Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

June 29

1979
Moonraker premiers in the U.S., 11th in the James Bond series, it starred Roger Moore as 007.

1973
Federal Energy Office is established. It was created in response to the Arab oil embargo.

1972
Death penalty: The U.S. Supreme Court bans the death penalty, declaring it cruel and unusual punishment and therefore in violation of the 8th Amendment. This was overruled in 1976.

1966
Vietnam War: The U.S. begins bombing the North Vietnam cities of Hanoi and Haiphong for the first time.

1965
First major U.S. ground offensive during the Vietnam War, 3,000 troops attack 20 miles northeast of Saigon.

1962
First U.S. pay TV program: Sunrise at Campobello, starring Ralph Bellamy, is broadcast.

1961
First nuclear powered satellite: The U.S. launches Transit IV-A. It used a 4.7-pound plutonium-238 power source.

1956
Marilyn Monroe marries American playwright Arthur Miller.

1956
Highway Act signed, authorizing $33 billion for the construction of the U.S. interstate highway system.

1949
U.S. withdraws its last troops from Korea: They had been there since World War II.

1833
First patent for a revolver is issued, to David Colburn of New York, although the first revolver had been built by John Gill of North Carolina in 1829.

1767
Townshend Revenue Act is passed by the English Parliament, taxing tea and other imports.

1948
Fred Grandy, American actor, politician. TV: The Love Boat (Gopher). Politics: Iowa Congressman (R, 1986-).

1944
Gary Busey, American actor. Film: The Buddy Holly Story (1978) and Carny (1980).

1915
Ruth Warrick, American actress. Film: Citizen Kane (1941, Kane's first wife). TV: All My Children (Phoebe Tyler).

1865     d. 1986
Shigechiyo Izumi, Japanese centenarian, lived to be the world's oldest person, 120 years 237 days. (source: Guinness Book of World Records)

1861     d. 1939
William James Mayo, American surgeon. He and his brother, Charles Horace Mayo, co-founded the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (1915).

1858     d. 1928
George Washington Goethals, American engineer. He built the Panama Canal (1914) and was the first governor of the Canal Zone (1914-16).

1844     d. 1921
Peter I, King of Serbia (1903-21).

1397     d. 1479
John II, King of Aragon (1458-79) and Navarre (1425-79).

2003     b. 1907
Katharine Hepburn, American Oscar-Emmy-winning actress. Film: Morning Glory (1933, Oscar), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The African Queen (1951), and On Golden Pond (1981, Oscar). She teamed with Spencer Tracy for numerous films.

2002     b. 1928
Rosemary Clooney, American singer, actress. The 1978 TV movie Escape From Madness dramatized her confinement in a California mental hospital.

1995     b. 1920
Lana Turner (Julia Turner), American actress. Film: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and Peyton Place (1957).  In 1958, her gangster boyfriend was fatally stabbed by Turner's daughter.

1993     b. circa 1914
Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno, Italian-born American mob boss. In 1977, while he was head of the Los Angeles crime family, he became a government witness against the mob. His testimony contributed to the conviction of 26 mob members. He was the subject of the books The Last Mafioso and Vengeance is Mine.

1990     b. 1916
Irving Wallace, American novelist. His books have sold over 120,000,000 copies.

1978     b. 1928
Bob Crane, American actor. TV: Hogan's Heroes (Col. Robert Hogan).

1967     b. 1933
Jayne Mansfield (Vera Jayne Palmer), American actress, sex-symbol. Film: Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter (1955).

1941     b. 1860
Ignacy Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, statesman. He was the first prime minister (1919-20) of the newly independent Poland, although he resigned after ten months to resume his concert career.

1933     b. 1887
Fatty Arbuckle (Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle), American actor, director.

1882     b. 1803
Joseph Aloysius Hansom, English inventor. His taxi cab (1834) featured a suspended axle and seated the driver above and behind the passengers. It quickly became a favorite in England.

1861     b. 1806
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet.  She's famous for the line, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

1852     b. 1777
Henry Clay, American statesman, "The Great Compromiser."

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