Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

September 14

2003
Cheney and Halliburton: On NBC's Meet the Press, Cheney said, "And since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company [Halliburton], gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." But the vice president conveniently forgot to mention that he continues to receive from the company deferred salary of over $150,000 per year while maintaining 433,333 shares of unexercised stock options. (source)

1981
Entertainment Tonight debuts.

1975
First American canonized: Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821) is canonized by Pope Paul VI. She founded the U.S. branch of the Sisters of Charity (1809).

1959
First manmade object to strike the Moon: Soviet Lunik 2, launched two days earlier, strikes the Moon.

1901
Youngest U.S. president: 42-year-old Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in. (Kennedy, at age 43, was the youngest elected president.)

1901
First Bodybuilding Contest: It was organized by Eugene Sandow and held in the Royal Albert Hall, London. The judges included Sandow and and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

1814
The Star-Spangled Banner: Francis Scott Key, after seeing the American flag flying following the British bombarding of Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812, writes what will become the national anthem.

1752
Gregorian calendar is adopted by Great Britain: This included the American colonies. The previous day had been September 2. Also, New Year's Day was moved from March 25th to January 1st.

1963
Cathy, Jimmie, Maggie, Margie, and Mary Ann Fischer, American quintuplets.

1959
Mary Crosby, American actress, Bing's daughter. TV: Dallas (Kristin).

1956
Joe Penny, English actor. TV: Jake and the Fatman (Jake).

1954
Barry Cowsill, American singer, guitarist, member of the singing family The Cowsills. Music: The Rain The Park And Other Things (1967, #2). They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family.

1951
Mary Fleener, American underground cartoonist, creator of Hoodoo.

1947
Jon "Bowser" Bauman, singer with Sha Na Na.

1921
Constance Baker Motley, American judge, the first black woman judge of a federal district court (1966, New York).

1915
John Dobson, American astronomer, "The Pied Piper of Astronomy." He co-founded the Sidewalk Astronomers and invented the Dobsonian telescope, an inexpensive, easy-to-build telescope. (source: How and Why to Make a User-Friendly Sidewalk Telescope)

1914
Clayton Moore, American actor, circus performer. TV: The Lone Ranger (kemo sabe).

1899     d. 1973
Norman Chandler, American newspaper publisher. As publisher of the Los Angeles Times (1945-60), he built it into the nation's second largest daily newspaper.

1883     d. 1966
Margaret Sanger, American birth-control advocate. She coined the term "birth control" (1914) and opened the first birth-control clinic in the U.S. (for which she was promptly arrested).

1867     d. 1944
Charles Dana Gibson, American illustrator, creator of the "Gibson Girl," which idealized the true American girl.

1742     d. 1798
James Wilson, Scottish-born American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention of 1787, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1982     b. 1929
Grace Patricia Kelly, American Oscar-winning actress. She became the Princess of Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier III, making her the only princess to have received an Oscar.

1929     b. 1871
Jesse Lynch Williams, American playwright. His Why Marry? (1917) was the first play to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama.

1927     b. 1877
Isadora Duncan (Dora Angela Duncan), American dancer, pioneer of interpretative dance. Her emphasis on "free dance" made her a precursor of modern dance. She died when her scarf got caught in the spokes of the automobile she was riding in and broke her neck.

1901     b. 1843
William McKinley, 25th U.S. President (1897-1901). He was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz. His portrait graces the U.S. $500 bill.

1898     b. 1855
William Seward Burroughs, American inventor. He invented the recording adding machine (1892).

1852     b. 1769
Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), British general, prime minister (1828-30). He defeated Napoleon at Waterloo (1815).

1851     b. 1789
James Fenimore Cooper, first major American novelist, The Last of the Mohicans (1826).

1836     b. 1756
Aaron Burr, 3rd U.S. Vice-President (1801-05). Killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel during his vice-presidency (1804). He was tried and acquitted for treason against the U.S. in 1807.

1788     b. 1740
John Penn, American lawyer, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1638     b. 1607
John Harvard, English scholar. As he was dying he bequeathed his library and half his estate to a new college being formed. It was named Harvard in his honor.

1523     b. 1459
Adrian VI, Dutch-born religious leader, 218th Pope (1522-23), the only Dutch pope.

1321     b. 1265
Dante Alighieri, Italian poet. Writings: The Divine Comedy (1307-21).

891     b. ????
Stephen V, Italian religious leader, 110th Pope (885-891).

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