What Happened On
Donn F. Eisele (left) and Walter M. Schirra Jr. during the first live television transmission from space
Donn F. Eisele (left) and Walter M. Schirra Jr. during the first live television transmission from space
First Live TV Transmission From Space
October 14, 1968
Apollo 7 astronauts Donn F. Eisele and Wally Schirra send the first live television transmission from space, holding a sign reading "Keep those cards and letters coming in folks".
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Erwin Rommel Forced Suicide
October 14, 1944
World War I hero, known as the "Desert Fox", he was once Adolf Hitler's favorite general. He had been implicated in the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler. Since he was a national hero, Hitler didn't want to publicly execute him as he had done others implicated in the plot. Rommel was offered the option of suicide in order to protect his reputation and for assurances his family would not be persecuted. Proclaiming his innocence, he chose suicide. Rommel was given a state funeral, and it was announced that he died due to injuries from the strafing of his staff car in Normandy.
Hitler c1918
Hitler c1918
Hitler Blinded by Mustard Gas
October 14, 1918
During World War I, Corporal Adolf Hitler is temporarily blinded by a British gas shell and evacuated to a German military hospital.
X-Ray of bullet in Roosevelt's chest
X-Ray of bullet in Roosevelt's chest
President Roosevelt Shot - Gunman Prompted by a Ghost
October 14, 1912
Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is shot in the chest by John Schrank in Milwaukee. Roosevelt, who served as President from 1901 to 1909, was running for reelection. Schrank claimed that he was told in a dream by the ghost of William McKinley, who was pointing to a picture of Roosevelt, to kill Roosevelt to avenge McKinley's death and as a warning to those who'd run for three terms as President. Schrank was later declared insane and institutionalized for the remainder of his life.
Roosevelt was on the way to deliver a speech when shot. The bullet was deflected by his eyeglasses and a 50-page copy of his speech he was carrying in his jacket. Despite the wound, he insisted on delivering his speech before being taken to the hospital. Roosevelt completed his 90-minute speech with blood seeping through his shirt, opening with, "Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet - there is where the bullet went through - and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best."
Doctors determined it would be too dangerous to remove the bullet, so Roosevelt carried it with him for the rest of his life.
Boring through a Quaker's tongue with a hot iron
Boring through a Quaker's tongue with a hot iron
Quakers Banned Under Threat of Mutilation
October 14, 1656
The Puritans of Massachusetts ban Quakers and enact a fine for harboring them. Quakers entering the jurisdiction after banishment would lose one ear. For the second offense they would lose the other ear, and for the third offense their tongue would be bored through with a hot iron.
Four years later, they would make the second offense punishable by death.
The Puritans were Protestant Christians who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices.
Quakers are a Protestant Christian denomination that began in 1650s England.
U.S. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were Quakers.
Russia's Most Prolific Serial Killer
October 14, 1992
Andrei Chikatilo, a Russia school teacher, is convicted of dismembering and cannibalizing 52 women and children over a 12-year period. He was executed in 1994. Another man had already been mistakenly executed for these crimes.
Kung Fu
October 14, 1972
The TV series Kung Fu debuts on ABC, starring David Carradine as Cain, alias Grasshopper.
Martin Luther King Awarded the Nobel Prize
October 14, 1964
The black civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Cuban Missile Crisis
October 14, 1962
The U.S. Air Force photographs Soviet missiles and a Soviet nuclear missile construction site in Cuba.
First Level Supersonic Flight
October 14, 1947
Chuck Yeager reaches Mach 1.015 at during level flight at 42,000 feet.
George Schwartz Welch had broken the sound barrier two weeks earlier in a dive.
Birthdays
Photo Credit: Allan warren
Photo Credit: Allan warren
Roger Moore
Born October 14, 1927 d. 2017
English actor. Film: The James Bond movies (1973-85, "Bond, James Bond"). TV: The Saint (1962-69, Simon Templar) and Maverick (1960-61, Beau "Pappy" Maverick - Sean Connery had turned down the role).
Moore was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for his services to charity.
First Lady of American Cinema
Lillian Gish
Born October 14, 1893 d. 1993
American actress. "First Lady of American Cinema," she is credited with pioneering fundamental film performing techniques. Film: The Birth of a Nation (1915).
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Born October 14, 1890 d. 1969
American politician. 34th U.S. President (1953-61) and 5-star general. He was the first U.S. President to conduct a televised news conference.
In his farewell address, he warned of both the buildup of the Military Industrial Complex and of scientific research becoming a chase for government funding instead of the search for knowledge.
Haynes driving his first automobile, the Pioneer
Haynes driving his first automobile, the Pioneer
Elwood Haynes
Born October 14, 1857 d. 1925
American automobile pioneer. He developed the second U.S. automobile company (1894), Haynes-Apperson, later becoming the Haynes Automobile Company. He also discovered tungsten chrome steel (1881) and patented stainless steel (1919). In 1895, while driving one of his early automobiles, he swerved to avoid a street car and struck a curb, busting his tire and axle. This is believed to be the first automobile accident in the U.S.
He also created the first set of stainless steel silverware.
Harry Anderson
Born October 14, 1952 d. 2018
American actor, magician. TV: Night Court (1984-92 Judge Harry Stone), Cheers (Harry "The Hat" Gittes), and Dave's World (1993-97, Dave Barry).
Ralph Lauren
Born October 14, 1939
American fashion designer.
John Wesley Dean III
Born October 14, 1938
American investment banker, attorney. White House counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon (1970-73). He was involved in the Watergate burglaries and was known as the "master manipulator of the cover-up." Fearing that he was being set up as the scapegoat for the Watergate affair by the Nixon administration, he pleaded guilty and became a witness for the prosecution in exchange for a reduced sentence of four months in prison. He admitted to providing hush money to the Watergate burglars.
C. Everett Koop
Born October 14, 1916 d. 2013
American pediatric surgeon, U.S. Surgeon General (1982-89).
Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail
John Wooden
Born October 14, 1910 d. 2010
American basketball Hall of Fame player and Hall of Fame coach (He was the first person to achieve both honors), winner of 10 NCAA National Championships while at UCLA. Generally considered the greatest coach in history and known as "The Wizard of Westwood".
Quote: "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
A. Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie
Born October 14, 1899 d. 1978
American Oscar-winning special-effects artist. Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944, Oscar), and Ben-Hur (1959, Oscar).
e.e. cummings (Edward Estlin Cummings)
Born October 14, 1894 d. 1962
American poet. Writings: The Enormous Room (1922) describing his imprisonment by the French after being mistaken for a spy.
Grace Drayton
Born October 14, 1877 d. 1936
American illustrator, cartoonist. Famous for her drawings of The Campbell Kids (1905).
Ferdinand VII
Born October 14, 1784 d. 1833
King of Spain (1808-33). It was during his rule that most of the Spanish possessions in Latin America rebelled and won their independence.
William Penn
Born October 14, 1644 d. 1718
English Quaker, founded Pennsylvania. He was expelled from the Christ Church College, Oxford in 1662 and jailed several times for his religious beliefs.
Deaths
Bing Crosby (Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr.)
Died October 14, 1977 b. 1903
American Oscar-winning actor, singer. He sold over a billion records. Film: Going My Way (1944, Oscar as Father O'Malley). His 1942 recording of White Christmas has sold over 100,000,000 copies and is the best-selling single of all time. White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin, who was Jewish.
During World War II, Crosby entertained troops in Europe and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German troops, earning him the nickname, "Der Bingle". Crosby was ranked as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of both Bob Hope and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Errol Flynn
Died October 14, 1959 b. 1909
Australian-born American swashbuckling actor, known for both his on and off-screen performances. He was tried and acquitted in 1943 for statutory rape of two 17-year-old girls, resulting in the phrase "in like Flynn."
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Photo Credit: Bundesarchiv
Erwin Rommel
Died October 14, 1944 b. 1891
German general. "The Desert Fox," commander of the Afrika Korps during World War II. He was a highly decorated officer in WWI and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his actions on the Italian Front. Although he supported Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Rommel was implicated in the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler, although Rommel proclaimed his innocence. Because he was a war hero, Hitler didn't want to publicly execute him. In return for assurances of safety for his family, he was offered the option of suicide, which he took. Rommel was given a state funeral, and it was announced that he died due to injuries from the strafing of his staff car in Normandy.
Polaire (Émilie Marie Bouchaud)
Died October 14, 1939 b. 1874
French singer, actress. Known for her wasp waist, she is reputed to have had a 13-inch (33 cm) waistline. This accentuated her figure; she stood 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) tall and had a 38-inch (97 cm) chest. Constantly seeking publicity, she billed herself as "the ugliest woman in the world", bought a pet pig with a nose ring, and traveled with a black man she referred to as her slave.
Father of Modern Bodybuilding
Eugen Sandow (Friedrich Wilhelm Müller)
Died October 14, 1925 b. 1867
German strongman. "Father of Modern Bodybuilding." He organized the first bodybuilding contest (1901). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) was one of the judges.
Known first as a strongman performer, Sandow began being recognized for his physique and began adding posing into his act. This is considered to be the earliest form of bodybuilding as we know it today.
Piper Laurie (Rosetta Jacobs)
Died October 14, 2023 b. 1932
American Emmy-winning actress. Film: The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986). TV: Twin Peaks (1989-91, Catherine Martell).
Freddy Fender (Baldemar Garza Huerta)
Died October 14, 2006 b. 1937
American singer. He spent almost three years in Louisiana's infamous Angola prison for marijuana possession. Music: Before the Next Teardrop Falls (1974, #1) and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights (1975, #1).
Cleveland Amory
Died October 14, 1998 b. 1917
American author, animal rights activist, founder of Fund for Animals (1967). Writings: The Cat Who Came for Christmas and The Cat and the Curmudgeon.
Leonard Bernstein
Died October 14, 1990 b. 1918
American Emmy-Grammy-winning conductor, composer. Music: West Side Story (1957).
Keenan Wynn (Francis Wynn)
Died October 14, 1986 b. 1916
American actor. TV: Dallas (Digger Barnes). He appeared in over 200 films.
Pitched the First National League No-Hitter
Joe Borden
Died October 14, 1929 b. 1854
American baseball player. He pitched the first National League no-hitter (1876, for Boston), which is believed to be the first no-hitter in professional baseball history. In 1876, he pitched a shutout, which some historians cite as the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball.
He was nicknamed "Josephus the Phenomenal".
William Hooper
Died October 14, 1790 b. 1742
American statesman. Signer of the Declaration of Independence.