#Middlebury
On Sept. 11, 1857, Mormon guerillas, stoked by religious zeal, murder 120 emigrants at Mountain Meadows, Utah. The conflict with the wagon train of emigrants apparently began when the Mormons refused to sell the train any supplies.- On Sept. 10, 1897, London taxi driver George Smith, 25, becomes the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building. In 1936, a professor of toxicology patented the Drunkometer, a balloon-like device into which people would breathe to determine whether they were inebriated.
- On Sept. 13, 1916, author Roald Dahl (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “James and the Giant Peach”) is born in South Wales. In World War II, he became a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and was shot down, suffering serious injuries. He saved a piece of his femur and later used it as a paperweight in his office.
- On Sept. 15, 1931, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians to clinch their third-straight American League pennant under legendary manager Connie Mack. Mack made a career of developing star players and then, once the players’ talents had peaked, selling their contracts for a profit.
- On Sept. 16, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Selective Service and Training Act, which required all male citizens between the ages of 26 and 35 to register for the military draft.
- On Sept. 14, 1955, Little Richard records “Tutti Frutti.” The racy lyrics, however, needed changes to pass the censors. Once those were made, the song was recorded in 15 minutes.
- On Sept. 12, 1972, William Boyd, best known for his role as Hopalong Cassidy, dies at age 77. By 1950, American children had made Hopalong Cassidy the seventh most popular TV show and were madly snapping up cowboy hats and six-shooters.
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