Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

March 1

1980
Pink Lady debuts on NBC starring a Japanese female singing duo. It was quickly canceled; maybe because neither star spoke English.

1969
Jim Morrison, of The Doors, exposes himself in front of a Miami concert audience.

1966
First man-made object to strike another planet: Soviet Venera 3 lands on Venus. It had been launched in November.

1954
Four Puerto Rican independence supporters fire at the House, injuring five members of Congress.

1954
First hydrogen bomb fatality: A U.S. H-bomb test exposes a Japanese fisherman to fallout. He died the following September.

1932
Lindbergh kidnapping: Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old son is kidnapped. He was found dead two months later.

1875
Civil Rights Act passed by Congress, decreed the privilege of equal rights and enjoyment in places of public amusement without distinction of color.
 

1872
First national park, Yellowstone, is established by Congress.

1867
Nebraska becomes the 37th state.

1845
Pres. Tyler signs a resolution annexing Texas.

1815
100 Days War: The war begins when Napoleon returns to France from exile. Wellington takes command of the allied army in Belgium.

1803
Ohio becomes the 17th state. Ohio is Iroquois for "fine river."

1790
First U.S. Census: Congress authorizes the counting of U.S. inhabitants. It was completed in August, showing a population of 3.9 million.

1788
The State of Franklin: The U.S. state ceases to exist. It had been created in 1784 when East Tennessee declared itself an independent state.

1781
Ratification of the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union" by the states is completed.

1780
Slavery:Act of the Pennsylvania legislature provided for the gradual emancipation of slaves.

1778
First execution of woman by American courts: Joshua Spooner is murdered by three men in Massachusetts. His wife, Bathsheba, was hanged the following July for her part in the conspiracy.  (More...)

1753
Gregorian calendar is adopted by Sweden: Today's date would have been February 18.

1700
Gregorian calendar is adopted by Denmark and Norway: Today's date would have been February 19.

1692
First Salem Witch Trial: Sarah Good and a female slave are convicted of witchcraft and sent to jail. Sarah was later hanged. In the following months 19 others would be executed for witchcraft.

1682
Gregorian calendar is adopted by Strassburg, Germany: Today's date would have been February 19.

1954
Ron Howard, American actor. TV: The Andy Griffith Show (Opie) and Happy Days (Richie). Film director: Splash (1984), Cocoon (1985), Apollo 13 (1995), and A Beautiful Mind (2001, best director Oscar).

1954
Catherine Bach, American actress. TV: The Dukes of Hazzard (Daisy Duke).

1947
Alan Thicke, Canadian-born actor. TV: Growing Pains (Jason Seaver) and Animal Crack-Ups (host).

1946
Lana Wood, American actress, Natalie Wood's sister. Film: Diamonds Are Forever (1971, Plenty O'Toole).

1944
Roger Daltrey, British singer, with The Who. Music: My Generation (1965) and Pinball Wizard (1969).

1944
Dirk Benedict, American actor. TV: The A-Team (Faceman).

1935
Robert Conrad (Conrad Robert Falk), American actor. TV: The Wild Wild West (secret agent West) and Baa Baa Black Sheep (Pappy Boyington).

1929     d. 1978
Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident. While waiting at a bus stop, he was stabbed with an umbrella that inserted a ricin-filled pellet. He died several days later. It is believed that the KGB was behind the assassination.

1927
Harry Belafonte, American singer, Tony-Emmy-winning actor, the "King of Calypso." He was the first black to win an Emmy (1960). Music: Banana Boat Song (aka Day-Oh, 1956).

1926
Pete Rozelle, American football executive, NFL commissioner (1960-89). He created the Superbowl (1966) and presided over the merger with the AFL.

1924     d. 1993
Donald "Deke" Slayton, American astronaut, one of NASA's original seven Project Mercury astronauts (1959). He made his only space flight on the Apollo-Soyuz mission (1975).

1922     d. 1992
William Maxwell Gaines, American comic-book publisher. Comic books: Mad Magazine.

1917     d. 1994
Dinah Shore (Frances Rose Shore), American singer, Emmy-winning TV personality. She won a total of 10 Emmy awards, more than any other performer.

1914     d. 1994
Ralph Waldo Ellison, American author. Writings: Invisible Man (1952, winner of the National Book Award, it chronicled a black man's humiliations in the South and Harlem).

1909     d. 1983
David Niven, British Oscar-winning actor. Film: Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and The Pink Panther (1964).

1904     d. 1973
Paul Hartman, American actor. TV: The Andy Griffith Show (Emmett the fix-it man).

1904     d. 1944
Glenn Miller, American bandleader. His was the world's most popular dance band of the time. Music: Moonlight Serenade (1939) and Chattanooga Choo Choo (1941).

1895     d. 1946
Lionel Atwill, British horror actor. Film: Doctor X (1932) and The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933).

1848     d. 1907
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-born sculptor, regarded as America's greatest sculptor.

1819     d. 1905
Alexander Melville Bell, American teacher, inventor of visual speech for the hearing impaired.

1794     d. 1849
William Jenkins Worth, American general, for whom Fort Worth, Texas is named.

1991     b. 1909
Edwin Herbert Land, American inventor. He created the Polaroid instant camera, developed Polaroid lenses, and founded the Polaroid Corp. (1937).

1988     b. 1907
Joe Besser, American comedian, member of the 3-Stooges. He replaced Shemp after his death in 1955.

1984     b. 1914
Jackie Coogan, American actor, one of the Little Rascals. TV: The Addams Family (Uncle Fester). At age seven he starred with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid (1921), and was one of the highest-paid actors of his time.

1980     b. 1916
Emmett Littleton Ashford, American baseball umpire. He was the first black major-league umpire (1965, American League). (Source: Famous First Facts)

1965     b. 1903
Brace Beemer, American radio actor. Radio: The announcer for The Lone Ranger from its first broadcast in 1933. When the voice of the Lone Ranger, Earle Graser died in a car accident, Beemer took over the role until the end of the series in 1954.

1950     b. 1879
Alfred Korzybski, American scientist, pioneer in the study of semantics, founded the Institute of General Semantics (1938) in Chicago.

1895     b. 1876
Pauline Musters, Dutch dwarf, world's shortest adult. She was 24 inches tall at age 19. (source: Guinness Book of World Records)

965     b. ????
Leo VIII, Italian religious leader, 131st Pope (963-965).

492     b. ????
Saint Felix III, Italian religious leader, 48th Pope (483-492).

Please send Corrections and Omissions to epicidiot.com