Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

January 9

2003
Iraq War: White House spokesman Ari Fleischer on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction: "We know for a fact that there are weapons there."

1951
First X-rated film: Life After Tomorrow opens in London.

1949
The new 7-inch 33 1/3 rpm micro-groove record format is announced by Columbia.

1861
Civil War: Mississippi becomes the 2nd state to secede from the Union.

1811
First women's golf tournament, held in Scotland.

1793
First manned free-balloon flight in North America: French balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard flies a hydrogen balloon to a height of 5,800 feet, traveling 15 miles in his 46-minute flight. The event was watched by Pres. George Washington.

1788
Connecticut becomes the 5th state.

1719
France declares war against Spain.

1522
First Dutch Pope: Adrian Dedel is elected assuming the name Adrian VI.

1951
Crystal Gayle (Brenda Gayle Webb), American Grammy-winning singer, sister of Loretta Lynn. Music: Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue (1977, Grammy), and Talking In Your Sleep (1978, #1).

1948
Bill Cowsill, American singer, member of the singing family The Cowsills. Music: The Rain The Park And Other Things (1967, #2). They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family.

1941
Joan Baez, American singer, social activist. Music: The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down (1972).

1940
Jimmy Boyd, American singer. Music: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (1952, #1).

1935
Dick Enberg, American sportscaster, game show host. TV: Sports Challenge (host) and the cartoon series Where's Huddles? (voice of the sports announcer).

1935     d. 2005
Bob Denver, American actor. TV: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (beatnik Maynard G. Krebs) and Gilligan's Island (Willy Gilligan).

1934
Bart Starr, American Hall of Fame football player. He was the winning quarterback for the first two Super Bowls (1967-68, Green Bay Packers). He was the MVP for the first two Super Bowls.

1915     d. 1982
Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor, the Latin Lover of U.S. films during the 1950s.

1914     d. 1970
Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Louise Hovick), American actress, "The Queen of Burlesque," and the best-known stripper of the 1930s.

1913     d. 1994
Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th U.S. President (1969-74) and 36th U.S. Vice-President (1953-61).

1908     d. 1986
Simone de Beauvoir, French author, feminist. Her book The Second Sex (1949) pioneered post-World War II feminism. She and her lover Jean-Paul Sartre are credited with creating "existentialism."

1901     d. 1973
Chic Young (Murat Bernard Young), American cartoonist, creator of Blondie (1930).

1859     d. 1947
Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, American women's rights leader, founder of the National League of Women Voters (1919). Her efforts contributed greatly to the passing of the 19th Amendment.

1995     b. 1937
Peter Cook, English actor, comedian. He is often credited with founding contemporary British satire.

1987     b. 1905
Arthur Lake (Arthur Silverlake), American actor. He played Dagwood Bumstead on radio, TV, and the movies.

1982     b. 1926
Paul Lynde, American comedian, Uncle Arthur of Bewitched and a regular on Hollywood Squares.

1938     b. 1880
Johnny Gruelle (John Barton), American children's author, creator of Raggedy Ann (1917) and Raggedy Andy (1922).

1930     b. 1863
Edward William Bok, American Pulitzer-winning author. Books: The Americanization of Edward Bok (1920, Pulitzer). Editor: The Ladies' Home Journal (1889-1919).

1895     b. 1812
Aaron Lufkin Dennison, father of American watchmaking. He designed the world's first factory-made watches.

1324     b. 1254
Marco Polo, Italian traveler. While imprisoned in 1299, he wrote the famous account of his Asian travels.

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