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Margherita del Prete

11 Dec 1904

6 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 11 Dec 1904

    Born

Family

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Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 11 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1900s · Margherita is born

In the news1900

Paris Metro opens in 1900

The first Paris metro line opened on July 14, 1900, allowing travel across the city in half an hour for 20 to 25 centimes.

Getting around

Dim train lighting required portable candles

Trains were so dimly lit that passengers wanting to read had to bring their own portable candlesticks.

At the table

Tax-free home distillation privileges

Between 1875 and 1914, French peasants had a legal privilege to distill part of their own wine, cider, or fruit harvest into spirits without paying any taxes or needing declarations.

Powered flight. The Wright brothers flew a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903; in 1906 Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis in Paris.Around the world · 1903–1906

Powered flight. The Wright brothers flew a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903; in 1906 Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis in Paris.

Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright (credited as photographers) [1], [2] · public domain

What people wore

Quimper workers kept festal clothes apart

In Quimper (Brittany), rural workers could keep their everyday work clothes separate from festival clothing, sometimes commissioned for weddings. This made clothing a visible marker of identity and social position.

Music

Instruments of the Paris Bal Musette

In the early 20th century, the cabrette, a small bagpipe, was the signature instrument of Parisian bal musette, but it was gradually joined or replaced by the accordion introduced by Italian immigrants.

Daily life

Lighting, water, and cooking at home

In 1900, many families still used oil lamps for lighting and drew water from communal pumps or wells, while city apartments often featured small charcoal furnaces for cooking at a low cost.