William Coulette Smith

Male1942–2017

Brief Life History of William Coulette

William Coulette Smith was born in 1942. He died in 2017, at the age of 75, and was buried in Tallahassee, Leon, Florida, United States.

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Sources (1)

  • William Coulette Smith, "Find A Grave Index"

World Events (3)

1942 · The Japanese American internment

Age 0

Caused by the tensions between the United States and the Empire of Japan, the internment of Japanese Americans caused many to be forced out of their homes and forcibly relocated into concentration camps in the western states. More than 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced into these camps in fear that some of them were spies for Japan.

1944 · The G.I Bill

Age 2

The G.I. Bill was a law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans that were on active duty during the war and weren't dishonorably discharged. The goal was to provide rewards for all World War II veterans. The act avoided life insurance policy payouts because of political distress caused after the end of World War I. But the Benefits that were included were: Dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college or vocational/technical school, low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. By the mid-1950s, around 7.8 million veterans used the G.I. Bill education benefits.

1962 · The Cuban Missile Crisis

Age 20

"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

English and Scottish: occupational name denoting a worker in metal, especially iron, such as a blacksmith or farrier, from Middle English smith ‘smith’ (Old English smith, probably a derivative of smītan ‘to strike, hammer’). Early examples are also found in the Latin form Faber . Metal-working was one of the earliest occupations for which specialist skills were required, and its importance ensured that this term and its equivalents in other languages were the most widespread of all occupational surnames in Europe. Medieval smiths were important not only in making horseshoes, plowshares, and other domestic articles, but above all for their skill in forging swords, other weapons, and armor. This is also the most frequent of all surnames in the US. It is very common among African Americans and Native Americans (see also 5 below). This surname (in any of the two possible English senses; see also below) is also found in Haiti. See also Smither .

English: from Middle English smithe ‘smithy, forge’ (Old English smiththe). The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived in or by a blacksmith's shop, occupational, for someone who worked in one, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Smitha in King's Nympton (Devon). Compare Smithey .

Irish and Scottish: sometimes adopted for Gaelic Mac Gobhann, Irish Mac Gabhann ‘son of the smith’. See McGowan .

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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