Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

September 9

2005
Hurricane Katrina: "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" - House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), to three young hurricane evacuees at the Houston Astrodome.

1993
Suicide Doctor - Death #19: Jack Kevorkian assists in the death of 73-year-old bone cancer patient, Donald O'Keefe.

1975
Viking II launched towards Mars.

1971
Attica Prison Riot: Prisoners revolt at a New York state prison killing a guard. Forty-two people (including nine hostages) were killed four days later when 1,000 police were sent in to end the riot.

1968
First black male to win a major tennis title: Arthur Ashe wins the men's singles division of the first U.S. Open championship.

1967
George of the Jungle cartoon debuts on ABC. "Watch out for that tree!"

1965
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is established.

1956
Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, singing Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog. He was filmed from the waist up only.

1943
World War II: The Allies land in Italy, starting the first Allied invasion of the European mainland.

1919
1500 Boston policeman go on strike, leading to riots.

1895
The American Bowling Congress is formed. Its purpose was to promote the sport.

1850
California becomes the 31st state.

1789
Bill of Rights: House of Representatives recommends the adoption by the states of 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten were adopted, becoming the Bill of Rights.

1776
The name "United States" is adopted by the Continental Congress.

1502
Columbus sets sail on his fourth voyage to the "New World."

1952
David Allan Stewart, British singer with the Eurythmics. Music: Sweet Dreams (1982, #1).

1952
Angela Cartwright, English-born actress. TV: Lost in Space (Penny Robinson).

1951
Tom Wopat, American actor. TV: Dukes of Hazzard (Luke Duke).

1951
Michael Keaton (Michael Douglas), American actor. Film: Night Shift (1982), Beetlejuice (1988), and Batman (1989, title role).

1949
Joe Theismann, American football player.

1946
Billy Preston, American singer, songwriter. Music: Will It Go Round in Circles (1973) and Nothing from Nothing (1974).

1925
Cliff Robertson, American Oscar-Emmy-winning actor. Film: Charly (1968, Oscar for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped person).

1919
"Jimmy the Greek" Snyder (Demetrius George Synodinos), American oddsmaker.

1899
Neil Hamilton, American actor. TV: Batman (Commissioner Gordon).

1890     d. 1980
Colonel Sanders (Harland David Sanders), American restauranteur, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (1956).

1814     d. 1895
Royal Earl House, American inventor. He patented a printing telegraph (1846), and was the first to use stranded wire for telegraph lines.

1754     d. 1817
William Bligh, English naval officer, his crew on the HMS Bounty mutinied (1789), setting him adrift for 4,000 miles.

1999     b. 1924
Ruth Roman (Norma Roman), American actress.  She played the title role in the 1945 thirteen-episode serial Jungle Queen. TV: Knots Landing (Sylvia Lean).

1997     b. 1907
Burgess Meredith, American actor. TV: Batman (the Penguin), The Twilight Zone (1959, Time Enough at Last - The book lover who finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war). Film: Rocky (1976, Mickey, Rocky's trainer). He was blacklisted from films by Senator Joseph McCarthy hearings in the 1950s.

1993     b. 1920
Helen O'Connell, American big band singer, popularized the songs Green Eyes, Tangerine, and I Remember You. She hosted the Miss Universe pageant for nine years.

1980     b. 1920
John Howard Griffin, American author. His best-seller Black Like Me (1961) was based on his travels through the South after chemically darkening his skin to appear as a black man.

1978     b. 1892
Jack Leonard Warner, American film executive, co-founder of Warner Bros. Pictures (1923).

1976     b. 1893
Mao Tse-tung, Chinese Communist leader, "Founding Father" of the People's Republic of China.

1976     b. 1899
Consuelo Northrop Bailey, American lawyer, politician, first woman to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court (1931) and first woman lieutenant governor (1954, Vermont).

1915     b. 1850
Albert Goodwill Spalding, American baseball player. As manager of the Chicago club, he won the first National League Pennant (1876). He and his brother founded the sporting goods company bearing their name (1876).

1583     b. circa 1539
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, English explorer, navigator. He established the first English colony in North America (1583, St. Johns, Newfoundland).

1513     b. 1473
James IV, King of Scotland (1488-1513), outlawed golf (1491), although he later became a golfer himself.

1087     b. circa 1027
William the Conqueror, King of England (1066-87).

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