Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

June 8

1998
An ad is taken out in the New York Times titled "We believe the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug abuse itself."  It signers included Reagan's Secretary of State, George Shultz; Lyndon Johnson's attorney general, Nicholas Katzenbach; former New York police commissioner, Patrick Murphy; San Francisco D.A. Terrence Hallinan, and TV anchor Walter Cronkite.

1993
Rap music killer: 19-year-old Ronald Ray Howard is convicted of the 1992 murder of a state trooper. He claimed the anti-police rap music he was listening to made him do it. He was later executed for the crime.

1975
Soviet Venera 9 is launched. It landed on Venus in October and sent back the first pictures ever transmitted from another planet.

1967
USS Liberty is attacked without warning by Israeli jets while sailing in international waters. Thirty-four were killed and 171 were injured.

1954
Pledge of Allegiance: The words "under God" are added to the pledge by Congress.  It previously had no mention of God.

1937
World's largest flower: A giant calla lily at the New York Botanical Gardens blooms. It was 8½ ft. high and 4 ft. in diameter.

1861
Civil War: Tennessee becomes the 11th state to secede from the Union.

1789
Bill of Rights is proposed to Congress by James Madison.

1786
First commercially produced ice cream is sold, in New York.

1783
Laki volcano eruption in southern Iceland, spewing 2.8 cubic miles of lava, ultimately causing a famine and 9,500 deaths.

1699
Capt. William Kidd imprisoned in Boston for piracy and murder. He was hanged (1701) in London.

1962
Nick Rhodes (Nicholas Bates), English singer, with Duran Duran. Music: Hungry Like the Wolf (1982), Rio (1982), Union of the Snake (1983), and A View to a Kill (1985).

1953
Bonnie Tyler, British singer. Music: It's a Heartache and Total Eclipse of the Heart (1983, #1).

1950
Kathy Baker, American Emmy-winning actress. Film: Edward Scissorhands (1990). TV: Picket Fences (Jill Brock).

1944
Boz Scaggs (William Scaggs), American rock singer. Music: Lido Shuffle (1976).

1940
Nancy Sinatra, American singer, Frank's daughter. Her These Boots Were Made For Walkin' was used by the FBI to drive the cult Branch Davidians from their compound.

1936
James Darren (James Ercolani), American singer, actor. TV: T.J. Hooker (Officer Corrigan).

1933
Joan Rivers, American comedienne, talk-show host.

1929
Jerry Stiller, American comedian, actor.

1925     d. 1961
Edward Carl Gaedel, American baseball player, midget (3 foot, 7 inches tall), he was a pinch hitter for the St. Louis Browns. He was walked on his only time at bat (1951).

1925
Barbara Bush (Barbara Pierce), American first lady.

1921     d. 1993
Alexis Smith, Canadian-born Tony-winning actress. Stage: Follies (1971, Tony). TV: Dallas (Jessica Montford).

1916
Francis Crick, British biochemist, co-winner of the 1962 Nobel prize, for discovering the structure of DNA. He also contributed to the development of radar.

1869     d. 1959
Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, emphasized design that harmonized with the construction materials and landscape. He also coined the word "carport."

1813     d. 1891
David Dixon Porter, American admiral. In 1856 he became the first person to import camels in the U.S. for commercial purposes.

1982     b. 1906
Satchel Paige (Leroy Robert Paige), American baseball player, the greatest baseball pitcher of the Negro Leagues. He became the oldest rookie ever in the major-leagues when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948. They went on to win both the pennant and the World Series.

1845     b. 1767
General Andrew Jackson, 7th U.S. President (1829-37), the only president to fight in a duel (1806). He shot and killed Charles Dickinson.

1809     b. 1737
Thomas Paine, American patriot, wrote Common Sense (1776) and The Age of Reason (1795).

1806     b. 1726
George Wythe, American statesman, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

632     b. 570
Muhammad (Muhammad ibn Abdulla), founder of Islam. According to the Muslim belief, he was given the verses of the Qur'an by the Angel Gabriel.

632     b. circa 570
Mohammed, Arabian prophet, founder of Islam.

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