What Happened On
Mars Observer
September 25, 1992
The $813 million spacecraft is launched. NASA lost contact with it three days before it was scheduled to arrive at Mars in August of 1993. The most probable cause of the failure was a rupture of the fuel pressurization side of the spacecraft's propulsion system causing the spacecraft to spin and to erode the electrical circuits.
The Partridge Family
September 25, 1970
The TV show The Partridge Family debuts on ABC. The show was loosely based on the real-life musical family the Cowsills. Shirley Jones played the mother and her real-life stepson David Cassidy played her son.
Their school bus with the Mondrian-style paint job was a 1957 Chevrolet Series 6800 Superior.
Bill of Rights
September 25, 1789
The Bill of Rights is submitted to the states for ratification, completing ratification in 1791. It is composed of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. They provided guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.
AIDS
September 25, 1992
Magic Johnson quits U.S. President George H. W. Bush's National Commission on AIDS because of lack of support.
Beauty and the Beast
September 25, 1987
The TV show Beauty and the Beast debuts on CBS. It told the story of the relationship between a mythic, noble man-beast (Ron Perlman) and a Assistant District Attorney (Linda Hamilton), and a secret subterranean community of social outcasts.
The Beatles Cartoon
September 25, 1965
The Beatles cartoon debuts on ABC.
First American Newspaper
September 25, 1690
Publick Occurrences Foreign and Domestick by Benjamin Harris of Boston is published. It was the first multi-page newspaper published in British colonial America. It carried an article that offended the Royal Governor, who then promptly closed down the paper. There were no other newspapers in the colonies until fourteen years later.
First European to Discover the Pacific Ocean
September 25, 1513
Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World.
Balboa's ensuing fame posed a threat to Pedro Arias Dávila, the Spanish governor of Darién, who falsely accused him of treason and had him beheaded.
Birthdays
Christopher Reeve
Born September 25, 1952 d. 2004
American actor. In 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after a horseback-riding accident. He had been scheduled to pose for an equestrian safety poster. Film: The Superman movies (1978-87, the man of steel). Writings: Still Me (1998, won a Grammy for the audio version).
Edgar C. Whisenant
Born September 25, 1932 d. 2001
American NASA engineer and Bible student. His book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, which sold 4.5 million copies, predicted the Rapture would occur between September 11 and 13, 1988. As the date loomed, Trinity Broadcasting Network provided special bulletins with instructions on preparing for the Rapture. Whisenant claimed, "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong".
After the predicted date passed, he followed up with books predicting the Rapture in 1989 and 1993, and the destruction of the Earth by nuclear bomb fire in 1994. He continued making doomsday predictions up to 1997.
Walters (left) interviewing Gerald Ford and Betty Ford at the White House
Barbara Walters
Born September 25, 1929 d. 2022
American Emmy-winning interviewer, commentator. The first woman co-anchor of a network TV evening news program (1976), in which she was given a 5-year contract at $1,000,000 a year. She became known for her interview specials with public figures from politicians and celebrities to dictators and criminals. Her Monica Lewinsky interview was the most-watched news interview in broadcast history, with an audience of nearly 50 million. TV: The View (1997-2023, co-creator, co-host).
Little Orphan Annie
Mary Alice "Allie" Smith Gray
Born September 25, 1850 d. 1924
American orphan. She was the inspiration for the Little Orphan Annie character. When James Whitcomb Riley was a child, his family took in twelve-year-old orphan Mary Alice "Allie" Smith as a "bound" servant to help his mother with the housework. Riley wrote the poem The Elf Child based on her. He decided to rename it Little Orphant Allie for the 3rd edition. However, a printer mistakenly typeset it as Little Orphant Annie and the name stuck. The poem was Harold Gray's inspiration for the comic strip Little Orphan Annie (1924).
"Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;"
Led the Mutiny on the Bounty
Fletcher Christian
Born September 25, 1764 d. 1793
English mutineer. He led the mutiny against Captain Bligh aboard the HMS Bounty (1789) on their voyage to Tahiti. He placed Bligh and some of his crew adrift on an open boat. Bligh survived a 47-day 3,600-mile voyage to safety. Christian and the mutineers landed at Pitcairn Island where the lived out their lives.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Mark Hamill
Born September 25, 1951
American Emmy-winning actor. Film: Star Wars (1977, Luke Skywalker). TV: General Hospital (1972-73, Kent Murray).
Cheryl Tiegs
Born September 25, 1947
American model.
Michael Douglas
Born September 25, 1944
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975, co-producer: it won five Oscars). He also did the voiceovers for the Nissan Infiniti commercials.
Robert Walden
Born September 25, 1943
American actor. TV: Lou Grant (Joe Rossi).
Rusty and Rin Tin Tin
Rusty and Rin Tin Tin
Lee Aaker
Born September 25, 1943 d. 2021
American actor. TV: The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954-59, Rusty "B-Company").
Juliet Prowse
Born September 25, 1936 d. 1996
Anglo-Indian dancer, actress. Her career took off after Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev declared her dancing "immoral."
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Ethel and Julius after being found guilty
Ethel Rosenberg
Born September 25, 1915 d. 1953
American traitor. She and her husband Julius Rosenberg became the first U.S. citizens executed for treason during peace time. They had been convicted of selling top secret information to the Soviets.
William Faulkner
Born September 25, 1897 d. 1962
American Nobel-Pulitzer-winning author. Writings: The Sound and the Fury (1929), Sanctuary (1931), A Fable (1954), and The Reivers (1962, Nobel).
Quote: "You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore."
Thomas Hunt Morgan
Born September 25, 1866 d. 1945
American zoologist. He won a 1933 Nobel Prize for his discovery of the chromosome's role in heredity.
First Naval Officer Killed in the Civil War
James Harmon Ward
Born September 25, 1806 d. 1861
Union Naval officer. First Naval officer killed in the U.S. Civil War. He was shot by a Confederate sharpshooter while aiming a cannon at Mathias Point, Virginia.
Deaths
Andy Williams
Died September 25, 2012 b. 1927
American singer and Emmy-winning TV host. Music: Butterfly (1957, #1), Moon River (1962), and The Days of Wine and Roses (1962). TV: The Andy Williams Show (1962-71).
Creator of the Modern-Style Comic Strip
Richard Felton Outcault
Died September 25, 1928 b. 1863
American cartoonist. He is considered the creator of the modern-style comic strip. He created the first recurring comic strip character (1894), the Yellow Kid of Hogan's Alley. He also popularized the use of word balloons (1896) and multi-paneled comics. Outcault also created Buster Brown (1902).
The Yellow Kid represented the kids of the New York slums of the late 1800s. His head was shaved, as was common in children that had been treated for lice, and wore a nightshirt that was a hand-me-down from an older sister.
David McCallum
Died September 25, 2023 b. 1933
Scottish actor. TV: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68, Illya Kuryakin) and NCIS (2003-24, Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard).
Arnold Palmer
Died September 25, 2016 b. 1929
American golfer. He was the first golfer to win $1,000,000 in career earnings.
Don Adams (Donald James Yarmy)
Died September 25, 2005 b. 1923
American actor. TV: Get Smart (1965-70, Agent 86, Maxwell Smart), Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963-66, voice of Tennessee Tuxedo), and Inspector Gadget (1983-85, voice of Gadget).
Don Adams' character Maxwell Smart's shoe phone is humorously referred to as the first "Smart" phone.
Adams served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. However, he contracted blackwater fever, a serious complication of malaria, known for a 90% fatality rate and was hospitalized for more than a year in New Zealand. After his recovery, he served as a Marine drill instructor in the U.S.
Billy Carter
Died September 25, 1988 b. 1937
American personality, U.S. President Jimmy Carter's brother.
Mary Astor (Lucille Vasconcellos Langhanke)
Died September 25, 1987 b. 1906
Oscar-winning actress, The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Great Lie (1941, Oscar).
Walter Pidgeon
Died September 25, 1984 b. 1897
Canadian-born actor, noted for his films with Greer Garson. Film: The Gorilla (1931, title role).
Erich Maria Remarque
Died September 25, 1970 b. 1898
German-born American author. Writings: All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), the first non-American/English book to top the best seller list. His books were among those found objectionable and burned by the Nazis during World War II.
Emily Post
Died September 25, 1960 b. 1872
American etiquette columnist and author.
Johann Heinrich Lambert
Died September 25, 1777 b. 1728
German mathematician, physicist, astronomer, proved that the numbers e and pi are irrational, and for whom the unit of brightness "lambert" is named.
The Last Judgment - central portion
The Last Judgment - central portion
Clement VII
Died September 25, 1534 b. 1478
Italian religious leader, 219th Pope (1523-34). He was the illegitimate son of Giuliano de Medici. Just days before his death, he commissioned Michelangelo's painting of The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.