Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

November 10

1989
The Berlin Wall: German troops began dismantling the 28-year-old symbol of the cold war.

1977
First test-tube baby: Louise Joy Brown is conceived.

1975
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: The ore carrier sinks during a storm on Lake Superior. None of the 29 crew members survived. Gordon Lightfoot's 1976 #2 hit was based on this tragedy.

1951
First transcontinental direct-dial telephone service: Service begins, requiring only 18 seconds to make the connection.

1911
The Carnegie Foundation is established with a $25,000,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie to carry on his philanthropic work.

1871
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?": Henry Stanley finds Scottish explorer Frank Livingstone in Africa, prompting the famous query.

1808
Osage Treaty: The Osage Indians cede nearly all of what is now Missouri and Arkansas north of the Arkansas River with the signing of the treaty.

1799
Napoleon Bonaparte: The French military leader becomes the First Consul of France.

1775
U.S. Marine Corps: The military organization is established during the American Revolution.

1766
Rutger's University: Queen's College at New Brunswick is chartered, later changing its name to Rutger's University.

1959
MacKenzie Phillips, American actress. TV: One Day at a Time (Julie).

1956
Sinbad (David Adkins), American comic, actor. TV: The Sinbad Show.

1949
Donna Fargo (Yvonne Vaughn), American Grammy-winning country singer. Music: The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. (1972, #1, Grammy), Funny Face (1972, #1), Superman (1973, #1), and That Was Yesterday (1977, #1).

1948     d. 2005
Vincent Schiavelli, American actor. Film: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982, Mr. Vargas the biology teacher), Ghost (1990, the sad-eyed subway ghost). TV: The Corner Bar (Peter Panama, the first sustained gay character on network American TV). His distinctive looks were due to Marfan syndrome.

1948
Greg Lake, British bass player, singer, with Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Music: Lucky Man (1970), Tarkus (1971), Brain Salad Surgery (1974), and I Believe In Father Christmas (1975).

1935
Roy Scheider, American actor. Film: French Connection (1971), Jaws (1975), and All That Jazz (1979).

1925     d. 1984
Richard Burton (Richard Jenkins, Jr.), British Tony-winning actor. Film: Cleopatra (1963, Mark Antony), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). TV: Wuthering Heights (Heathcliff).

1919
Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian firearms designer, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle.

1893     d. 1960
John Phillips Marquand, American Pulitzer-winning author. Writings: The Late George Apley (1937, Pulitzer). He also created the Japanese detective Mr. Moto.

1889     d. 1967
Claude Rains, English actor. Film: The Invisible Man (1933, title role) and Casablanca (1942, the police chief).

1880     d. 1959
Sir Jacob Epstein, British sculpture, known for his controversial sculptures, including Venus (1917) and Adam (1939).

1728     d. 1774
Oliver Goldsmith, Irish poet, author. Writings: The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), The Deserted Village (1770), and She Stoops to Conquer (1773, one of the greatest comedies in English literature).

1683     d. 1760
George II, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1727-60).

1483     d. 1546
Martin Luther, German religious reformer. His stand on the Bible led to the formation of the Lutheran Church. He was excommunicated (1521) from the Roman Catholic Church for challenging the church's doctrines.

1992     b. 1921
Chuck Connors, American actor. TV: The Rifleman (Lucas McCain). Before acting he played for the Boston Celtics and became the first NBA player to shatter a backboard (1946). He went on to play baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.

1982     b. 1906
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, Soviet statesman, head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1964-82).

1938     b. 1881
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkish patriot, Father of the Turks, founder and first president of the Turkish Republic.

1843     b. 1756
John Trumbull, American soldier, painter of the American Revolution. Paintings: Signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Surrender of Cornwallis, The Resignation of Washington.

1549     b. ????
Paul III, Italian religious leader, 220th Pope (1534-49).

1241     b. ????
Celestine IV, Italian religious leader, 179th Pope (Oct. - Nov. 1241).

461     b. ????
Saint Leo I, Italian religious leader, 45th Pope (440-461). In 452 he convinced Attila to leave Italy without attacking Rome.

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