Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

January 1

1981
Yorkshire Ripper: Peter Sutcliffe is arrested on suspicion of murdering 13 women. He had previously worked as a calendar model.

1979
U.S. Office of Personal Management is established, administers a merit system for federal employees.

1977
U.S. Polo Association's ban on left-handed play goes into effect. All players must now use their right hands to swing their sticks, except players who played left-handed before the ban.

1968
Evel Knievel: The motorcycle daredevil crashes while attempting to jump the fountains at Caesar's Palace, resulting in a month-long coma.

1930
The Guggenheim prize for a fool-proof airplane is given to a Curtiss Tanager biplane.

1927
First coast-to-coast football game broadcast from the West Coast: Rose Bowl game in which University of Alabama ties Stanford University.

1914
First airline with scheduled passenger service: The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line of Florida begins operation.

1902
First Rose Bowl game: Michigan beats Stanford (49-0). This is the oldest college bowl game. (source: Guinness Book of World Records)

1899
Cuba comes under American control.

1897
First black collegiate football game, Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta beat Tuskegee Institute.

1892
Ellis Island: The upper New York island is opened as a processing station for immigrants. Twenty million immigrants would be handled there before its closing in 1954.

1863
The Homestead Act goes into effect, giving land to settlers.

1863
Pres. Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation: It called for the freeing of slaves in the rebelling states. No slaves were actually freed since the Confederate states ignored it, and it didn't apply to the slaves of Union States.

1808
Importation of slaves is forbidden by Congress.

1804
Haiti: The West Indies island declares its independence from France.

1801
First discovery of an asteroid, Ceres, by Giuseppe Piazzi in Italy. This is the largest known asteroid; it has a diameter of 582 miles.

1943
Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello), American comedian. In 1981 he was arrested and stripped of his priest outfit while visiting the Vatican. TV: Saturday Night Live.

1940
Frank Langella, American Tony-winning actor. Broadway: Seascape (1977, Tony).

1925     d. 1981
Stymie Beard (Matthew Beard, Jr.), African-American actor, the derby-wearing Little Rascal. He appeared in 36 Our Gang films.  His trademark hat was a gift from Stan Laurel. He also played Monte in the TV series Good Times.

1919
J.D. Salinger (Jerome David Salinger), American author. Writings: The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Mark Chapman was carrying a copy of this book when he killed John Lennon.

1909
Dana Andrews, American actor. TV: Bright Promise (Tom Boswell).

1889     d. 1967
Charles Bickford, American actor. TV: The Virginian (Shiloh Ranch owner John Grainger).

1879     d. 1970
E.M. Forster (Edward Morgan Forster), English author. Writings: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howard's End (1910), and A Passage to India (1924).

1874     d. 1927
Gustave Whitehead, Bavarian-born American inventor. According to some documents, he made the first manned heavier-than-air flight in 1901 - two years before the Wright Brothers.

1863     d. 1937
Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He revived the Olympic games in 1896.

1861     d. 1927
John Luther Long, American playwright. Writings: Madame Butterfly (1898).

1752     d. 1836
Betsy Ross (Elizabeth Griscom Ross), American flag maker. She is credited with creating the first stars-and-stripes flag for the U.S.

1745     d. 1796
Anthony Wayne, American Revolutionary War General. His daring and reckless tactics earned him the name "Mad Anthony."

1994     b. 1907
Cesar Romero, American actor. TV: Batman (the Joker) and Falcon Crest (Peter Stavros).

1982     b. 1938
Victor Buono, actor. TV: Batman (King Tut).

1953     b. 1923
Hank Williams, American country singer, composed Your Cheatin' Heart. His chauffeur was stopped by a highway patrolman who commented that Hank looked dead. Later on he realized that Hank really was dead.

1896     b. 1826
Alfred Ely Beach, American inventor, publisher of Scientific American (1846 et seq.). He built New York City's first underground transit system (1870, A 10-passenger car that was pushed and pulled through a tunnel by a giant fan).

1854     b. 1771
Francis Place, English reformer, considered the first political campaign manager (1807) in English electoral history.

1787     b. 1742
Arthur Middleton, American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1559     b. 1503
Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway (1534-59). He established the state Lutheran Church in Denmark (1536).

1554     b. circa 1500
Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador and first Governor of Chile, founder of Santiago, Concepción, and Valdivia. He was killed during a campaign against the Araucanian Indians. Legend has it that the Araucanians captured and executed him by pouring molten gold down his throat to satisfy his thirst for treasures.

1515     b. 1462
Louis XII, King of France (1498-1515).

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