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Birth
Joseph Stalin was born on December 21st, 1879 in Gori, Georgia. His mother was a maid and his father was a cobbler and then owned a shoe factory. Joseph Stalin's birth name was losif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili and he later adopted the nickname "Man of Steel" ("Joseph Stalin" 394-395). When he was 7 he contracted smallpox and survived but it left him with numerous scars on his face ("Joseph Stalin Biography") -
First Practical Light Bulb
Thomas Edison created the first practical light bulb in 1879 and patented it on January 27th, 1880. This was an improvement to the old traditional light bulb that would last only a few hours. He improved the traditional light bulb by adding a carbonized filament and created a vacuum seal inside the globe. Edison also used a lower energy current which produced a long-lasting, reliable source of light ("Thomas Edison"). -
Seminary School
Stalin's mother, a Russian Orthodox Christian, encouraged him to become a priest. In 1888 she managed to get him enrolled in seminary school in Gori and he did exceptionally well ("Joseph Stalin" 394). His hard work and effort landed him a scholarship to Tiflis Theological Seminary school in 1894. In 1895 he came in contact with Messame Dassy and he joined the group in 1898. Although he did very well in seminary school, he left in 1899 ("Joseph Stalin Biography") . -
Outlaw-Hero
After leaving seminary school, he became a political agitator which involved taking place in political strikes. Joseph Stalin started engaging in criminal activities. He took place in many bank heists which funded the Bolshevik party and was arrested multiple times and exiled to Siberia as well. He adopted the nickname Koba, after a fictional Georgian character because he joined the more militant side of the Marxist Social Democratic movement ("Joseph Stalin"). -
Wright Brothers Fly Plane
On December 17th, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright flew the worlds first powered plane at a height of 20 feet above the ground at a beach in North Carolina. Out of the three attempts, Wilbur Wright piloted a world record flight flying a distance of 852 feet and it lasted for about 59 seconds. This journey to create mans first powered plane all started in the Wright bicycle in Dayton Ohio shop in 1896 ("The Wright Brothers - First Flight, 1903"). -
First Wife
Joseph Stalin's school friend introduced him to his sister Ekaterina Svanidze and they got married in 1906 ("Joseph Stalin" 395). They gave birth to a child in March 18th, 1907 and named him Yakov. Unfortunately for his family, he was away from them a lot and rarely saw his wife or child. Ekaterina sadly died on December 5th, 1907 of tuberculosis ("Ekaterina Svanidze – Stalin’s first wife") -
Expedition to Antarctica
On August 8th, 1914, Ernest Henry Shackleton lead the first trans arctic expedition known to man. He set sail on the ship the Expedition for the South Georgia whaling station and arrived on November 5th. A few months later his ship got trapped and sank and he heroically went to go find help in a life raft with 5 other men while the remaining men hunkered down and waited for help. Surprisingly, Shackleton found help and no man died on the expedition to Antarctica ("Ernest Shackleton Biography") -
Second Wife
When Stalin Was 25 he saved his second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva from drowning when she was 2 years old. When Stalin returned from exile in 1917 they met again and fell in love. They soon got married in 1919 and had 2 children, Vasily and Svetlana. For their 15th anniversary party, Stalin decided to humiliate Nadya because she called him "inconsiderate". The next morning servants found her dead, she had shot herself with a pistol her brother had given her ("Nadezhda Alliluyeva, wife of Stalin"). -
Babe Ruth Sold to Yankees
On January 5th, 1920, the famous ball player, Babe Ruth, was sold by Harry Frazee to the Yankees for $125,000. In his six seasons with the Red Sox, Babe Ruth had lead them to three World Series wins and hit 49 home runs. Eventually he retired in May 30, 1935 and hit a total of 708 career home runs. After his playing career, he went on to be the LA Dodgers first base coach ("New York Yankees announce purchase of Babe Ruth") -
Becoming Leader
After Vladimir Lenin was exiled he gave power to Stalin to run the first Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party. Twelve years later after Vladimir Lenin died, Stalin gained control of the Soviet Union by outdoing his opponents in 1929. Stalin soon became the dictator of Russia and ruled with absolute authority ("Joseph Stalin"). -
Hindenburg Disaster
On May 6th, 1937, the Hindenburg crash killed 35 people in total and miraculously 62 of the 97 passengers survived the flaming impact. The zeppelins crash was caused when a spark ignited the 25 cubic feet of hydrogen. This caused an instantaneous explosion due to the high flammability of hydrogen. The Hindenburg was a fast, and luxurious way to travel. It could go from Europe to the Americas in half the time of the fastest boat ("The Hindenburg Disaster"). -
Stalin in WWII
In WWII, Stalin played a key role in the defeating of the Nazi party in WWII. Initially, the USSR signed a pact with Germany but that treaty was broken when Hitler caught Stalin off guard when he invaded Russia. Knowing Hitler had the upper hand, he requested the help of the United Nations. He requested that President Roosevelt and Prime-minister Churchill aided him to help defeat Hitler and the German army ("Joseph Stalin") -
Yakov's Death
Yakov served as a lieutenant in artillery in WWII and was captured one month into the Nazi invasion. He was held as a prisoner and abandoned by his father because Joseph viewed all those who were captured as traitors to their mother county. He arrested Yakov's wife Julia and separated her from her daughter ("Joseph Stalin" 395). On the 14th of April, 1943, Yakov had had enough and finally successfully killed himself by running into an electric fence ("The Sad Lives and Demise of Stalin’s Sons"). -
Empire State Building Struck
On July 28th, 1945, a B-25 Bomber plane lost its bearings in the thick fog that covered New York City. The pilot was trying to fly to a nearby airport when it stuck the 78th and 79th floors on the tallest building in New York. In total, 14 people were killed from the destructive crash and as a result of the crash an 18 by 20 foot hole was left in the side of the building that costed nearly $1 million dollars to fix, $10.5 million of today's money ("Plane crashes into Empire State Building"). -
Later Years
Though Stalin grew in age, he still remained chaotic. He created communist governments in Eastern Europe and exploded an atomic bomb pushing Russia into a nuclear age. He granted Kim Il Sung permission to invade South Korea, an ally of the United States, which in turn triggered the Korean War. He soon became paranoid and started to act strange and his death followed a few years later ("Joseph Stalin"). -
Death
On March 5th, 1953, a man known by the name of Joseph Stalin, died at 9:50 p.m. at the age of 73 from a stroke. The people waited in the snow to see the former leaders body when it was temporarily on display at the House of Columns. There was so many people eager to see his body the about 500 people were killed waiting in line. Finally his body was laid to rest in Lenin's Tomb on the Red Square. It is estimated that he killed 20 million people during his rule.(Stalin's Death. 1953.")
