~Willa Cather~

 

(1873-1947)

 

Author's Life
American Political and Cultural History
1873: Willa Cather was born on 7 December 1873 (WCC) to Charles F. and Mary Virgina Boak Cather (DLB)  
  1875: "Civil Rights Act states that no citizen can be denied equal use of public facilities (DC)"
  1878: "15 October. Although he has not yet perfected the incandescent light bulb, Edison establishes Edison Electric Light Company in New York City (DC)"
  1884: "Samuel S. McClure founds the first newspaper syndicate in the U.S., McClure's Syndicate. Among his writers will be Willa Cather (DC)"
  1886: The Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York Harbor (DC)
  1888: "New York suffragists win passage of a law requiring woman doctors for women patients in mental institutions (DC)"
  1889:Andrew Carnegie writes "Wealth" (DC)
1890: "Willa graduates from Red Cloud High School. Afterwards she moves to Lincoln in order to study for the entrance at the University of Nebraska (WCC)"  
  1892: "Rudolf diesel patents the diesel engine" (IRT)
1985: Cather earns her A.B. degree (DLB)  

1896: "Publishes On the Divide. She moves to Pittsburgh in order to edit the "Home Monthly" and also to make reviews for the "Pittsburgh Leader". (WCC)" (DLB)

 
  1900-1930: Naturalistic and Symbolistic period in American literature
1902: Willa Cather goes to Europe (WCC)  
  1903: The Wright brothers build the first airplane (IRT)
1905: Cather publishes the short story collection called The Troll Garden. (WCC)  
1906: Cather moves to New York City and is hired as an editor of of McClure's Magizine(WCC) (DLB)  
1908: "Meets Sarah Orne Jewett, local colorist from Maine, who later inspired Willa to write about Nebraska (WCC)"  
1911: "Writes The Bohemian Girl and begins to write Alexandra, which later becomes part of O Pioneers! (WCC)"  
1912: "Alexander’s Bridge published. For the first time Cather visits the Southwest, where she "discovers herself". There she gets very fascinated by the Anasazi cliff dwellings (later to be used in a novel). The place made her think of Nebraska and its mixture of native and immigrant cultures. On her way home she visits her old Bohemian friends in Nebraska. (WCC)"  
1913: Cather publishes O Pioneers! (WCC) 1913: "The Armory Show in New York City introduces modern European art to the United States (DC)"
 

1914: "American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is formed in New York City (DC)"

WWI Starts

1915: Visits Mesa Verde in Colorado. Publishes The Song of the Lark. (WCC)

"Cather visits the Southwest, Wyoming and Nebraska and meets her old friend Annie Sadilek Pavelka again (WCC)"

 
1917: Cather writes My Antonia (WCC) 1917: "18 May. The Selective Service Act is passed, providing for the conscription of men between 20 and 30 for military service. The first American troops arrive in France in October (DC)"
1918: My Antonia is published (DLB)  
  1919: The Versailles Treaty is signed (DC)
 

1920: 16 January. The 18th Amendment goes into effect (DC)

The 19th Amendment goes into effect (DC)

  1921: "The Emergency Quota Act restricts immigration by setting limits based on the number of foreign-born people already in the country in 1910." (DC)
1923: "Awarded the Pulitzer prize for One of Ours published the year before. A Lost Lady published (WCC)"

1923: "A half million radio sets are manufactured in the U.S (MHT)"

1930: "Awarded the Howells medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for Death comes for the Archbishop (WCC)"  
1936: Cather writes the Essay collection called Not under Forty. (WCC) 1936:" Birth control information is declassified as obscene. Contraceptive devices can be legally imported. (WH)"
  1939: WWII Starts
  1943: "The all-American Girls Baseball League is started. (WH)"
1945: "Cather writes The Best Years. (WCC)"  
1947: Willa Cather dies 24 April and was buried in New Hampshire. (WCC) (DLB)  

Sources

DC Campbell, Donna M. Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events: Pre-1620-1920 Gonzaga University webpage. 16 Feb 2003 <http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/timefram.html>

MHT Fang, Irvine and Ross, Kristina. Media History Timeline Private webpage. 1996 <http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/time/1920s.html>

WCC <http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3005/Catherintro.html#bio>

DLB Kimbel, Bobby Ellen. Dictionary of Literary Biography: Volume 78: American Short-Story Writers 1880-1910. Detriot, Michigan; Book Tower

IRT Presland, Thomas.The Industrial Revolution Timeline. Bristol, U.K.; Conceive Ltd. 17 March 2003. <http://www.timelines.info/history/ages_and_periods/the_age_of_revolution/the_industrial_revolution>

WH American Women's History Timeline. California NOW Action Center. <http://www.canow.org/timeline.html>

 

Jeffrey M. Duncan