

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.
Arthur was born in 1870, 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 1870
The world at every milestone
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
Boxer Rebellion in China
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Pluto discovered
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
“The slide of the trombone is the soul of the march.”