On This Day

US military leader George Marshall (22) weds Elizabeth Carter Coles in San Antonio, Texas

George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S.

George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, then served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense under Truman. Winston Churchill lauded Marshall as the "organizer of victory" for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II. During the subsequent year, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent the continuation of the Chinese Civil War. As Secretary of State, Marshall advocated for a U.S. economic and political commitment to post-war European recovery, including the Marshall Plan that bore his name.

Historical Significance

George Catlett Marshall Jr.

Events Before

  1. The Commonwealth of Australia is formed when the British (Imperial) Parliament Act and the Commonwealth of Australia Con

    The Commonwealth of Australia is formed when the British (Imperial) Parliament Act and the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 come into effect

  2. Tennis champ Charlotte Cooper (30) weds solicitor Alfred Sterry

    Tennis champ Charlotte Cooper (30) weds solicitor Alfred Sterry

  3. Queen Victoria's funeral takes place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England

    Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about 25 miles (40 km) west of central London.

  4. Queen Wilhelmina marries Prince Heinrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin

    Queen Victoria, the British monarch from 1837 to 1901, and Prince Albert (her husband from 1840 until his death in 1861) had 9 children, 42 grandchildren, and 87 great-grandchildren.

  5. Edmund Barton is elected Prime Minister in Australia's first federal election

    Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920) was an Australian politician, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903.

Events After

  1. First Powered Flight by the Wright Brothers

    Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

  2. German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (23) weds Serbian physicist and mathematician Mileva Marić (27); divorce in

    German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (23) weds Serbian physicist and mathematician Mileva Marić (27); divorce in 1919

  3. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (27) weds Swiss watch heiress Emma Rauschenbach (19), until her death in 1955

    Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (27) weds Swiss watch heiress Emma Rauschenbach (19), until her death in 1955

  4. Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria, British claim supremacy over 500,000 square miles

    Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria, British claim supremacy over 500,000 square miles

  5. NY Highlanders (Yankees) play their first MLB game, losing 3-1 before 11,950 spectators against the Washington Senators

    NY Highlanders (Yankees) play their first MLB game, losing 3-1 before 11,950 spectators against the Washington Senators at American League Park

More from the 1900s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on February 11, 1902?
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S.
Why is US military leader George Marshall (22) weds Elizabeth Carter Coles in San An... significant?
George Catlett Marshall Jr.

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