Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

December 28

1992
Katie Beers: The 10-year-old girl is kidnapped by her next-door neighbor, who held her for 16 days in a dungeon he had built beneath his garage.

1978
Federal Labor Relations Authority is established.

1972
First U.S. stereo TV broadcast: WNEW-TV and WNET of New York air a 30-minute stereo program.

1908
Messina earthquake: 80,000 people are killed when the ancient town of Messina, Sicily is struck by the largest earthquake to ever strike Europe.

1897
Cyrano de Bergerac: French playwright Edmond Rostand's famous play is first performed and is an immediate success.

1895
First medical X-ray: Of a gunshot wound to the hand, in Vienna.

1869
Chewing gum: William Finley Semple is issued the first U.S. patent for chewing gum.

1846
Iowa becomes the 29th state.

1835
Second Seminole War: Florida Seminole Indians, protesting their forced removal, kill Major Dade and 100 of his men. Another group, led by Osceola, killed Gen. Wiley Thompson and four others.

1832
First U.S. vice-president to resign: John C. Calhoun resigns after a disagreement with Pres. Jackson. He then went on to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate.

1981
Elizabeth Jordon Carr, first test-tube baby born in the U.S.

1954
Denzel Washington, American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Cry Freedom (1987), Glory (1989, Oscar) and Mo' Better Blues (1990). TV: St. Elsewhere (Dr. Chandler).

1946
Edgar Winter, American albino singer, musician. Music: Frankenstein (1973, #1) and Free Ride.

1934
Maggie Smith, English Oscar-winning actress. Film: The Prime of Miss Jean Bodie (1969, Oscar, title role), A Private Function (1985), and A Room With a View (1986).

1929     d. 1970
Terry Sawchuk, American hockey goalie. He was Rookie of the Year (1950), Goaltender of the Year (1951-52, 54, 64), and is the all-time leader in wins (435) and shutouts (103).

1925
Hidlegarde Neff (Hidlegard Knef), German actress. Broadway: Silk Stockings (1955). Film: The Sinner (1951). During World War II, disguised as a man, she fought on the front lines and was captured by the Russians, but later escaped.

1922
Stan Lee (Stanley Lieber), American cartoonist, created The Fantastic Four (1961), The Amazing Spider-Man (1962) and The Hulk (1962).

1914     d. 1979
Lee Bowman, American actor. TV: Ellery Queen (title role).

1913
Lou Jacobi, Canadian actor. TV: Somerset (Mac Wells).

1908
Lew Ayres, American actor. Film: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Young Dr. Kildare (1938, title role).

1905     d. 1983
Earl "Fatha" Hines, American jazz pianist, "Father of Modern Jazz Piano." Music: My Monday Date, Caution Blues, Fifty-Seven Varieties, and Rosetta.

1905     d. 1974
Cliff Arquette, American actor. TV: The Charley Weaver Show (title role) and Hollywood Squares (guest).

1888     d. 1970
Martin Branner, American cartoonist, creator of Winnie Winkle, the Breadwinner (1920).

1856     d. 1924
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 28th U.S. President (1913-21). He suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1919 while still in office. Some claim that it was his wife who actually ran the government for the remainder of his term.

1990     b. 1944
Kiel Martin, American actor. TV: Hill Street Blues (Det. LaRue).

1987     b. 1951
Terry Dolan, homophobic co-founder of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC). He died of AIDS.

1984     b. 1925
Sam Peckinpah, American film director. Film: Ride the High Country (1962), The Wild Bunch (1969), Straw Dogs (1971), and The Osterman Weekend (1983).

1983     b. 1944
Dennis Wilson, American singer, with The Beach Boys. Music: Surfin' USA (1963), I Get Around (1964, #1), Help Me Rhonda, (1965, #1), and Good Vibrations (1966, #1). He drowned while swimming in Marina Del Rey, California; he should have stayed on the beach.

1963     b. 1904
A.J. Liebling, American author, famous for his quote "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one."

1946     b. 1862
Carrie Jacobs Bond, American composer. Music: I Love You Truly and A Perfect Day.

1937     b. 1875
Joseph-Maurice Ravel, French composer. Music: Boléro (1928).

1694     b. 1662
Mary II, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689-94). She died of smallpox.

1663     b. 1618
Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician, physicist. He discovering that the distance covered by a falling object was proportional to the square of the time of the fall and coined the word 'diffraction.'

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