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Keyword(s): lane morgan

11 Features

Anderson Island -- Thumbnail History

The southernmost island in Puget Sound, Anderson Island has forged its identity in the background of its better-known neighbor, McNeil. It comprises 7.75 square miles, with about 14 miles of convolute...

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Dvorak, August (1894-1975)

August Dvorak had a variety of accomplishments as an efficiency specialist in the Navy and as an education professor at the University of Washington. But the invention that bears his name, and that he...

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Foss, Thea Christiansen (1857-1927)

A rowboat rental service founded in Tacoma by Thea Foss in 1889 and developed by her husband and relatives over the next hundred years became Foss Maritime, the largest tug and towing operation on the...

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Haffer, Paul (1894-1949)

Paul Haffer's role in an odd Tacoma libel case -- he was convicted of libeling the long-dead George Washington (1732-1799) -- brought him national recognition at age 21. He gained further notoriety, a...

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Hart, Alan L. (1890-1962)

Alan L. Hart was a twentieth-century Pacific Northwest physician and novelist who more recently became best known as the first person in the United States known to have had surgical gender transition....

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Joffrey, Robert (1928-1988)

Robert Joffrey (1928-1988) was a dancer, choreographer, and founder of the eponymous ballet company. He is credited with bringing a distinctly American approach to dance and with reviving experimental...

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KAYE Radio (Puyallup)

KAYE 1450 AM (as of 2022 KSUH-Hankook) is a small, Puyallup-based radio station that has at times taken the national stage. From its start in 1951, it has attracted a string of owners, none from large...

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Satiacum, Robert (1929-1992)

As a treaty-rights activist and tribal entrepreneur, Robert Satiacum's influence and notoriety spread far beyond his Puyallup Tribe. He was first known as a local athlete and then, along with family m...

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Shackleford, Elizabeth (1895-1989)

Elizabeth Shackleford, a lifelong Tacoman, was a lawyer and judge in her hometown for 60 years. She was the second female justice of the peace in Pierce County and for several years the only female la...

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Smallpox Outbreak in New Tacoma (1881)

Smallpox struck New Tacoma, a recently platted town encompassing much of what later became downtown Tacoma, in October 1881. The outbreak sickened an official count of 80 people and killed 14 by the t...

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Thomas Wiedemann, aka the Klondike Kid, writes about his life in nineteenth-century Seattle

Thomas Wiedemann (1879-1962) gained brief notoriety as the "Klondike Kid," after heading to the Yukon on the ill-fated and ineptly crewed steamship Eliza Anderson in 1897. He grew up in Seat...

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14 Timeline Entries

Charlotte Emily Olney French casts the first vote by a woman in a Washington Territorial election at Grand Mound in Thurston County on June 6, 1870.

On June 6, 1870, Charlotte Emily Olney French (1828-1897), after a debate with the election judges, casts her vote in a Washington territorial election, the first woman to do so. Six more women at her...

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Tacoma doctor Francis Wing, hailed as hero in recent smallpox epidemic, dies on January 14, 1882.

On Friday, January 14, 1882, Dr. Francis B. H. Wing (1838-1882) walks to his New Tacoma office and sleeping quarters after a late-night visit with his friend R. F. Radebaugh (1846-1927) of the Tacoma ...

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Emma Sarepta Yule becomes the first teacher at the first school building in Everett on December 14, 1891.

On December 14, 1891, the Broadway School in Everett opens its doors to its first 26 students. It is a new building in a city that is not yet formally incorporated, but growing fast, and Emma Sarepta ...

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Gustav Stromer and Jane O'Roark make the first airmail delivery between Tacoma and Seattle on February 20, 1915.

On February 20, 1915, at 10 a.m. on a chilly Saturday, a "hydroaeroplane" taxies along Tacoma's Middle Waterway. It carries its builder and pilot, Gustav Stromer; an actress named Jane O'Roark; and a ...

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Young Tacoman's conviction for libeling George Washington is upheld by state Supreme Court on December 29, 1916.

On December 29, 1916, the Washington State Supreme Court affirms the misdemeanor conviction of Paul Haffer (1894-1949) for criminal libel. The victim of his offense is George Washington (1732-1799), d...

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Tacoma students march for peace on April 22, 1936.

On April 22, 1936, at 11 a.m., about 500 students walk out of class at Lincoln High School in Tacoma. Chanting slogans, they march through the 38th Street business district and down Tacoma Avenue to c...

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In the Lives of Men, by Seattle doctor Alan L. Hart, is published on May 1, 1937.

Dr. Alan L. Hart's (1892-1960) third novel, In the Lives of Men, is published on May 1, 1937. Like his two previous titles, Dr. Mallory (1935) and The Undaunted (1936), it portrays the life and career...

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Velma Crismon of Tacoma sets world speed-typing record using Dvorak keyboard on June 21, 1940.

On June 21, 1940, Velma Crismon (b. circa 1924), a student at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, types 113 words per minute at the International Typewriting Contest in Chicago, setting a new world record ...

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Suzanne Satiacum is arrested for assault following a demonstration in Tacoma on September 1, 1964.

On September 1, 1964, Suzanne Satiacum  (b. 1942) is booked for  assault and additional charges after a scuffle that begins at the Tacoma County-City Building. It is her first known arrest i...

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The Joffrey Ballet inaugurates its first Tacoma residency with a sold-out performance at Pacific Lutheran University on August 8, 1967.

On August 8, 1967, the Robert Joffrey City Ballet performs four works at Pacific Lutheran University's Eastvold Chapel to a sold-out crowd. The company, based in New York City, has come to PLU for its...

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KAYE Radio (Puyallup) goes off the air on November 9, 1973.

On November 9, 1973, Jim Nicholls signs off the air with his last broadcast on KAYE radio in Puyallup. The controversial station has been fighting termination of its broadcasting license since 1969. I...

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Eighty-six-year-old Elizabeth Shackleford closes her law practice on August 21, 1981.

On August 21, 1981, Elizabeth Shackleford (1895-1989) closes her law practice for the final time, 59 years after passing the bar. She is 86. Shackleford has spent her entire career in Tacoma, as a law...

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The Other Country, English-language version of Norwegian play about Thea Foss, debuts in Tacoma on August 10, 2017.

On August 10, 2017, two dozen regional actors and musicians premiere The Other Country, a play about Thea Foss (1857-1927), at the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma. The production, opening in the 90th ...

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An Asian Giant "Murder Hornet," the first confirmed in the United States, is found in Blaine on December 8, 2019.

On December 8, 2019, a Blaine resident finds an unusually large dead hornet in his yard and calls the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). He also reports having seen a live hornet at hi...

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