Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

November 23

1985
A previously unknown poem by William Shakespeare is discovered in the Oxford University library by an American scholar. It was written around 1594.

1981
U.S. federal government temporarily shuts down for the first time when Pres. Reagan vetoes a stopgap spending bill.

1963
Dr. Who: The British TV program debuts, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor.

1958
A Turkey for the President: Future President and first lady Ronald and Nancy Reagan portray an Indian couple in this Thanksgiving presentation of General Electric Theater.

1936
First issue of Life magazine.

1919
First play-by-play radio broadcast of a U.S. football game, Texas A&M beats Univ. of Texas (7-0).

1914
U.S. forces are withdrawn from Vera Cruz, Mexico, after Carranza replaced Huerta as president.

1889
First jukebox is installed, in San Francisco.

1893     d. 1964
Harpo Marx (Adolph Marx), American comedian, the nonspeaking, harp-playing, horn blowing, Marx Brother.

1887     d. 1969
Boris Karloff (William Henry Pratt), English horror actor. Stage: Arsenic and Old Lace (1941, Jonathan Brewster) and Peter Pan (1951, Captain Hook). Film: Frankenstein (1931, the monster) and The Mummy (1932, title role). TV: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, narrator).

1869     d. 1942
Valdemar Poulsen, Danish electrical engineer, invented the telegraphone (1898), the forerunner to the modern tape recorder and the arc transmitter (1902) used in radio.

1859     d. 1881
Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney), American juvenile delinquent. He was killed in New Mexico by County Sheriff Pat Garrett. He killed 21 men in his brief career.

1804     d. 1869
Franklin Pierce, 14th U.S. President (1853-57).

1749     d. 1800
Edward Rutledge, American politician, member of the first Continental Congress (1774) and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1221     d. 1284
Alfonso X, called "Alfonso the Wise," King of Le¢n and Castile (1252-82).

912     d. 973
Otto I, "Otto the Great," Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (962-73), first of the Saxon kings.

1992     b. 1903
Roy Claxton Acuff, American country singer, called the King of country.  Songs: Wabash Cannonball and The Great Speckled Bird. He was the first living artist to be elected (1962) the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1990     b. 1916
Roald Dahl, British author, coined the word "Gremlin" and wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (made into the 1971 movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory).

1958     b. 1883
Johnston McCulley, American author, creator of Zorro. Writings: The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Curse of Capistrano (1920).

1902     b. 1851
Walter Reed, American Army surgeon. He proved that Aëdes aegypti mosquitoes carry the yellow-fever virus (1900).

1890     b. 1817
William III, King of Holland (1849-90). In 1862 he decreed the end of slavery in the Dutch West Indies.

1814     b. 1744
Elbridge Gerry, 5th U.S. Vice-President (1813-14), signer of the Declaration of Independence, father of the "gerrymander."

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