1645 Louis Jolliet Quebec-born explorer and cartographer. He studied for the priesthood, but left in 1667 to become a fur trader. In 1672, he set out, with Jesuit father Jacques Marquette, to see if the Mississippi River flowed into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific. By mid July 1673 they had followed the Mississippi River from its confluence with the Wisconsin to the mouth of the Arkansas, far enough south to prove it emptied into the Gulf
1756 John Loudon McAdam - Scottish roadmaking engineer and the inventor of the macadam road surface. He was later appointed surveyor of roads in Britain
1866 H.G. Wells - British novelist, historian and science fiction writer (The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Outline of History)
1902 Sir Allen Lane British publisher who pioneered paperback publishing, and founded Penguin Books
1912 Chuck Jones Cartoonist who directed, produced and wrote many of the classic Warner Brother cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn
.(The Rabbit of Seville, Whats Opera Doc?, Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening) He also produced and directed the classic Christmas cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas
1931 Larry Hagman - Actor (I Dream of Jeannie, Dallas, Ensign Pulver, In Harm's Way, Fail-Safe, Orleans, The Eagle has Landed) He is the son of actress Mary Martin
1934 Leonard Cohen Canadian singer/songwriter (Suzanne, Closing Time), poet (The Spice-Box of Earth, Death of a Lady's Man) and novelist (The Favourite Game, Beautiful Losers) Born in Montreal, he came from a wealthy Westmount family that owned a garment factory
1935 Henry Gibson - Comedian and actor (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Nashville, Evil Roy Slade, The Burbs, The Blues Brothers)
1940 Bill Kurtis Journalist and TV host (Investigative Reports, American Justice, Cold Case Files)
1941 Dickey Lee - Singer (Patches, I Saw Linda Yesterday, Never Ending Songs of Love)
1944 Fannie Flagg Actress (Harper Valley PTA, Grease, Five Easy Pieces) and author (Fried Green Tomatoes, Standing in the Rainbow, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man)
1945 Jerry (Jerome) Bruckheimer Producer (CSI, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Amazing Race, Without a Trace, Enemy of the State, Armageddon, Con Air, The Rock, Crimson Tide, The Ref, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop)
1947 Stephen King - Author (Pet Sematary, Christine, The Duel, Misery, The Stand, Carrie, It, The Langoliers)
1947 Donald Felder Guitarist and singer with The Eagles (One of These Nights, Lyin' Eyes, Best of My Love, New Kid in Town)
1950 Bill Murray Actor (Saturday Night Live, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Scrooged, Lost in Translation)
1957 Ethan Coen - Movie producer-writer (No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona) He is the brother of Joel Coen
1962 Rob Morrow - Actor (Northern Exposure, Quiz Show, Tattingers, Numb3rs)
1967 Faith Hill Country singer (Breathe, The Way You Love Me, Piece of My Heart, This Kiss, The Secret of Life)
1970 James Lesure Actor (Las Vegas, Mr. Sunshine, Lipstick Jungle, For Your Love)
1980 Autumn Reeser Actress (The O.C., No Ordinary Family, Entourage)
1983 Maggie Grace Actress (Lost, The Fog, Twelve Mile Road, Knight & Day)
Died this Day
1327 Edward II The deposed and imprisoned King of England. He was murdered with a red-hot poker in the dungeon of Berkeley Castle to ensure his son Edward III could succeed to the throne
1832 Sir Walter Scott Scottish historical novelist (Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake)
1904 Chief Joseph, age 64 Leader of the Nez Perce. He died on the Colville reservation in northern Washington. The whites had regarded him as a military genius, like Napoleon, but he was more of a diplomat than a warrior. He had been elected chief of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce Indians when he was only 31, and for six difficult years, struggled peacefully against the whites who coveted the Wallowa's fertile land in northeastern Oregon. In 1877, General Howard of the US Army warned that if the Wallowa and other bands of the Nez Perce did not abandon their land and move to the Lapwai Reservation within 30 days, his troops would attack. Some of the other Nez Perce chiefs were for resistance, but Chief Joseph convinced them to comply, rather than face war. He led his people on a perilous voyage across the flood-filled canyons to a campsite near the Lapwai Reservation. Unbeknownst to Chief Joseph, a band of 20 young men decided to take revenge on some of the more offensive white settlers in the region, sparking the Nez Perce War of 1877. Chief Joseph was no warrior, and opposed many of the actions of the Nez Perce war councils. His younger brother, Olikut, was far more active in leading the Nez Perce into battle, successfully outsmarting the US Army on several occasions as the war ranged over more than 1,600 miles of Washington, Idaho, and Montana territory. Nonetheless, military leaders and newspapers persisted in believing that since Chief Joseph was the most prominent Nez Perce spokesman and diplomat, he must also be their principal military leader
1936 Frank Hornby British toy manufacturer who created Meccano, Hornby model railways, and Dinky Toys
1998 Florence Griffith Joyner, age 38 - US Olympic gold medal track star, was found dead at her home in Mission Viejo, California
On this Day
1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army defeated the English at the Battle of Prestonpans in Scotland
1792 In Revolutionary France, the Legislative Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy and establish the First Republic. The measure came one year after King Louis XVI reluctantly approved a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power
1826 John By and contractor Thomas MacKay started to build the Rideau Canal at Ottawa. The project would take until 1832
1883 The first electric tram car in Paris went into service
1897 The New York Sun ran its famous editorial that answered a question from 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon: Is there a Santa Claus?
1903 The film, Kit Carson, opened in the US. It ran 21 minutes and is regarded as the first western
1915 Stonehenge and the surrounding 30 acres of land was sold by Sir Edmund Antrobus to Mr. C.H. Chubb for £6,600 at auction. Three years later Mr. Chubb presented it to the nation
1928 Canada introduced its first airmail stamp
1937 The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published
1938 Without warning, a powerful Category 3 hurricane slammed into Long Island and southern New England, causing 700 deaths and devastating coastal cities and towns. Also called the Long Island Express, the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century. The officially unnamed hurricane was born out of a tropical cyclone that developed in the eastern Atlantic. When the captain of a Brazilian freighter sighted the storm northeast of Puerto Rico, he radioed a warning to the US Weather Bureau. It was expected that the storm would make landfall in south Florida, and hurricane-experienced coastal citizens stocked up on supplies and boarded up their homes. On September 19, however, the storm suddenly changed direction and began moving north, parallel to the eastern seaboard. Charlie Pierce, a junior forecaster, was sure that the hurricane was heading for the Northeast, but the chief forecaster overruled him. It had been well over a century since New England had been hit by a substantial hurricane, and few believed it could happen again, as hurricanes rarely persisted after encountering the cold waters of the North Atlantic. With Europe on the brink of war, little media attention was given to the powerful hurricane at sea. There was no advanced meteorological technology, such as radar, radio buoys, or satellite imagery, to warn of the hurricane's approach. By the time the US Weather Bureau learned that the Category 3 storm was on a collision course with Long Island on the afternoon of September 21, it was too late for a warning. Along the south shore of Long Island, the sky began to darken and the wind picked up. Fishermen and boaters were at sea, and summer residents enjoying the end of the season were in their beachfront homes. Around 2:30 p.m., the full force of the hurricane made landfall, unfortunately around high tide. Surges of ocean water and waves 40 feet tall swallowed up coastal homes, pulling them into the swelling ocean. Winds exceeded 100 mph. Inland, people were drowned in flooding, killed by uprooted trees and falling debris, and electrocuted by downed electrical lines. At 4 p.m., the centre of the hurricane crossed the Long Island Sound and reached Connecticut. Rivers swollen by a week of steady rain spilled over and washed away roadways. In New London, a short circuit in a flooded building started a fire that was fanned by the 100 mph winds into an inferno. Much of the business district was consumed. The hurricane gained intensity as it passed into Rhode Island. Winds in excess of 120 mph caused a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet in Narragansett Bay, destroying coastal homes and entire fleets of boats at yacht clubs and marinas. The waters of the bay surged into Providence harbour around 5 p.m., rapidly submerging the downtown area of Rhode Island's capital under more than 13 feet of water, sweeping many people away. The hurricane then raced northward across Massachusetts, gaining speed again and causing great flooding. It hit Boston hard. In Milton, south of Boston, the Blue Hill Observatory recorded one of the highest wind gusts in history, at 186 mph. The hurricane lost intensity as it passed over northern New England, but by the time the storm reached Canada around 11 p.m. it was still powerful enough to cause widespread damage. The hurricane finally dissipated over Canada that night. All told, 700 people were killed by the hurricane, and some 700 people were injured. Nearly 9,000 homes and buildings were destroyed, and 15,000 damaged. Nearly 3,000 ships were sunk or wrecked. Power lines were downed across the region, causing widespread blackouts. Innumerable trees were felled, and 12 new inlets were created on Long Island. Railroads were destroyed and farms were obliterated. Total damages were $306 million
1957 Perry Mason, starring Canadian Raymond Burr, made its television debut on CBS, with The Case of the Restless Redhead
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