Perspective on the Twentieth Century
Betty Jones grew up on a small farm in Massachusetts. She was the
youngest of six and born in 1905. As she was growing
up her water was from a well in her backyard and her house was lit from
kerosene lamps. Theodore Roosevelt was the current president and
Charles Lindbergh, who would later make the first solo flight across the
Atlantic, was born three years before.
By time Betty was sixteen, her home had running water and she no longer
had to use the restroom outside. There were very few automobiles,
and her family traveled by horse and buggy. For entertainment, betty
and her five siblings played card games, checkers, hide-n-seek, or listened
to the radio. She would have to wait almost a half of century to
ever watch the television.
Betty's parent's worked the normal work week of six days, nine hours a
day. They earned the average weekly pay of $12.00 per week.
The population was just over seventy-five million in 1900, less than a
third of today's population. The average life expectancy was forty-seven
years.
During Betty's lifetime she experienced the birth of electricity, radio,
television, computers, home video, rockets, space travel; including men
walking on the moon, penicillin, laser surgery, and numerous cures for
diseases.
What can you say? The twentieth century was an amazing time. The
pages on our site will take you through an exploration of new history or
a reflection on past memories. Enjoy!
Note:
There are so many exciting events that happened within the past one hundred
years, it is quite difficult to name them all or the people. We tried
to capture the most significant events and people to us. Thank you.
Centuries
Home