Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

October 29

1992
Blind woman "sees": After 20 years of blindness, she was able to see dots of light with the aid of electrodes implanted in her brain.

1978
First $275,000 slot machine payoff: James Schelich lines up five 7s on the bottom row of a progressive slot machine in Los Vegas.

1975
First black president of the Girl Scouts: Dr. Gloria Dean Scott is elected. She served for three years.

1966
National Organization for Women: NOW is organized; their goal is true equality for women in America.

1964
The world's largest sapphire is stolen: The Star of India measuring 563.35 carats and 2.5 inches in diameter, is stolen along with 22 other gems from the American Museum of Natural History. It was eventually recovered.

1945
First U.S. made ball-point pen: It goes on sale at Gimbel's department store. A bargain at $12.50 each, they sold nearly 10,000 the first day.

1945
First Medal of Freedom awarded to a woman: Anna Rosenberg, a member of the Advisory Board of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, is awarded the honor.

1929
Black Tuesday: Stock Market Crash, marking the end of the Roaring '20s and the start of the great depression.

1923
The Charleston: The new dance makes its debut when Runnin' Wild opens on Broadway.

1863
Red Cross: Delegates from fourteen nations, led by Swiss philanthropist Henri Dunant, approve plans for an international organization to help the wounded in time of war.

1833
First college fraternity house: The Kappa Alpha Society of Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts is founded. They opened the first frat house in 1839.

1971
Winona Ryder (Winona Horowitz), American actress. Film: Beetlejuice (1988), Heathers (1989), Mermaids (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993, Dracula's bride).

1961
Randy Jackson, American singer, one of the lesser-known of Michael's brothers.

1948
Kate Jackson, American actress. TV: Charlie's Angels (Sabrina) and Scarecrow and Mrs. King (Mrs. King).

1947
Richard Dreyfuss, American Oscar-winning actor. Film: American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Goodbye Girl (1977, Oscar), and Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986).

1946
Peter Green (Peter Greenbaum), English guitarist, with Fleetwood Mac. He quit the group in 1970 due to his religious beliefs. Music: Black Magic Woman (1968) and Albatross (1969, #1 UK).

1925     d. 1985
John Haley "Zoot" Sims, American saxophonist. He played with Bobby Sherwood, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman.

1925     d. 1977
Geraldine Brooks (Geraldine Stroock), American actress. TV: Bonanza (Adam's mother Elizabeth).

1922
Neal Hefti, American composer, bandleader. He scored the themes for the films Barefoot in the Park (1967), The Odd Couple (1968), and the TV series Batman (1966).

1897     d. 1945
Paul Josef Goebbels, German Nazi leader, Hitler's propaganda minister. He killed his family and himself when the Allies entered Berlin.

1891     d. 1951
Fanny Brice, American actress, singer, dancer. She starred in the Ziegfeld Follies (1910-23). She also played Baby Snooks on radio and her life was the basis for the musical Funny Girl (1968).

1875     d. 1938
Marie, Queen of the Rumania (1922-38). She was the first reigning queen to visit the U.S. (1926).

1815     d. 1904
Daniel Decatur Emmett, American composer. He popularized Dixie (1859), which became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy. He also formed the first black-face minstrel troupe (1843).

1982     b. 1891
Joyce Clyde Hall, American businessman, founder of the Hallmark Greeting Card Company (1910). "When you care enough to send the very best."

1971     b. 1946
Duane Allman, American guitarist, with the Allman Brothers. He also duetted with Eric Clapton for Layla (1970).

1950     b. 1858
Gustav V, King of Sweden (1907-50). He maintained Sweden's neutrality during World Wars I and II.

1924     b. 1849
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, English-born American novelist. Writings: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) and The Secret Garden (1911).

1911     b. 1847
Joseph Pulitzer, American publisher. The terms of his will established the Pulitzer Prizes.

1901     b. 1873
Leon F. Czolgosz, American assassin. He was executed for assassinating Pres. McKinley.

1877     b. 1821
Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Confederate cavalry commander. He is considered the greatest cavalry commander in American history. He also founded the Ku Klux Klan during the reconstruction period after the Civil War.

1860     b. 1810
Joe Sweeney (Joel Walker Sweeney), Irishman, blackface minstrel performer, credited with popularizing the banjo. When he played it sounded like an entire band, earning him the title "Band Joe."

1618     b. circa 1552
Sir Walter Raleigh, English colonizer, poet. According to legend, he gained favor with Queen Elizabeth by spreading his coat across a puddle so she wouldn't get her shoes wet. He was executed by King James I, who suspected him of treason.

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