January 28 » Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8mph (13km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2mph (3.2km/h).
February 21 » An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
March 1 » Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
May 26 » Nicholas II becomes the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.
May 27 » The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10-million in damage.
November 1 » A picture showing the bare breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time.
Day of marriage September 27, 1954
The temperature on September 27, 1954 was between 3.8 °C and 12.3 °C and averaged 8.8 °C. There was 0.3 mm of rain during 0.3 hours. There was 3.7 hours of sunshine (31%). The partly or heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northwest. Source: KNMI
February 23 » The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
March 1 » Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
May 7 » Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
July 7 » Elvis Presley makes his radio debut when WHBQ Memphis played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right".
September 9 » The 6.7 Mw Chlef earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 1,243 people were killed and 5,000 were injured.
October 15 » Hurricane Hazel devastates the eastern seaboard of North America, killing 95 and causing massive floods as far north as Toronto.
Day of death April 3, 1957
The temperature on April 3, 1957 was between 3.4 °C and 15.2 °C and averaged 7.7 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain. There was 7.4 hours of sunshine (57%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northwest. Source: KNMI
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Bob Smith, "Family tree Smith", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-smith/I5096.php : accessed February 22, 2026), "Mederik Arthur Smith (1896-1957)".
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