Today's Trivia and What Happened on June 17

What word is easy to spell, but hard to say?

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"Sorry."

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Quote: A woman can't be too rich or too thin. - Wallis Warfield Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

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What Happened On

O.J. Simpson Slow Speed Chase go to Video for O.J. Simpson Slow Speed Chase

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O.J. Simpson Slow Speed Chase

June 17, 1994

Football Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman. Blood stains had been found in his home and in his car. Simpson had promised to turn himself in, but instead led police on a "slow-speed chase" across California. More than 90 million people watched live as Simpson in a white Bronco driven by friend Al Cowlings and followed by police cars and helicopters slowly made its way to Simpson's home where he surrendered.
Simpson was later found not guilty of the crime in what would be called "The Trial of the Century."

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Bible Reading Banned in Public Schools

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Bible Reading Banned in Public Schools

June 17, 1963

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools is unconstitutional (Abington School District v. Schempp). School prayer had been banned the previous year. One of the plaintiffs, William J. Murray, claimed his refusal to participate in Bible readings at public school resulted in bullying that was condoned by school administrators.
In an ironic twist, seventeen years later in 1980 Murray converted to Christianity and eventually became a Baptist minister. His mother, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, went on to found the organization American Atheists. She was murdered by a former employee of American Atheists.

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Richard H. Lawler Richard H. Lawler

Richard H. Lawler Richard H. Lawler
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First Human Kidney Transplant

June 17, 1950

American physician Dr. Richard H. Lawler implants a kidney from a deceased woman into a patient whose diseased left kidney had been removed due to polycystic kidney disease. This was the first time a vital human organ had ever been transplanted from one person to another. The transplanted kidney only functioned for a few months after which surgeons re-opened her surgical incision to discover her body's immune system had rejected the transplanted kidney. The 44-year-old female patient lived five more years before dying of heart disease.
Lawler was denounced at the time by both the medical and religious community. The religious community in particular denounced the idea that you could take tissue from a dead person and put it someone who was alive, and it would come back to life.
Lawler was eventually recognized for pioneering organ transplant surgery.

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Ballpoint Pen

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Ballpoint Pen

June 17, 1943

The first commercially successful ball-point pen is patented, by László Biró. While working as Hungarian newspaper editor, he noticed that printer's ink dried quickly leaving the paper dry and smudge free and would make a good ink for writing pens, which often left wet smudges on the paper. However, the ink was too thick for use in a typical fountain pen. So, he developed a ball tip that was free to turn in a socket, and would pick up ink from a cartridge as it turned and then deposit the ink on the paper. He originally patented his pen in Paris in 1938, but had to flee to Argentina due to the Nazis. See U.S. Patent 2390636A.
The first patent for a ballpoint pen was issued in 1888, but it and others that followed tended to clog, overflow, and not deliver the ink evenly and were not commercially successful.

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Houdini vs. Sherlock Holmes

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Houdini vs. Sherlock Holmes

June 17, 1922

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's wife performs a séance for Harry Houdini in which Houdini's deceased mother sends him a message. Houdini felt that the message couldn't have been from his mother since it was in English (a language she barely spoke and never used with her son). Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) was a believer in mysticism, fairies, and psychic powers. Houdini famously made it a life mission to debunk such beliefs. Doyle and Houdini had been close friends for years. This event created a rift between the two that even included threats of lawsuits as Houdini went on to debunk Doyle's favorite mediums.

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Statue of Liberty

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Statue of Liberty

June 17, 1885

The unassembled 151-foot-high gift from the French people arrives in New York. The French donated the Statue of Liberty, but the U.S. was responsible for building its pedestal. In 1884, the governor of New York Grover Cleveland vetoed a bill to provide $50,000 for the project. An attempt the following year to have Congress provide the $100,000 necessary to complete the project also failed. The New York committee, with only $3,000 in the bank, was unable to build the pedestal. With the project in jeopardy, other American cities offered to pay the full cost of erecting the statue in return for relocating it to their city. However, publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World, started a donation drive that drew more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar, raising $102,000. With those funds, construction of the pedestal began.
Ironically, Grover Cleveland who vetoed the funding for the pedestal while governor of New York, later became U.S. President and presided over its dedication in 1886, which included New York's first ticker-tape parade.
The pedestal would be inscribed with the poem, by Emma Lazarus, containing the famous lines,
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

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Tallest Married Couple

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Tallest Married Couple

June 17, 1871

Anna Swan at 7 feet 11 inches (2.42 m) tall marries Martin Van Buren Bates at 7 feet 7.5 inches (2.324 m).

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Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!

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Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!

June 17, 1775

During the American Revolution Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill), colonial leaders declare, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Although they suffered many more casualties, the British won the battle.

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First Woman to Command an Operational U.S. Air Force Missile Command

June 17, 1993

Lt. Col. Patricia Fornes is sworn in as commander of the 740th Missile Squadron at Minot Air Force Base. The squadron had been commanded by her father from 1969 to 1971.

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Watergate

June 17, 1972

Five men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex.

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Voyage of the Damned

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Voyage of the Damned

June 17, 1939

The German liner St. Louis arrives in Belgium. It had been on a month-long voyage carrying more than 900 Jews attempting to escape the Nazis by traveling from Germany to Cuba. All but 28 passengers were turned away by the Cuban, U.S., and Canadian governments and returned to Europe where many died in the Holocaust. These events were the basis of the 1976 film Voyage of the Damned.

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Earhart just prior to flight Earhart just prior to flight

Earhart just prior to flight Earhart just prior to flight
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First Transatlantic Flight by a Woman

June 17, 1928

Amelia Earhart takes off in the Friendship, completing the trip following day. She didn't pilot the flight, later commenting, "Stultz did all the flying - had to. I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes. …maybe someday I'll try it alone," which she did in 1932.

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Bunker Hill Monument

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Bunker Hill Monument

June 17, 1843

The Bunker Hill Monument is completed and dedicated, with an address given by Daniel Webster. The 221-foot (67 m) granite obelisk was erected between 1825 and 1843 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and commemorated the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought June 17, 1775 during the American Revolution.
It was during this battle that colonial leaders declared, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Although they suffered many more casualties, the British won the battle.
When construction of the Bunker Hill Monument stalled, Sarah Josepha Hale (the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb) raised $30,000 for its completion.

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Birthdays

Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky go to Video for Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky

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This is a birthday

Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky

Born June 17, 1882 d. 1971

Russian composer. Music: The Firebird, The Rite of Spring, and Petrushka.

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George Cormack

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Inventor of Wheaties

George Cormack

Born June 17, 1870 d. 1953

American inventor of Wheaties cereal (1921). Originally called "Washburn's Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes," the name "Wheaties" was chosen by a company-wide naming contest. They were invented after a clinician working for the Washburn Crosby Company (later General Mills) accidentally spilled wheat gruel onto a hot stove, transforming it into wheat flakes. Cormack, the head miller, developed the process to make the flakes strong enough to withstand packaging.
Future U.S. President Ronald Reagan was doing play-by-play recreations of Chicago Cubs baseball games and in 1937 was selected as the most popular Wheaties announcer in the nation. He was awarded a trip to California, where he took a screen test and began his movie career.

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This is a birthday

Mark Linn-Baker

Born June 17, 1954

American actor. TV: Perfect Strangers (Larry). Film: My Favorite Year (1982, narrator Benjy Stone)

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This is a birthday

Joe Piscopo

Born June 17, 1951

American comedian. TV: Saturday Night Live and beer commercials.

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Robert Chance Browne

Born June 17, 1948

American cartoonist. Artist for Hi and Lois (1989‑), which he took over after his father, Dik Browne, died.

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Barry Manilow Photo Credit: BECKER matt@melodicrockconcerts.com

Barry Manilow Photo Credit: BECKER matt@melodicrockconcerts.com
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Barry Manilow (Barry Alan Pincus)

Born June 17, 1943

American Emmy-Tony-Grammy-winning singer. Music: Mandy (1975, #1), I Write the Songs (1976, #1), and he sang the McDonald's jingle You Deserve a Break Today.

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John Hersey

Born June 17, 1914 d. 1993

Chinese-born American Pulitzer-winning author, journalist. Writings: A Bell for Adano (1944, Pulitzer).

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Ralph Bellamy

Born June 17, 1904 d. 1991

American Tony-winning actor. Stage: Sunrise at Campobello (1958, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Tony Award), The Winds of War (President Franklin D. Roosevelt), Rosemary's Baby (1968, evil doctor), Trading Places (1983, conniving billionaire), and as Ellery Queen in the films of the 1940s.

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Edward I

Born June 17, 1239 d. 1307

King of England (1272-1307).

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Deaths

Rodney King

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Rodney King

Died June 17, 2012 b. 1965

Los Angeles police punching bag. In 1991, he was videotaped being beaten by police officers after a high speed auto chase. The acquittal of four officers charged in the incident led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
He married one of the jurors from his civil suit against the city of Los Angeles, in which he won $3.8 million dollars.
King drowned in his swimming pool. Toxicology reports showed a combination of alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana in his system, which along with a heart condition may have triggered a cardiac arrhythmia, leaving him unable to save himself.

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Cyd Charisse

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Cyd Charisse (Tula Ellice Finklea)

Died June 17, 2008 b. 1922

American dancer, actress. Film: Singin' in the Rain (1952).

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Thomas S. Kuhn

Died June 17, 1996 b. 1922

American science historian. His book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), was one of the most influential books in 20th-century social sciences, humanities, and philosophy.

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Swale

Died June 17, 1984 b. ????

racehorse, Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby winner.

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Zerna Addis Sharp

Died June 17, 1981 b. 1889

American author. She created the Dick and Jane primary readers. "Run Spot run. See Spot run."

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Mark Hopkins

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Mark Hopkins

Died June 17, 1887 b. 1802

American educator. U.S. President James A. Garfield once commented, "A pine bench, with Mark Hopkins at one end of it and me at the other, is a good enough college for me!"

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James Starley

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Father of the Bicycle Industry

James Starley

Died June 17, 1881 b. 1830

English inventor. He is considered the father of the bicycle industry. He also invented the open differential.

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John Brown Russwurm

Died June 17, 1851 b. 1799

American publisher. He co-published the first Negro newspaper in American (1827, Freedom's Journal).

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Adeodatus II

Died June 17, 676 b. ????

Italian religious leader, 77th Pope (672-676).

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