Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

September 30

1993
Earthquake strikes India: The worst earthquake since the 1930s strikes central India, killing more than 20,000 people.

1992
Largest U.S. naval base in Asia closes: Subic Bay in the Philippines.

1982
Cheers debuts on NBC.

1981
U.S. national debt reaches $1 trillion. (source: Guinness Book of World Records)

1970
The New American Bible is published in its entirety. It was the first Bible translated directly into English from the original text under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Church.

1960
The 2,343rd and final episode of Howdy Doody, so that's Clarabell's big surprise.

1960
The Flintstones: The stone-age cartoon debuts - "Yaba, Daba, Dooo!"

1958
The Rifleman debuts on ABC, with Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain.

1951
The Red Skelton Show debuts on NBC.

1936
First around-the-world airplane passenger race: Three reporters depart from Lakehurst, New Jersey. Using only commercial flying routes, Herbert Roslyn Ekins was the first to return on October 19th.

1911
First movie stuntman is hired, Lt. H.H. Arnold as a stand-in for The Military Scout.

1906
New York Central Railroad starts using electric trains.

1882
First U.S. hydroelectric power plant: A single dynamo, powering 180 ten-candle-power lights, opens on the Fox River near Appleton, Wisconsin.

1846
First successful tooth extraction using anesthesia: Performed by Dr. William Morton using ether.

1964
Crystal Bernard, American actress. TV: Happy Days (K.C. Cunningham), It's a Living (Amy), and Wings (Helen).

1953
Victoria Tennant, English actress. Film: All of Me (1984) and L.A. Story (1991). TV: The Winds of War (Pamela Tudsbury).

1947     d. 1977
Marc Bolan (Mark Feld), English musician, lead singer for T-Rex. Music: Bang a Gong (1971, #1 Britain) and Jeepster (1971, #2 Britain). He died in a car accident.

1935
Johnny Mathis, American singer, and world-class high jumper. His hits span across 30 years with more than 60 gold and platinum record. Music: Too Much, Too Little, Too Late (1978, #1).

1931
Angie Dickinson (Angeline Brown), American actress. TV: Police Woman.

1924     d. 1984
Truman Capote, American author. Writings: In Cold Blood (1965). He also won an Emmy for A Christmas Memory (1966).

1921
Deborah Kerr (Deborah Kerr-Trimmer), Scottish actress. Film: From Here to Eternity (1953) and The King and I (1956, Anna).

1882     d. 1945
Hans Geiger, German physicist, inventor of the Geiger counter (1908). He also helped to prove that the atom is composed of a dense nucleus surrounded by electrons (1913).

1861     d. 1932
William Wrigley Jr., American businessman. He founded the Wrigley Co. (1891), which first sold soap and baking powder and then of course chewing gum (1892).

106 B.C.     d. 48 B.C.
Pompey the Great, Roman general. With Caesar and Crassus, he formed the first triumvirate (60 B.C.). In 49 B.C. he began the civil war against Caesar, in which he was defeated and killed by one of his old centurions while fleeing to Egypt.

1985     b. 1900
Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist. He invented the Richter Scale (1935) for measuring earthquakes.

1978     b. 1903
Edgar Bergen (Edgar John Bergren), American ventriloquist with Mortimer Snerd and Charlie McCarthy.

1976     b. 1912
Paul Dehn, British Oscar-winning playwright, screenwriter. He wrote four Planet of the Apes sequels and co-scripted Goldfinger (1964).

1955     b. 1931
James Dean, American actor. He starred in only three films, of which only East of Eden (1955) was released before his death. His other films were Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). His first job in TV (1952) was testing stunts for Beat the Clock.

1870     b. 1817
William Allen Miller, English scientist. He performed the first trustworthy chemical analysis of stars.

1630     b. ????
John Billington, first criminal executed by the English colonists. He was hanged for murder.

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