Mary Pickford (1892–1979) was a Canadian motion picture actress, producer, and writer. During the silent film era she became one of the first great celebrities of the cinema and a popular icon known to the public as "America's Sweetheart".Sources: "Calling Mary 'America's Sweetheart' was not exactly a stroke of genius. I was simply putting down in two words what everyone in America seemed to be thinking about her." — B.P. Schulberg, publicist for Famous Players and scenario writer for In the Bishop's Carriage (1913) and Tess of the Storm Country (1914) (Cover of Scott Eyman's biography)
Pickford was born Gladys Marie Smith in Toronto and began acting on stage in 1900. She started her film career in the United States in 1909. Initially with the Biograph film company, she moved to the Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP) in 1911, then briefly to the Majestic Film Company later that same year, followed by a return to Biograph in 1912. After appearing in over 150 short films during her years with these studios she began working in features with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company, a studio which eventually became part of Paramount Pictures. By 1916 Pickford's popularity had climbed to the point that she was awarded a contract that made her a partner with Zukor and allowed her to produce her films. In 1919 Pickford teamed with D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbanks to create United Artists, an organization designed to distribute their films. She married Fairbanks in 1920. Following the release of Secrets (1933), Pickford retired from acting in motion pictures, but remained active as a producer for several years afterward. She sold her stock in United Artists in 1956.
The timeline offered here presents significant events in Mary Pickford's life and juxtaposes them against notable events in the history and development of cinema. More emphasis is placed on the silent era, when she was most active, with particular attention to her three United Artists partners. Also presented are notable events that occurred in the United States.
Timeline Before 1891
YearPickfordCinemaUnited States1852George Aiken's stage adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin is first performed1863January 26 – The stage play of East Lynne by Clifton W. Tayleure premieres1869April 8 – John Charles Smith, Mary Pickford's father, is born in CanadaMay 10 – The First transcontinental railroad in North America is completed at Promontory, Utah, by the driving of the "golden spike"1872January 1 – Charlotte Hennessey, Mary Pickford's mother, is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1875January 22 – David Wark Griffith is born in Oldham County, Kentucky1878June 19 – The Horse in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge is made using sequential photographs of the horse Sallie Gardner, owned by Leland Stanford, running at a 1:40 pace over the Palo Alto track; this is a precursor to motion picturesSources: February 19 – The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison1883May 23 – Douglas Fairbanks is born in Denver, Colorado1888October 14 – Roundhay Garden Scene is filmed by Louis Le Prince; it is believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence.1889April 16 – Charlie Chaplin is born in London1890John Smith and Charlotte Hennesey marry [date uncertain]December 29 – A massacre occurs near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota
1891–1900
YearPickfordCinemaUnited States1891August – Thomas Edison files for a patent for the Kinetoscope, a motion picture camera (which he receives in 1897)1892 April 8 – Gladys Marie Smith (later known as Mary Pickford) is born at 211 University Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Development of the Kinetoscope is completed August 4 – Lizzie Borden is arrested in Fall River, Massachusetts on two counts of murder November 8 – Grover Cleveland is elected 24th president of the United States1893June 9 – Mary's sister, Charlotte Smith (Lottie Pickford), is born in Toronto1894January 9 – Release of Fred Ott's Sneeze, the earliest surviving copyrighted film 1895John Smith leaves his wife and childrenDecember 30 – The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company is founded in New Jersey by William Kennedy Dickson, Henry Marvin, Herman Casler and Elias KoopmanNovember 5 – George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile1896August 18 – Mary's brother, John Charles Smith, Jr (Jack Pickford), is born in Toronto Gladys becomes seriously ill with diphtheria, is baptized by a Catholic priest and has her middle name changed to "Marie"April - Release of The Kiss, starring May Irwin and John RiceDecember 25 - John Philip Sousa composes The Stars and Stripes Forever1897c. August – While working for the Niagara Steam Company, John Charles Smith suffers a serious injury when he hits his head on a dangling pulleyMarch 17 – The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight is filmed in Nevada 1898February 11 – John Smith, Sr., dies of a cerebral hemorrhageFebruary 15 – The (pictured) is sunk in Havana Harbor after suffering a massive explosion April 25 – The United States declares war on Spain August 13 – The Spanish-American war ends1899Late in the year, to make extra money, Charlotte rents a room to the manager of the Cummings Stock Company of Toronto, who suggests that Gladys and Lottie be cast in a playNovember 21 – Garret Hobart, Vice-President of the United States, dies of heart disease1900January 8 – "Baby Gladys Smith" makes her stage debut at Toronto's Princess Theatre playing in The Silver King April 9 – Baby Gladys begins touring in the play The Littlest GirlNovember 8 – William McKinley is re-elected President of the United States with Theodore Roosevelt as his vice-president
1901–1910
YearPickfordCinemaUnited States1901January 29 – Gladys begins a run in the play Bottle's Baby April 1 – Gladys appears in the play The Little Red School House April 8 – Gladys' ninth birthday; she begins performing as Little Eva in a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin May – Gladys appears in a production of East LynneSeptember 6 – While attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, William McKinley, President of the United States, is fatally shot by Leon Czolgosz September 14 – McKinley dies; Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as President1902From this year until 1906 Gladys, Charlotte, Jack, and Lottie tour in numerous plays. Among the ones Mary appears in are Wedded But No Wife, The Gypsy Girl, For a Human Life, The Convict Stripes, and, for nineteen weeks, The Fatal Wedding March 10 – A Circuit Court decision ends Thomas Edison's monopoly on 35 mm movie film technology August – Release of the French film A Trip to the Moon by Georges MélièsAugust 22 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first sitting president to take a public car ride1903May 18 – Gladys portrays a consumptive boy in the play The SoudanDecember 19 – Release of The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. PorterFebruary 11 – The United States Congress adopts the Expediting Act
December 17 – The Wright Brothers make the first successful airplane flight (pictured)1904Gladys tours in the play Wedded But No WifeAugust 13 – Charles "Buddy" Rogers is bornMay 4 – U.S. Army engineers begin work on the Panama Canal1905The Smith family becomes acquainted with fellow stage actors Lillian and Dorothy Gish and their mother, Mary, when both families share a room in Manhattan one summer
Gladys tours in the play The Gypsy Girl October 2–28 – Gladys, Jack, and Lottie appear in the play Edmund Burke starring Chauncey Olcott (pictured) at the Majestic Theatre in New YorkMarch 17 – Franklin D. Roosevelt marries Eleanor Roosevelt 1906May – Edmund Burke closes; Gladys tours in a production of Wedded But No WifeSeptember – Florence Lawrence makes her film debut in the Vitagraph production The Automobile ThievesSources:February 26 – The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is published April 18 – A massive earthquake strikes San Francisco, California1907Gladys tours in For a Human Life At the suggestion of theatrical producer David Belasco, Gladys Smith becomes Mary Pickford; Charlotte, Lottie, and Jack take the name of Pickford as well
December 3 – Mary (pictured) begins her run in William de Mille's play, The Warrens of Virginia, at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway; William's brother, Cecil, plays Mary's older brotherJuly 11 – Douglas Fairbanks marries Anna Beth Sully December 7 – Release of an unauthorized film production of Ben-Hur by the Kalem Company, directed by Sidney OlcottFebruary – President Roosevelt appoints Colonel George Washington Goethals chief engineer of the Panama Canal.1908May 16 – The Warrens of Virginia ends its first run September 28 – The Warrens of Virginia begins a second seasonJanuary 18 – Release of Rescued from an Eagle's Nest by the Edison Company; this is the film debut of D. W. Griffith July 14 – Release of The Adventures of Dollie by the Biograph Company; this is the first film directed by D. W. GriffithNovember 3 – William Howard Taft is elected President of the United States1909March 20 – The Warrens of Virginia ends its run; with no more stage work scheduled, Charlotte suggests that Mary try entering the motion picture industry April — Mary successfully auditions for director D. W. Griffith at the Biography Film Studio in New York City; she signs with him for a salary of $10.00 per day; later on she helps her mother and siblings to become employed with Biograph April 20 – Mary's first day working for Griffith; she appears as an extra in Her First Biscuits; she meets Owen Moore May 24 – Release of Two Memories, the first released film featuring Mary June 7 – Release of The Violin Maker of Cremona with Mary co-starring with Owen Moore July 15 – Release of They Would Elope August 21 – A review in the New York Dramatic Mirror writes of They Would Elope: "This delicious little comedy introduced again an ingénue whose work in Biograph pictures is attracting attention" August 23 – Release of The Indian Runner's Romance, a western with Mary as a Native AmericanDecember – The Motion Picture Patents Company ("The Trust") is formed December 9 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is bornJune 9–August 7 – Alice Huyler Ramsey becomes the first woman to drive across the United States1910January – Mary travels to Southern California with the Biograph Company, where they will film through the winter; during this time, Florence Lawrence (pictured), known as "The Biograph Girl" moves to Carl Laemmle's IMP Company, and Mary Pickford becomes the new "Biograph Girl"October 11 – Theodore Roosevelt, former president of the United States, becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane May 23 – Release of Ramona with Mary in the title role and Henry B. Walthall as Alessandro; this is the first film version of the classic novel by Helen Hunt Jackson December – Mary leaves Griffith and signs on with IMP at $175 per weekMarch 10 – IMP announces: , refuting a story published in the Motion Picture World that Florence Lawrence had been killed in a car accident; IMP stated that the story was false and that Lawrence was "in the best of health"
1911–1915
YearPickfordCinemaUnited States1911January 7 – Mary and Owen Moore are married in a secret ceremony in Jersey City, New Jersey January 9 – Mary stars with Owen Moore in her first IMP short, Their First Misunderstanding; shortly afterward, the IMP company moves to Palacio del Carneado, just outside of Havana, Cuba September – After returning to New York from Cuba, Mary leaves IMP and signs with the Majestic Company at $225 per weekApril 8 – Release of Little Nemo, an animated film by cartoonist Winsor McCay (hand-colored frame pictured)March 25 – The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurs in the Asch Building in lower Manhattan, killing 146 workers