

1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Adolphus was born in 1882, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
The biggest hits of 1882
The world at every milestone
First electrical power plant opens in New York
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
Boxer Rebellion in China
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
“My duty is to my people, in these difficult times.”