Brief Life History of John
When John Potaski was born on 30 December 1918, in Holden, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, his father, Felix Potaznik, was 34 and his mother, Barbara Szymanski, was 28. He died on 18 January 1999, in Saint Petersburg, Pinellas, Florida, United States, at the age of 80, and was buried in United States.
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Family Time Line
Felix Potaznik
1884–
Barbara Szymanski
1890–
John Potaski
1918–1999
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Parents and Siblings
World Events (3)
1919 · The Eighteenth Amendment
Age 1
The Eighteenth Amendment established a prohibition on all intoxicating liquors in the United States. As a result of the Amendment, the Prohibition made way for bootlegging and speakeasies becoming popular in many areas. The Eighteenth Amendment was then repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment. Making it the first and only amendment that has been repealed.
1941 · Florida Involvement in World War II
Age 23
Similar to the first World War, Florida's location and temperature served as an ideal location for military training; in fact, Florida would end up having 172 military installations. As a result of World War II growth, Camp Blanding became the fourth largest city in Florida, capable of housing over 55,000 soldiers. Many Floridians sacrificed their lives among other Americans to win the war; it's estimated that about 3,000 U.S. deaths were from Floridian troops.
1962 · The Cuban Missile Crisis
Age 44
"One of the most direct confrontations of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962, which primarily took place just south of Florida. Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev had crafted a secret agreement with Cuba (under Fidel Castro) to create nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter further invasions. U.S. intelligence agents discovered evidence of this activity, so President Kennedy issued an official warning against Cuba's creation of these weapons. Cuba and the Soviet Union did not comply. After much debate regarding the correct course of action, Kennedy opted to create a naval ""quarantine"" around Cuba. This initiated a series of intense communications between Kennedy and Khrushchev, both publicly and directly. The conflict escalated to the point that a U.S jet was shot down over Cuba as the countries made increasingly stern ultimatums. Kennedy instructed the Soviets to remove missiles with the promise that the U.S. would not attack Cuba, and the Soviets agreed."
Name Meaning
Polish (Połaski): variant of Poławski or its cognate Pułaski (see Pulaski ).
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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