Trivia Today - May 30

Events

1993 First blind woman to climb Mt. McKinley 54-year-old American Joni Phelps - blind since age 30 - reaches the summit. She and her two sons completed the climb in 16 days.

1992 Southfork the Ewing family ranch from the TV show Dallas is sold for $2.6 million to Rex Maughan.

1967 Evel Knievel jumps 16 cars on a motorcycle at Ascot Speedway in California.

1966 First Successful U.S. Soft Landing of a Manmade Object on the Moon Surveyor I is launched. It would land on June 2.

1951 Down You Go debuts on DuMont. It was one of only four shows to appear on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, DuMont).

1930 First woman to run 100 yards in under 11 seconds Stella Walsh in 10.8 seconds.

1922 The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., is dedicated. It is featured on the backs of U.S. 1¢ coin and $5 bill and houses the famous seated statue of Lincoln, created by Daniel Chester French.

1912 Indianapolis 500 Ralph De Palma was leading by five miles with four laps to go when he began having engine trouble. He and his passenger had to push the Mercedes the last five-eighths of a mile to the finish line for an 11th place finish. He would win the race in 1915.

1911 First running of the Indianapolis 500 won by Ray Harroun with an average speed of 74.59 mph.

1909 National Conference of the Negro led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

1901 Hall of Fame for Great Americans is dedicated, at New York University.

1870 Texas is readmitted to the Union.

1806 Future U.S. president Andrew Jackson shoots and kills Charles Dickinson in a duel. Jackson suffered a broken rib.

Births

1975 Michael Peter Fay American teenager, vandal. In 1994, he received four lashes with a rattan rod from Singapore authorities for spray painting cars and other vandalism.

1968 Zacarias Moussaoui French Al Qaeda member, "The 20th Hijacker." He was taken into custody by the FBI, several weeks before the September 11, 2001 attacks, after his flight school instructor expressed concerns about his motivation for taking lessons. In 2006, he was sentenced to life in prison.

1961 Ralph Carter American actor. TV: Good Times (Michael).

1958 Ted McGinley American actor. TV: The Love Boat (Ace the photographer), Married… With Children (Jefferson D'Arcy), and Hope & Faith (Charley Shanowski). Film: Revenge of the Nerds (1984, Stan Gable, Alpha Beta/President of Greek Council).

1940 David Ackroyd actor. TV: Another World (Dr. Dave Gilchrest) and Saturday Night Live.

1939 Michael J. Pollard (Michael J. Pollack), American actor. Film: Bonnie and Clyde (1967, C.W. Moss - the duo's dimwitted partner).

1936 Keir Dullea American actor. Film: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

1927 Clint Walker American actor. TV: Cheyenne (Cheyenne Bodie).

1926 Christine Jorgensen d. 1989 (George Jorgensen), American sex change recipient (1952). The first to go public.

1909 Benny Goodman d. 1986 (Benjamin David Goodman), American band leader, called "The King of Swing."

1908 Mel Blanc d. 1989 (Melvin Jerome Blanc), American cartoon voice, man of a thousand voices, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Barney Rubble to name just a few.

1846 Peter Carl Faberge d. 1920 Russian goldsmith, jeweler, created the Faberge eggs.

Deaths

1967 Claude Rains b. 1889 English actor. Film: The Invisible Man (1933, title role) and Casablanca (1942, the police chief).

1960 Boris Leonidovich Pasternak b. 1890 Russian author. Writings: Dr. Zhivago (1955). He rejected the 1958 Nobel Prize for literature after his nomination caused criticism from the Communist Party and his expulsion from the Soviet Writers union.

1912 Wilbur Wright b. 1867 American aviator. He and his brother Orville built and flew the first manned heavier-than-air flying machine (1903).

1806 Charles Dickinson b. ???? shot and killed in a duel with Andrew Jackson.

1778 Jean Francois Marie Voltaire b. 1694 French author, philosopher, to whom the quote "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" is attributed.

1574 Charles IX b. 1550 King of France (1560-74). Responsible for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572) in which thousands of Huguenots were killed.

1431 Joan of Arc b. 1412 (Jeanne D'Arc), French patriot. She led the French armies against the English. Condemned by the Church, she was burned at the stake. She was canonized in 1920.