in order to stop crime and gang warfare in the nation’s capital. He has closed the borders to curtail mass illegal immigration and deported many who were in the country unlawfully, especially those who have committed violent crimes. These actions have also met with significant argument and divisiveness.

While many events are disconcerting, past and present, it is good to reflect on the positive that has transpired through the decades. No one can possibly know the future, but by looking back and realizing that those who came before us had equally difficult times, we see that they made it through. And we will, too.