Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

June 19

1993
Largest one-time gift to private education in American history: Walter Annenberg - who made his fortune from TV Guide - announces his donation of $365 million in cash to four private schools.

1992
Founder of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa, is shot five times while in a taxi.

1992
Batman Returns premiers.

1988
World record for shaving: Denny Rowe shaves 1,994 men in 1 hour. (source: Guinness Book of World Records)

1986
First FBI agent convicted of espionage: Richard W. Miller for passing a classified document to the Soviets. He was given a life sentence.

1978
Garfield: The fat cat debuts in 40 newspapers; by May 1981 it was appearing in over 500.

1977
First American male saint: Roman Catholic Bishop John Nepomucene Neumann (1811-60) is canonized.

1973
Pete Rose and Willie Davis make their 2,000th career hits.

1953
First U.S. citizens executed for treason during peace time and the first married couple executed together in the U.S.: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. They were convicted - in a controversial trial - of selling top secret information to the Soviets.

1946
First televised heavyweight boxing championship fight: Joe Louis successfully defending his title against Billy Conn, broadcast by WNBT of New York City.

1939
First major U.S. city to ban pinball: Atlanta, Georgia imposes a fine of $20 and 30 days of public work.

1934
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is created. Its function is to regulate radio and television.

1930
First championship boxing match decided on a foul: Max Schmeling is awarded the heavyweight championship after Jack Sharkey had fouled him in the 4th round of their fight on June 12 at the New York City Polo Grounds. (Source: Famous First Facts)

1905
First motion picture theater (dedicated exclusively to the showing of motion pictures) opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1885
Statue of Liberty: The 151-foot high gift from the French people arrives at its present location in New York.

1867
First running of the Belmont Stakes: Ruthless, ridden by J. Gilpatrick, wins.

1865
Civil War - Juneteenth: News of the Emancipation Proclamation reaches Texas slaves by word of mouth. This event is celebrated yearly in the Texas area.

1846
First baseball game played under modern rules: The New York Baseball Club beats the New York Knickerbocker Club (23-1) at Hoboken, New Jersey. (Source: Famous First Facts)

1962
Paula Abdul, American singer, dancer.  TV: American Idol (judge).

1954
Kathleen Turner, American actress. Film: Body Heat (1981), Romancing the Stone (1984), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and War of the Roses (1989). TV: The Doctors (Nola Aldrich).

1953
Larry Dunn, American keyboardist, with Earth, Wind & Fire. Music: Shining Star (1975, #1, Grammy), Best of My Love (1977, #1), and After the Love has Gone (1979, #2, Grammy).

1951
Ann Wilson, American singer, with Heart. Music: Barracuda (1978) and Dog & Butterfly (1978).

1948
Phylicia Rashad, American actress, Clair Huxtable of The Cosby Show.

1947
Salman Rushdie, British author. His book The Satanic Verses prompted the Ayatollah Khomeini to place a $1,000,000 bounty on his life in 1989.

1936
Gena Rowlands, American actress. Film: A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Opening Night (1978, Berlin Film Festival Best Actress).

1915     d. 1994
Pat Buttram (Maxwell Emmett Buttram), American actor. TV: The Gene Autry Show (Gene's sidekick) and Green Acres (Mr. Haney).

1914     d. 1979
Lester Raymond Flatt, American bluegrass singer, with Earl Scruggs, Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1948), and the themes for The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction.

1908     d. 1994
Mildred Natwick, American Emmy-winning actress. TV: The Snoop Sisters (Gwendolyn Snoop).

1903     d. 1941
Henry Louis Gehrig, American Baseball Hall of Famer (1939). Record holder for the most consecutive games played (2,130 from 1925-39) and for the most major-league grand slams (23). He died of the disease which now bears his name.

1902     d. 1983
Anna M. Rosenberg, Hungarian-born American government official. She was the first woman awarded the Medal of Freedom (1945).

1897     d. 1975
Moe Howard, American comic actor, one of the original 3-Stooges.

1896     d. 1986
Wallis Warfield Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, American divorcee, for whom King Edward VIII in 1936 abdicated his throne to marry.  Famous quote: “A woman can't be too rich or too thin.”

1881     d. 1946
Jimmy Walker, American politician, New York Mayor (1925-32), nicknamed Beau James. He hosted the first regularly scheduled TV program (1931). He resigned as mayor after corruption in his administration was exposed.

1877     d. 1961
Charles Coburn, American Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and The More the Merrier (1943, Oscar).

1623     d. 1662
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, philosopher, physicist, one of the founders of the theory of probability and designed a mechanical computer, although it was never built.

1566     d. 1625
James I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1603-25), in 1604 he commissioned the creation of the King James Bible (completed in 1611).

1993     b. 1911
Sir William Golding, British Nobel-winning author. Writings: Lord of the Flies (1954) and Rights of Passage (1980).

1991     b. 1900
Jean Arthur (Gladys Greene), American actress, Film: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). TV: The Jean Arthur Show.

1977     b. 1925
Geraldine Brooks (Geraldine Stroock), American actress. TV: Bonanza (Adam's mother Elizabeth).

1966     b. 1886
Ed Wynn (Isaiah Edwin Leopold), American comedian. He starred in the Ziegfeld Follies (1914), was the Texaco Fire Chief (1932-39), and won the first Most Outstanding Live Personality Emmy (1949).

1956     b. 1874
Thomas John Watson Sr., American businessman. He took control of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. (1914) and turned it into the international-giant IBM.

1937     b. 1860
James Matthew Barrie, Scottish author. Writings: Peter Pan (1904).

1811     b. 1741
Samuel Chase, American Revolutionary leader, signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Supreme Court justice.

1794     b. 1732
Richard Henry Lee, 12th president of the Continental Congress (1784-85) and signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

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