Today's Puzzle
A man runs from home. He runs a ways and then turns left, runs the same distance and turns left again, runs the same distance and turns left again, runs the same distance and arrives back at home, where he encountered two masked men. Who were the masked men?
What Happened On
Yul Brynner in the original production of The King and I (1954)
Yul Brynner in the original production of The King and I (1954)
The King and I
June 30, 1985
Yul Brynner's 4,625th and last Broadway performance as the King of Siam in The King and I. He began performing the role in 1951. Brynner would die less than four months later.
First Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
June 30, 1967
The first Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is held on what was designated the 100th anniversary of the invention of the hot dog. It was won by 400-pound Walter Paul, a 32-year-old truck driver, who ate 127 hot dogs in an hour.
Corvette
June 30, 1953
The first Chevrolet Corvette is produced. It was the first plastic-laminated fiberglass sports car. White with red interior and black top was the only color combination offered. It was only offered with a six cylinder engine and the side windows were removable, as opposed to roll-up windows and it didn't have exterior door handles.
Three hundred were produced with a base price of $3,498.
(left to right) Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain
(left to right) Bardeen, Shockley, and Brattain
The Transistor
June 30, 1948
The invention of the transistor is announced and demonstrated by Drs. William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter H. Brattain of Bell Laboratories. It would replace the vacuum tube and lead the way to integrated circuits and the modern electronic world.
Trees knocked over by the blast
Trees knocked over by the blast
The Tunguska Mystery
June 30, 1908
A 12½ megaton explosion occurs in Central Siberia, Russia. The cause is undetermined, although the common belief is an asteroid or comet burst in the sky. The energy of the blast was about 1,000 times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and knocked people off their feet hundreds of miles away. This is the largest impact event on Earth in recorded history. There were no known human casualties.
Garfield (center right) leaning after being shot
Garfield (center right) leaning after being shot
President Garfield's Assassin Executed
June 30, 1882
Charles J. Guiteau is hanged for the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield. Guiteau was angry with Garfield for rejecting his various job applications. He shot Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881. Garfield died two months later from infections related to the injury.
26th Amendment
June 30, 1971
26th Amendment ratified, lowering the voting age to 18.
Night of the Long Knives
June 30, 1934
Over the next several days Adolf Hitler's opponents are killed or imprisoned. The list was made by Heinrich Himmler.
Birthdays
Photo Credit: Toglenn
Photo Credit: Toglenn
Mike Tyson
Born June 30, 1966
American boxer. World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. In 1986 he became the youngest heavyweight champion ever. He was convicted (1992) and sentenced to prison for raping an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant.
Quote: Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth.
Susan Hayward (Edythe Marrener)
Born June 30, 1917 d. 1975
American Oscar-winning actress. Film: I Want To Live (1958). Her death was attributed to radiation exposure received from an A-bomb test near the filming of the movie The Conqueror in 1953. By 1980, of the 220 members of the cast and crew, 91 of them had developed some form of cancer and 46 had died of the disease.
Lena Horne
Born June 30, 1917 d. 2010
American singer, actress. She was the first black person to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio.
William Almon Wheeler
Born June 30, 1819 d. 1887
American politician. 19th U.S. Vice-President (1877-81), U.S. House of Representatives (New York, 1861-63, 1869-77). When Roscoe Conkling, a Senator and a political boss, offered, "Wheeler, if you will act with us, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York to which you may not reasonably aspire." Wheeler declined with, "Mr. Conkling, there is nothing in the gift of the State of New York which will compensate me for the forfeiture of my self-respect."
Alberta King Assassin
Marcus Wayne Chenault, Jr.
Born June 30, 1951 d. 1995
American Assassin. He shot and killed Alberta King (1974, mother of Martin Luther King, Jr.) while she was playing The Lord's Player on the organ during a church service. Deacon Edward Boykin also died in the incident.
Chenault said that his mission was to kill Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., but he shot his wife Mrs. King instead because she was close to him and that he had acted out of hatred for Christianity and because his god had told him to.
Robert Ballard
Born June 30, 1942
American oceanographer. Discovered the remains of the RMS Titanic.
Nancy Dussault
Born June 30, 1936
American actress. TV: Good Morning America (the original co-host) and Too Close for Comfort (Muriel).
Harry Blackstone Jr.
Born June 30, 1934 d. 1997
American magician.
June Valli
Born June 30, 1928 d. 1993
American singer. Music: Crying in the Chapel (1953). TV: The Andy Williams and June Valli Show (1957) and the singing voice on the Chiquita banana commercials.
John Gay
Born June 30, 1685 d. 1732
English poet. Best known for The Beggar's Opera (1727).
Charles VIII
Born June 30, 1470 d. 1498
King of France (1483-98).
Deaths
One-Armed MVP Baseball Player
Pete Gray (Peter James Wyshner)
Died June 30, 2002 b. 1915
American one-armed pro baseball player. Having lost his right arm as child - he was a right-hander - he learned to bat and field with his left arm. Known as the "One-Armed Wonder," he batted a .218 as an outfielder for St. Louis (1945) and was the Southern Association's 1944 MVP. The TV movie A Winner Never Quits (1986) was based on his life story.
Chet Atkins
Died June 30, 2001 b. 1924
American guitarist, Grammy-winning, Country Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. He sold over 30 million records and is credited with creating the "Nashville sound." He initially had difficulty learning the electric guitar because his childhood home didn't have electricity (according to his autobiography Country Gentleman).
Spanky McFarland (George McFarland)
Died June 30, 1993 b. 1928
American actor. He appeared as Spanky in 95 Our Gang films from 1932 to 1942.
McFarland said he was given the name "Spanky" by a Los Angeles newspaper reporter as a toddler. The term "a spanky child" was early-20th-century slang for an intelligent, gifted toddler and he was given the name due to ability to act.
McFarland and Jackie Cooper were the only two Our Gang members to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Invented the Twinkie
James A. Dewar
Died June 30, 1985 b. 1897
Canadian baker. Invented the Twinkie (1930). While working for Continental Baking Company (which later became Hostess) in Schiller Park, Illinois, he needed a substitute for the filling in their strawberry shortcake, as strawberries were seasonal. So he substituted cream for the strawberry filling and the Twinkie was born. He himself ate three a day and lived to the age of 88.
The original Twinkies had a stated shelf life of only 26 days (the newer ones = 45 days), but as we all know, after the Zombie Apocalypse the only thing remaining will be cockroaches and Twinkies.
Father of the Radio
Lee de Forest
Died June 30, 1961 b. 1873
American inventor, "Father of the Radio." He invented the triode (amplifier vacuum tube, 1907) and was a pioneer in the development of talking pictures and television.
Garfield (center right) leaning after being shot
Garfield (center right) leaning after being shot
Charles J. Guiteau
Died June 30, 1882 b. 1841
American presidential assassin. Assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. Guiteau believed he deserved an appointed position due to his support of Garfield's presidential campaign, feeling that he was largely responsible for Garfield's victory. Angry that Garfield rejecting his requests, and believing that God told him to kill Garfield so that Chester A. Arthur would become president, Guiteau shot Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881. Garfield died two months later from infections related to the injury. Guiteau was hanged for his crime.
When Guiteau was purchasing the gun for the assassination he chose one with pearl handles, because he thought it would look better in a museum. Ironically, the gun has since been lost.
Paul Mazursky
Died June 30, 2014 b. 1930
American film director. Film: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986, screenplay).
Buddy Hackett (Leonard Hacker)
Died June 30, 2003 b. 1924
American comedian. He was offered the job of replacing Curly Howard of The Stooges, but turned it down. Film: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and The Love Bug (1968).
Quote: "My mother's menu consisted of two choices - Take it or leave it."
Gale Gordon (Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr.)
Died June 30, 1995 b. 1906
American actor. TV: The Lucy Show (1963-68, Mr. Mooney).
Alberta Christine Williams King
Died June 30, 1974 b. 1904
mother of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. She was shot to death while playing the organ during a church service by a 21-year-old black man who proclaimed "all Christians are my enemies."
James Edward Oglethorpe
Died June 30, 1785 b. 1696
English general, colonized Georgia and founded the city of Savannah (1733).
William Oughtred
Died June 30, 1660 b. 1574
English mathematician, credited with inventing the slide rule (1621), and introduced the use of 'X' to denote multiplication.