Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

July 12

1984
Seatbelts: New York becomes the first state to require seatbelt usage for the driver, front-seat passengers, and children under the age of 10.

1984
Geraldine Ferraro is chosen as Walter Mondale's running mate in his unsuccessful bid for the presidency. She became the first woman nominated for vice-president by a major political party (Democratic).

1982
Royal Intruder: A 32-year-old man sneaks into Queen Elizabeth's bedroom at Buckingham Palace, where he and the queen just sat and talked for about 10 minutes.

1967
Race Riots: The riots in Newark, New Jersey begin. Six days of rioting left 26 dead and 1500 injured.

1962
First public performance by the Rolling Stones, at the Marquee Club in Soho, London.

1957
Smoking: Surgeon General Leroy Burney becomes the first U.S. federal official to acknowledge the connection between smoking and cancer. He himself was a smoker.

1920
Panama Canal: Formal dedication of the canal takes place. The total cost was $336,650,000.

1912
First feature-length film shown in the U.S.: Queen Elizabeth, made in France and starring Sarah Bernhardt, is given a special showing in New York City. It was released to the public the following month in Chicago.

1862
The Medal of Honor is authorized by Congress for noncommissioned Army officers and privates. It had been authorized for Navy personnel since 1861.

1843
Founder of the Mormons Joseph Smith receives a revelation allowing polygamy. He then took several additional wives. (Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church)

1951
Jamey Sheridan, American actor. TV: Shannon's Deal (Jack Shannon).

1951
Cheryl Ladd (Cheryl Stoppelmoor), American actress. TV: Charlie's Angels (Kris Munroe).

1948
Richard Simmons, American fitness guru, creator of "Deal a Meal" and "Sweating to the Oldies."

1948
Jay Thomas (Jon Terrell), American actor. TV: Cheers (Eddie LeBec) and Love & War (Jack Stein).

1937
Bill Cosby, American Emmy-winning comic actor. TV: I Spy (1965-68) and The Cosby Show (1984-).

1916     d. 1991
Ken Curtis (Curtis Gates), American actor. TV: Gunsmoke (Festus).

1915     d. 1985
Yul Brynner (Taidje Khan), Russian-born Oscar and Tony-winning actor. He portrayed the King of Siam in 4,625 Broadway performances of The King and I.

1909     d. 1993
"Curly" Joe DeRita, American comic, one of the Three Stooges. Replacing Joe Besser, he appeared in Have Rocket Will Travel (1959), Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961), and The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962).

1908     d. 2002
Milton Berle (Milton Berlinger), American comedian, known as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television." He got his start in advertising as the Buster Brown kid. TV: Batman (Louie the Lilac).

1895     d. 1983
Richard Buckminster Fuller, American architect, invented the geodesic dome.

1895     d. 1960
Oscar Hammerstein II, American lyricist, of Rogers and Hammerstein. Music: Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949, 1950 Pulitzer Prize for drama).

1854     d. 1932
George Eastman, American inventor, founder of the Eastman Kodak Company (1880). He patented the first practical roll film camera (Kodak, 1888).

1817     d. 1862
Henry David Thoreau, American poet, philosopher.

100 B.C.     d. 44 B.C.
Julius Caesar, Roman general, statesman. He was assassinated by Marcus Brutus; his fortune teller had warned: "beware the Ides of March."

2002     b. 1951
Edward Lee Howard, American CIA agent.  He was the first CIA officer to defect to the Soviet Union (1985).

1996     b. 1927
John Chancellor, American TV anchorman, commentator for NBC.

1990     b. 1925
Bill Burrud, American TV personality. TV: Animal Safari (host) and Safari to Adventure (host).

1989     b. 1902
Sidney Hook, American author, political philosopher.

1976     b. 1904
Ted Mack, American emcee, The Original Amateur Hour (1948-70).

1973     b. 1906
Lon Chaney Jr. (Creighton Chaney), American horror actor, known for his monster characters such as the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and the Mummy.

1935     b. 1859
Alfred Dreyfus, French army officer of Jewish descent. In 1894, he was of convicted of treason by an anti-Semitic military court. A national scandal erupted in 1897 when evidence surfaced indicating his innocence. He was again convicted, but was pardoned by the French president.

1934     b. 1877
Ole Evinrude, Norwegian inventor.  After rowing a boat to a picnic, he decided there had to be a better way and invented the outboard marine engine (1909).

1929     b. 1865
Robert Henri, American painter, teacher, one of "The Eight." Works: The Laughing Boy (1907) and Portrait of Mrs. Robert Henri (1911).

1910     b. 1877
Charles Stewart Rolls, English auto maker, aviator, co-founded the Rolls-Royce automobile company (1904). He was the first person to fly across the English Channel (1910). He was killed a month later at an air show making him the first English airplane fatality.

1892     b. 1819
Cyrus West Field, American financier, laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable (1858). It failed after only a month of operation. He failed again in a second attempt in 1865 before succeeding in 1866.

1880     b. 1817
Tom Taylor, English playwright. Writings: Our American Cousin (1858) which was being presented at Ford's Theater during Lincoln's assassination.

1834     b. 1798
David Douglas, Scottish botanist, for whom the Douglas fir tree is named.

1804     b. 1757
Alexander Hamilton, American statesman, the first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

1682     b. 1620
Jean Picard, French astronomer, regarded as the founder of modern astronomy in France. He was the first to measure the diameter of the Earth to a reasonable degree of accuracy. He calculated the diameter to be 3,959 miles (6372 km) as opposed to the current value of 3,950 miles (6357 km).

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