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Iowa Events in History



2012 Event - U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wins the 2012 Iowa Caucus by 8 votes over Rick Santorum

2012 Event - Iowa voters attend electoral caucuses; Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum lead Republican contenders as nominees for President of the United States

2011 Event - Iowa's Monona County, located in the midwestern United States, is hit by a tornado

1999 Event - 20th U.S. Seniors Golf Open: at Des Moines GC, W Des Moines, Iowa

1997 Event - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Davenport, Iowa on KORB 93.5 FM

1996 Event - Troy Davis of Iowa State ran for 378 yards, 3rd highest in college football games (others: Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and Alabama)

1995 Event - Mason City Iowa's TV news personality Jodi Huisentruit disappears

1992 Event - Jamie Solinger, of Iowa, crowned 10th Miss Teen USA

1989 Event - KSO-AM in Des Moines Iowa changes call letters to KGGO

1989 Event - United Airlines DC-10 crashes at Sioux City Iowa, kills 112

1989 Event - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors

1986 Death - Cary Grant, actor, 'Charade', 'Awful Truth', dies in Davenport, Iowa at 82

1986 Event - Iowa's All-American running back, Ronnie Harmon, fumbles the ball 4 times in his last game at the Rose Bowl

1981 Birthday - Elijah Wood, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, actor, Radio Flyer, Good Son

1979 Event - 2 Iowa girls High School basketball teams play 4 scoreless quarters game was won 4-2 in 4th overtime period

1978 Birthday - Tracie Spencer, born in Waterloo, Iowa, singer, songwriter, actress, model, performed pop, rhythm and blues, dance pop, quiet music genres, 'This House' reached Billboard Hot 100, guest on ABC sitcom Family Matters, sang background vocals for Eve, Kanye West, 50 Cent

1978 Birthday - Allison Dickey, Miss Iowa Teen USA 1996

1978 Birthday - Ashton Kutcher, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, actor, fashion model, played role of Michael Kelso in 'That '70s Show', produced 'Punk'd', appeared in 'Dude, Where's My Car?'

1975 Birthday - Eric Den Besten, Bettendorf Iowa, rower 1996 Olympics

1974 Birthday - Jennifer Montica Curry, born in Muscatine, Iowa, Miss America-Iowa 1996

1974 Birthday - A. J. Hinch, Wavely, Iowa, baseball catcher 1996 Olympics bronze

1973 Birthday - Brian Smith, Cedar Rapids Iowa, speed skater 1994 Olympics

1972 Birthday - Natasha Ann Courter, Davenport Iowa, Miss America-Iowa 1997

1972 Birthday - Matt Wagner, born in Cedar falls, Iowa, pitcher for the Seattle Mariners

1971 Birthday - Jill Simon, Miss Iowa USA 1996

1971 Birthday - Jim Butler, born in Iowa City, Iowa, table tennis player, 1992, 1996 Olympics

1970 Birthday - Luke Bodensteiner, Iowa City Iowa, cross country skier 1994 Olympics

1970 Birthday - Lance Ringnald, born in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. gymnast 1992 Olympics

1970 Birthday - Jon Lieber, born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates

1970 Birthday - Lara Flynn Boyle, born in Davenport, Iowa, actress, Donna Hayward-Twin Peaks

1970 Birthday - Lisa Eagen, Harlan Iowa, team handball wing/back court 1996 Olympics

1970 Event - KIIN (now KUN) TV channel 12 in Iowa City, IA (PBS) 1st broadcast

1970 Birthday - Jason Allyn Scott, Iowa City Iowa, rower 1996 Olympics

1969 Birthday - Don Wengert, Sioux City, Iowa, pitcher for the Oakland A's

1969 Birthday - John Oostendorp, born in Iowa City, Iowa, 220 lbs greco-roman wrestler 1996 Olympics

1968 Birthday - Laura Leighton, born in Iowa City, Iowa, actress, Sydney-Melrose Place

1967 Birthday - Cal Eldred, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, professional baseball player, pitcher, played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox

1967 Birthday - Natasha Elaine Kaiser-Brown, Des Moines Iowa, 400m runner

1967 Birthday - Cara Coughenour, born in Sioux City, Iowa, female pitcher, Colorado Silver Bullets

1965 Birthday - Mike Butcher, born in Davenport, Iowa, relief pitcher, professional baseball player, pitching coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

1964 Birthday - Joe Magrane, born in Des Moines, Iowa, Joseph David Magrane, baseball player, pitcher, MLB Network broadcaster, played for Major League Baseball teams, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, NBC sports analyst at 2008 Summer Olympics

1964 Birthday - James M. Kelly, Burlington Iowa, Captain USAF/astronaut

1964 Birthday - Kevin Tapani, Des Moines, Iowa, pitcher, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins

1963 Birthday - Kerri Lynne Rosenberg, Burlington, Iowa, Miss Iowa-America, 1991-top 10

1963 Birthday - Kent Ferguson, born in Cedar Rapids Iowa, diver, 1992 and 1996 Olympics

1962 Birthday - Nancy Hogshead, born in Iowa City, swimmer 1984 Olympics gold model, jockey

1962 Birthday - Cammy Ciarelli, Iowa City, WPVA volleyballer, Best of Beach-2nd-1995

1961 Birthday - Greg Petersen, born in Iowa City, Iowa, Canadian Tour golfer, 1993 Klondike-6th

1961 Birthday - Laurel B. Clark, born in Ames Iowa, Lieutenant Commander USN/astronaut

1961 Birthday - Barb Thomas Whitehead, Sibley, Iowa, LPGA golfer, 1995 Hawaiian Open

1961 Birthday - Curt Bader, born in Bloomfield, Iowa, sprint kayak 1996 Olympics

1960 Event - 1st photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

1960 Birthday - Jim Nussle, born in Des Moines, Iowa, Representative-R-Iowa 1991 - 2003 and 2003 - 2007

1960 Birthday - Peggy A. Whitson, Mount Ayr Iowa, PhD/astronaut

1960 Birthday - Matthew Ashford, Davenport, Iowa, actor, Jack Devaraux-Days of Our Lives

1959 Event - 42.4 cm rainfall in Decatur Co, Iowa (state record)

1959 Birthday - Tom Arnold, born in Iowa, actor, Tom, True Lies

1958 Birthday - Linnea Quigley, Davenport Iowa, actress, Night of Demons, Virgin High

1958 Birthday - Dave Rummells, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nike golfer, 1993 Buick-2nd

1957 Birthday - Gary Kroeger, born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, comedian, SNL, Return of Shaggy Dog

1956 Event - 18th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: San Francisco beats Iowa 83-71

1955 Birthday - Kate Mulgrew, born in Dubuque, Iowa, actress, Captain Janeway-Star Trek Voyager

1955 Birthday - Michael Talbott, Waverly Iowa, actor, Stan-Miami Vice

1952 Birthday - Ketih Knudsen, Ames, Iowa, rocker, Doobie Brothers

1951 Birthday - Thomas Warren Purtzer, Des Moines, Iowa, PGA golfer, 1977 Glen Campbell

1951 Birthday - Randi Oakes, Randalia Iowa, actress, Officer Bonnie Clark-CHiPs

1950 Birthday - Tom Tauke, born in Dubuque, Iowa, Representative-R-Iowa 1979 - 1991

1950 Birthday - George D. Nelson, born in Iowa, PhD/astronaut, STS 41C, STS 61-C, STS-26

1950 Birthday - Randolph Powell, born in Iowa City, Iowa, actor, Alan-Dallas, Logan's Run

1950 Birthday - Mark Pinter, born in Decorah, Iowa, actor, Behind the Screen, Another World

1950 Birthday - David Carl Hilmers, Iowa, Col USMC/astronaut, STS-51-J, 26, 36, 42

1949 Birthday - Douglas Barr, Cedar Rapids Iowa, actor, Howie-Fall Guy

1948 Birthday - Dan Gable, born in Waterloo, Iowa, 68kg freestyle wrestler, Gold Medal 1972 Olympics

1948 Birthday - Fred Grandy, born in Sioux City, Iowa, Representative-R-Iowa, 1986-, actor, Love Boat

1948 Birthday - Jerry Mathers, Sioux City Iowa, actor, Beaver-Leave It To Beaver

1947 Birthday - Stephen Collins, born in Des Moines, Iowa, actor, Star Trek I, Tattingers

1946 Birthday - Mary Beth Hurt, Mary Supinger, Iowa, actress, Garp, Interiors

1946 Birthday - Sue Lyon, born in Davenport, Iowa, actress, Lolita, Night of the Iguana

1946 Event - 19 guests at Canfield Hotel die in fire, Dubuque, Iowa

1944 Birthday - Loren J. Shriver, Iowa, Col USAF/astronaut, STS-51-C, STS-31, STS-46

1942 Birthday - Marcia Wallace, Creston Iowa, actress, Carol-Bob Newhart Show

1942 Birthday - Jim Leach, born in Davenport, Iowa, Representative-R-Iowa 1977 - 2007

1942 Birthday - Charles Dodge, born in Ames, Iowa, composer, electronic music, computer music genres, studied with Gunther Schuller, Darius Milhaud

1940 Birthday - David Rabe, born in Dubuque Iowa, playwright, Streamers

1940 Birthday - Stuart Margolin, Davenport Iowa, actor, Love American Style

1939 Event - 5th Heisman Trophy Award: Nile Kinnick, Iowa (HB)

1939 Birthday - Thomas Harkin, born in Cumming, Iowa, Senator-D-Iowa 1985 -

1939 Birthday - Jim Ross Lightfoot, born in Sioux City, Iowa, Representative-R-Iowa 1985 - 1997

1939 Birthday - Richard Beymer, Avoca, Iowa, actor, West Side Story, Diary of Anne Frank

1938 Birthday - Jean Seberg, Marshaltown Iowa, actress, Breathless, Paint Your Wagon

1938 Birthday - Harvey Sollberger, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, flutist/composer, 2 Oboes Troping

1938 Birthday - Simon Estes, born in Centerville, Iowa, bass/baritone, Wonton, Don Carlos

1937 Birthday - Olly Wilson, born in St. Louis, Missouri, composer, double bassist, musicologist, contemporary classical music, preeminent African American composer, studied with Robert Wykes, earned PhD from University of Iowa

1936 Event - 106.5 degrees F-Hottest afternoon ever in Iowa

1936 Birthday - Jerry Lacy, born in Sioux City, Iowa, actor, Play it Again Sam

1936 Birthday - Daniel Schaefer, born in Guttenberg, Iowa, Representative-R-Colorado 1983 - 1999

1935 Event - KSO-AM in Des Moines Iowa call sign is given to KWCR

1934 Birthday - Jim Inhofe, born in Des Moines, Iowa, Representative-R-Oklahoma 1987 - 1994, Senator-R-Oklahoma 1994 -

1934 Event - WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa splits from WHO-WOC and becomes KICK-AM

1934 Event - 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Keokuk, Iowa (state record)

1934 Event - Oskaloosa Iowa, becomes 1st U.S. city to fingerprint its citizens

1933 Birthday - Chuck Grassley, born in New Hartford, Iowa, Senator-R-Iowa 1981 -

1932 Event - WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa merges with WHO to become WHO-WOC

1932 Birthday - Ronnie Walter Cunningham, born in Creston, Iowa, Col USMC/astronaut, Apollo 7

1931 Event - Grasshoppers in Iowa, Nebr and SD destroyed thousands of acres of crops

1930 Birthday - Andy Williams, Wall Lake Iowa, singer, Moon River, Andy Williams Show

1929 Birthday - Sada Thompson, Des Moines, Iowa, actress, Family, Pursuit of Happiness

1927 Birthday - Bill Daily, Des Moines Iowa, actor, 'I Dream of Jeannie', 'The Bob Newhard Show'

1926 Birthday - Julie Adams, Waterloo Iowa, actress, Yancy Derringer, Code Red

1926 Birthday - Georgiann Johnson, Decorah Iowa, actress, Marge-Mr Peepers

1926 Birthday - Dick Williams, born in Wall Lake, Iowa, choral director, Andy Williams Show

1926 Birthday - Cloris Leachman, born in Des Moines, Iowa, actress, Last Picture Show, Phyllis

1926 Birthday - Cloris Leachman, born in Des Moines, Iowa, actress, Phyllis, High Anxiety

1925 Birthday - Johnny Carson, born in Corning, Iowa, comedian, Tonight Show, Who Do You Trust

1924 Birthday - John Melcher, Sioux City, Iowa, Representative-D-Montana 1969 - 1977, Senator-D-Montana 1977 - 1989

1924 Birthday - T. Cooper Evans, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Representative-R-Iowa, 1981 - 1987

1924 Event - WHO-AM in Des Moines Iowa begins radio transmissions

1923 Birthday - Mary Jane Odell, Iowa, Secretary of State

1923 Birthday - Paul F Conrad, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, cartoonist, Pulitzer 1964, 71, 84

1923 Birthday - Harry Reasoner, Dakota City Iowa, newscaster, 60 Minutes, ABC, CBS

1922 Birthday - Frances Rafferty, born in Sioux City, Iowa, actress, December Bride

1922 Event - WOI (Ames, Iowa) country's 1st licensed educational radio station

1922 Event - WOC-AM in Davenport, Iowa begins radio transmissions

1922 Birthday - Neva Patterson, Iowa, actress, Governor and JJ, Doc Elliot, Nichols

1922 Event - Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)

1922 Birthday - Constance Moore, Sioux City Iowa, actress, Window on Main Street

1921 Event - Iowa imposed 1st state cigarette tax

1921 Birthday - Berkley Bedell, born in Spirit Lake, Iowa, Representative-D-Iowa 1975 - 1987

1921 Birthday - Donna Reed, born in Denison, Iowa, From Here to Eternity, Wonderful Life

1920 Birthday - Amy Clampitt, born in New Providence, Iowa, poet, author, professor at Amherst College, College of William and Mary, Smith College, received Guggenheim, MacArthur Fellowship

1920 Birthday - Neal Edward Smith, born in Hedrick, Iowa, Representative-D-Iowa 1959 - 1995

1918 Birthday - Corita Kent, born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, artist, educator, mediums include silkscreen, serigraphy, producing fine art with messages of love and peace, famous work includes the 1985 Love Samp and Rainbow Swash

1918 Birthday - Paul Dixon, Earling Iowa, Ohio talk show host, Paul Dixon Show

1918 Birthday - Abigail Van Buren, Mrs Morton Phillips, Sioux City Iowa, columnist

1918 Birthday - Ann Landers, born in Sioux City, Iowa, twin sister/advice columnist

1917 Birthday - Don Defore, Cedar Rapids Iowa, actor, George-Hazel, Ozzie and Harriet

1917 Birthday - Virginia Christine, born in Stanton, Iowa, actress, Tales of Wells Fargo

1916 Birthday - John Clark, born in Hampton, Iowa, actor, Graveyard of Horror

1915 Event - 1st national horseshoe throwing championship (Kellerton, Iowa)

1915 Birthday - Iris Meredith, born in Sioux City, Iowa, actress, Son of Davy Crockett

1915 Birthday - Scott McKay, Pleasantville Iowa, actor, Stage Door

1914 Birthday - Norman Borlaug, born in Cresco, Iowa, humanitarian, agronomist, discoveries saved one billion lives worldwide, winner, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, recognizing contributions to world peace for methods to increase food supply, awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

1913 Birthday - Rosemary Lane, born in Indianola, Iowa, actress, 4 Mothers, Harvest Melody

1913 Birthday - MacDonald Carey, born in Sioux City, Iowa, actor, One Life to Live, Dream Girl

1912 Birthday - Russ Case, born in Hamburg, Iowa, orchestra leader, Julius La Rosa Show

1912 Event - -47 degrees F (-44 degrees C), Washta, Iowa (state record)

1911 Birthday - Virginia Smith, born in Randolph, Iowa, Representative-R-Nebraska 1975 - 1991

1911 Birthday - Gordon Jones, born in Alden, Iowa, actor, Mike the Cop-Abbott and Costello

1910 Birthday - Margaret Lindsay, Dubuque Iowa, actress, Take a Guess

1909 Birthday - George Ball, Iowa, lawyer/undersecretary of state

1908 Birthday - Dennis O'Keefe, born in Fort Madison, Iowa, actor/dir, T-Men, Fighting Seabees

1907 Birthday - Fran Allison, LaPorte City Iowa, actress, Kukla, Fran and Ollie

1907 Birthday - Jack Bailey, Hampton Iowa, TV host, Queen for a Day

1907 Birthday - John Wayne, Winterset, Iowa, actor, Green Berets, True Grit

1907 Birthday - Nathan M. Pusey, born in Iowa, educator, National Association for Social Sciences-1963

1906 Birthday - Kent Taylor, Louis Weiss, Iowa, actor, Boston Blackie, Rough Riders

1905 Birthday - Wade Crosby, Iowa, actor, Sign of Wolf, Tales of Robin Hood

1904 Birthday - Lyle Latell, born in Iowa, actor, Not of the Earth, Sky Dragon

1904 Birthday - MacKinlay Kantor, Webster City Iowa, novelist, Andersonville

1903 Birthday - Leon Bismarck "Bix" Beiderbecke, Iowa, jazz cornetist 'In a Mist'

1903 Birthday - Gardner Cowles, Iowa, publisher/founder, Look Magazine

1902 Birthday - Frank Jenks, Des Moines, Iowa, actor, Zombies on Broadway

1902 Birthday - [Robert] Meredith Willson, Mason City Iowa, composer, Music Man

1901 Birthday - George Gallup, Jefferson Iowa, public opinion pollster, Gallup Poll

1901 Event - 55 die as Rock Island train derailed near Marshalltown Iowa

1897 Birthday - Hope Emerson, Hawarden Iowa, actress, I Married Joan, Peter Gunn

1896 Birthday - Hal Walker, Ottumwa, Iowa, director, I Married Joan

1896 Birthday - Conrad Nagel, born in Keokuk Iowa, actor, Celebrity Time

1895 Event - D D Palmer of Davenport, Iowa, becomes 1st chiropractor

1895 Birthday - Nat Pendleton, Davenport, Iowa, Olympic wrestler/actor, Reckless

1895 Birthday - Juanita Hansen, born in Iowa, actress in Fast Company, Broadway Love

1893 Birthday - William Frawley, Iowa, actor, Fred Mertz-I Love Lucy, Bub-My 3 Sons

1891 Birthday - Donald Kerr, born in Eagle Grove, Iowa, actor, Carnival Lady, Devil Bat

1891 Birthday - Belle Bennett, born in Milcoon Rapids, Iowa, actress, Stella Dallas, Iron Mask

1888 Birthday - Selmer Jackson, Iowa, actor, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1888 Birthday - Chester Conklin, Oskaloosa, Iowa, actor, Every Day's a Holiday, Greed

1887 Birthday - Raymond Hatton, born in Red Oak, Iowa, actor, Girls in Prison, Lady Killer

1887 Birthday - Charles D. Brown, born in Iowa, actor, Barefoot Boy, Disbarred, Night Editor

1887 Event - American Protective Association forms (anti-Catholic) in Clinton Iowa

1885 Birthday - Harry Hershfield, Cedar Rapids Iowa, cartoonist, Can You Top This?

1885 Event - Dr. W W Grant of Iowa, performs 1st appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22)

1884 Birthday - Harry Langdon, born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, comic/director, Strong Man

1883 Birthday - Elsa Maxwell, born in Keokuk, Iowa, writer, Jack Paar Show

1882 Event - Tornado kills 130 in Iowa

1882 Event - 17" hailstones weighing 1.75 lbs fall in Dubuque Iowa

1882 Event - 6" of snow falls in eastern Iowa

1879 Birthday - Neal Dodd, born in Iowa, actor, 'You Belong to Me'

1879 Event - Meteor falls near Estherville, Iowa

1875 Birthday - William Daniel Leahy, Iowa, 5 star admiral/chief of staff, 1949

1874 Birthday - Herbert Clark Hoover, West Branch Iowa, R, 31st President, 1929-1933

1873 Event - Jesse James and James Younger gang's 1st train robbery (Adair Iowa)

1871 Event - Carousel patents by Wilhelm Schneider, Davenport, Iowa

1871 Event - Jesse James robs bank in Corydon, Iowa ($45,000)

1871 Event - Jesse James and his gang robs Obocock Bank (Corydon Iowa), of $15,000

1868 Death - Henry P Scholte, Dutch/US vicar (Iowa), dies at 62

1863 Event - Very 1st First National Bank opens in Davenport, Iowa

1863 Event - 1st bank chartered in U.S., National Bank of Davenport, Iowa

1862 Birthday - Adeline De Walt Reynolds, Benton County, Iowa, actress, Son of Dracula

1860 Event - Comanche, Iowa completely destroyed by 1 of a series of tornadoes

1855 Event - 1st train crosses Mississippi River's 1st bridge, Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport Iowa

1847 Event - State University of Iowa is approved

1846 Event - Iowa becomes 29th state

1846 Birthday - William F "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Davenport Iowa, killed 4000 buffaloes

1838 Event - Iowa Territory forms

1838 Event - Iowa Territory is organized

1832 Event - Black Hawk defeated in Iowa

1830 Event - 3 Indian tribes, Sioux, Sauk and Fox, signs a treaty giving the U.S. most of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri

1813 Birthday - Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa Governor, U.S. Secretary of Interior 1881 - 1882

1805 Birthday - Henry P. Scholte, Dutch / U.S. vicar and founder, Pella colony in Iowa













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