This Day Trivia - feberuary 4th 2014

Events

2005 President Bush Speaking to a single mother of three with a mentally challenged child, "You work three jobs? …Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that."

1988 General Manuel Noriega The Panamanian leader is indicted by a Federal grand jury, charging that he assisted the Medellin drug cartel.

1985 Your Tax Dollars at work It's revealed that the Navy is paying $640 for $25 toilet seats.

1932 First Winter Olympics held in the U.S Pres. Roosevelt inaugurates the games in Lake Placid, New York.

1901 Carrie Nation The prohibitionist is arrested for her destruction of restaurants and saloons serving illicit liquor.

1887 Interstate Commerce Commission The government agency is established to regulate interstate surface transportation.

1861 Civil War The six states that had seceded from the Union meet to form the Confederate States of America. Five days later they elected Jefferson Davis as their president.

1789 George Washington is elected president with 100% of the electoral vote. He was the first and only president to do so.

Births

1949 Michael Beck American actor. TV: Houston Knights (Sgt. Levon Lundy).

1948 Frank Wills d. 2000 security guard.  He uncovered the Watergate break in when he noticed tape on a door at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. He played himself in the movie All the President's Men.

1948 Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier), American singer. Music: I'm 18 (1971) and Schools Out (1972, #1).

1947 Dan Quayle (James Danforth Quayle), 44th U.S. Vice-President (1989-93).

1945 David Brenner American comedian. TV: Hollywood Squares (panelist) and The Tonight Show (guest host).

1940 John Schuck American actor. Stage: Annie (1979, Daddy Warbucks). TV: McMillan and Wife (Sgt. Enright) and The Munsters Today (Herman).

1923 Conrad Bain Canadian actor. TV: Maude (1972-78, Dr. Arthur Harmon) and Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86, the father Philip Drummond).

1917 William Talman d. 1968 American actor. TV: Perry Mason (D.A. Hamilton Burger).

1916 Edward C. Platt d. 1974 American actor. TV: Get Smart (Chief).

1913 Rosa Parks d. 2005 American civil-rights leader. She helped start the civil rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man (1955).

1912 Byron Nelson d. 2006 (John Byron Nelson, Jr.), American golfer. He won a record 11 consecutive tournaments tournaments in 1945. This feat is chronicled in the book Byron Nelson: The Most Remarkable Year in the History of Golf.

1906 Clyde William Tombaugh d. 1997 American astronomer. He discovered the dwarf planet Pluto (1930). He also discovered nearly 800 asteroids.

1902 Charles Augustus Lindbergh d. 1974 American aviator, "Lucky Lindy." He was the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic (1927).

1841 Clément Ader d. 1926 French inventor. He is said to have made the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight (a batwing monoplane that flew 160 feet (50 meters) during secret military tests). However, his craft was not well controlled, leaving controlled flights to later aviators. Source: Myth Information: More Than 590 Popular Misconceptions, Fallacies, and Misbeliefs Explained!

1802 Mark Hopkins d. 1887 American educator. Pres. 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!"

Deaths

2005 Ossie Davis b. 1917 (Raiford Chatman Davis), American actor, civil rights activist. TV: B.L. Stryker (Oz Jackson) and Evening Shade (Ponder Blue and narrator).

1987 Liberace b. 1919 (Wladziu Valentino Liberace), American flamboyant pianist.  He captivated audiences with his extravagant costumes and elaborate candelabra.  He was one of the first major celebrities to die of AIDS.

1983 Karen Ann Carpenter b. 1950 American singer with the Carpenters. She died of a heart attack induced by anorexia nervosa. Music: We've Only Just Begun (1970, #2) and Rainy Days and Mondays (1971, #2).

1894 Adolphe Sax b. 1814 Belgian instrument maker. He patented the saxophone (1846).

999 Gregory V b. circa 970 German-born religious leader, 138th Pope (996-999). He was the first German pope.

708 Sisinnius b. ???? religious leader, 87th Pope (Jan. - Feb. 708).