January 4 » Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
January 17 » El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
July 19 » Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
July 20 » The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile.
October 6 » The High Court of Australia sits for the first time.
December 17 » The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Day of death March 21, 1944
The temperature on March 21, 1944 was between -1.0 °C and 7.6 °C and averaged 3.8 °C. There was 0.8 mm of rain during 0.2 hours. There was 3.1 hours of sunshine (25%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the north-northwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from July 27, 1941 to February 23, 1945 the cabinet Gerbrandy II, with Prof. dr. P.S. Gerbrandy (ARP) as prime minister.
March 24 » Ardeatine massacre: German troops murder 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
June 7 » World War II: Battle of Normandy: At Ardenne Abbey, members of the SS Division Hitlerjugend massacre 23 Canadian prisoners of war.
June 14 » World War II: After several failed attempts, the British Army abandons Operation Perch, its plan to capture the German-occupied town of Caen.
June 16 » In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls.
August 5 » World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.
August 9 » The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: J. Ham, "Family tree Ham", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-ham/I61906.php : accessed February 15, 2026), "Elias van Bemmel (± 1868-1944)".
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