Today in Iowa History
United States of America Topics: Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - Arkansas - California - Colorado - Connecticut - Delaware - District of Columbia - Florida - Georgia (US) - Guam - Hawaii - Idaho - Illinois - Indiana - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana - Maine - More »
Historical Events
Results 1 - 57 of 57
1830-07-15 - 3 Indian tribes, Sioux, Sauk & Fox, signs a treaty giving the US most of Minnesota, Iowa & Missouri
1834-01-05 - Kiowa Indians record this as the night the stars fell
1838-06-11 - Iowa Territory is organized
1838-06-12 - Iowa Territory forms
1846-12-28 - Iowa becomes 29th state
1847-02-25 - State University of Iowa is approved
1851-09-22 - The city of Des Moines, Iowa was incorporated as Fort Des Moines.
1856-06-09 - 500 Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.
1860-06-03 - Comanche, Iowa completely destroyed by 1 of a series of tornadoes
1863-06-20 - 1st bank chartered in US (National Bank of Davenport Iowa)
1863-06-29 - Very 1st First National Bank opens in Davenport, Iowa
1871-06-03 - Jesse James & his gang robs Obocock Bank (Corydon Iowa), of $15,000
1871-07-03 - Jesse James robs bank in Corydon, Iowa ($45,000)
1871-07-05 - Trial against Kiowa chief Satanta (White Bear) & Big Tree, begins
1871-07-25 - Carousel patents by Wilhelm Schneider, Davenport, Iowa
1872-09-29 - Kiowa-chief Lone Wolf captures Satanta & Big Tree
1873-07-21 - Jesse James & James Younger gang's 1st train robbery (Adair Iowa)
1875-02-25 - Kiowa Indians under Lone Wolf (Guipago) surrender at Ft Sill
1879-05-10 - Meteor falls near Estherville, Iowa
1882-05-23 - 6" of snow falls in eastern Iowa
1882-06-16 - 17" hailstones weighing 1.75 lbs fall in Dubuque Iowa
1882-06-17 - Tornado kills 130 in Iowa
1885-01-04 - Dr W W Grant of Iowa, performs 1st appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22)
1887-03-03 - American Protective Assn forms (anti-Catholic) in Clinton Iowa
1893-07-06 - The small town of Pomeroy, Iowa, is nearly destroyed by a tornado that kills 71 people and injures 200.
1895-09-18 - D D Palmer of Davenport, Iowa, becomes 1st chiropractor
1901-03-25 - 55 die as Rock Island train derailed near Marshalltown Iowa
1901-08-06 - Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
1912-01-12 - -47°F (-44°C), Washta, Iowa (state record)
1915-10-23 - 1st national horseshoe throwing championship (Kellerton, Iowa)
1921-04-11 - Iowa imposed 1st state cigarette tax
1922-01-24 - Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)
1922-04-28 - WOI (Ames, Iowa) country's 1st licensed educational radio station
1924-04-15 - WHO-AM in Des Moines Iowa begins radio transmissions
1931-07-27 - Grasshoppers in Iowa, Nebr & SD destroyed thousands of acres of crops
1932-05-09 - WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa merges with WHO to become WHO-WOC
1934-05-21 - Oskaloosa Iowa, becomes 1st US city to fingerprint its citizens
1934-07-20 - 118°F (48°C), Keokuk, Iowa (state record)
1934-11-11 - WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa splits from WHO-WOC & becomes KICK-AM
1935-03-17 - KSO-AM in Des Moines Iowa call sign is given to KWCR
1936-08-18 - 106.5°F-Hottest afternoon ever in Iowa
1939-12-06 - 5th Heisman Trophy Award: Nile Kinnick, Iowa (HB)
1946-06-09 - 19 guests at Canfield Hotel die in fire (Dubuque Iowa)
1959-08-05 - 42.4 cm rainfall in Decatur Co, Iowa (state record)
1960-08-18 - 1st photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
1970-02-28 - KIIN (now KUN) TV channel 12 in Iowa City, IA (PBS) 1st broadcast
1986-01-01 - Iowa's All-American running back, Ronnie Harmon, fumbles the ball 4 times in his last game-the Rose Bowl
1989-04-19 - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors
1989-07-19 - United Airlines DC-10 crashes at Sioux City Iowa, kills 112
1989-09-11 - KSO-AM in Des Moines Iowa changes call letters to KGGO
1991-11-01 - Three faculty, and one staff member of the department of physics and astronomy, were killed, along with one administrator, when physics graduate student Gang Lu went on a shooting rampage at the University of Iowa.
1992-08-25 - Jamie Solinger, of Iowa, crowned 10th Miss Teen USA
1993-04-19 - South Dakota governor George Mickelson and seven others are killed when a state-owned aircraft crashed lands in Iowa.
1995-06-27 - Mason City Iowa's TV news personality Jodi Huisentruit disappears
1996-09-28 - Troy Davis of Iowa State ran for 378 yards, 3rd highest in college football games (others: Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas & Alabama)
1997-11-19 - In Des Moines, Iowa, Bobbi McCaughey gives birth to septuplets in the second known case where all seven babies were born alive. They would go on to become the first set of septuplets to survive infancy, with all seven alive in 2007.
2006-04-13 - Powerful tornadoes rip through Iowa City, Iowa.
Famous Birthdays
Results 1 - 100 of 118
1805-09-25 - Henry P Scholte, Dutch/US vicar/founder (Pella colony in Iowa)
1813-12-20 - Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, (Gov-Iowa)/US Sect of Interior (1881-82)
1820-08-26 - James Harlan, (Rep-Iowa)/US Secretary of Interior (1865-66)
1846-02-26 - William F "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Davenport Iowa, killed 4000 buffaloes
1874-08-10 - Herbert Clark Hoover, West Branch Iowa, (R) 31st Pres (1929-1933)
1875-05-06 - William Daniel Leahy, Iowa, 5 star admiral/chief of staff (1949)
1879-09-06 - Neal Rev Dodd, Iowa, actor (You Belong to Me)
1883-04-25 - Elsa Maxwell, Keokuk Iowa, writer (Jack Paar Show)
1887-07-01 - Charles D Brown, Iowa, actor (Barefoot Boy, Disbarred, Night Editor)
1888-05-17 - Selmer Jackson, Iowa, actor (Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp)
1893-02-26 - William Frawley, Iowa, actor (Fred Mertz-I Love Lucy, Bub-My 3 Sons)
1895-03-03 - Juanita Hansen, Iowa, actress (Fast Company, Broadway Love)
1896-03-16 - Conrad Nagel, Keokuk Iowa, actor (Celebrity Time)
1897-10-29 - Hope Emerson, Hawarden Iowa, actress (I Married Joan, Peter Gunn)
1901-11-18 - George Gallup, Jefferson Iowa, public opinion pollster (Gallup Poll)
1902-05-18 - [Robert] Meredith Willson, Mason City Iowa, composer (Music Man)
1903-01-31 - Gardner Cowles, Iowa, publisher/founder (Look Magazine)
1903-03-01 - Leon Bismarck "Bix" Beiderbecke, Iowa, jazz cornetist (In a Mist)
1904-02-04 - MacKinlay Kantor, Webster City Iowa, novelist (Andersonville)
1906-05-11 - Kent Taylor, [Louis Weiss], Iowa, actor (Boston Blackie, Rough Riders)
1907-04-04 - Nathan M Pusey, Iowa, educator (Natl Ass for Social Sciences-1963)
1907-09-15 - Jack Bailey, Hampton Iowa, TV host (Queen for a Day)
1907-11-20 - Fran Allison, LaPorte City Iowa, actress (Kukla, Fran & Ollie)
1909-12-21 - George Ball, Iowa, lawyer/undersecretary of state
1910-09-19 - Margaret Lindsay, Dubuque Iowa, actress (Take a Guess)
1911-04-05 - Gordon Jones, Alden Iowa, actor (Mike the Cop-Abbott & Costello)
1912-03-19 - Russ Case, Hamburg Iowa, orch leader (Julius La Rosa Show)
1913-03-15 - MacDonald Carey, Sioux City Iowa, actor (One Life to Live, Dream Girl)
1915-05-28 - Scott McKay, Pleasantville Iowa, actor (Stage Door)
1915-06-03 - Iris Meredith, Sioux City Iowa, actress (Son of Davy Crockett)
1917-03-05 - Virginia Christine, Stanton Iowa, actress (Tales of Wells Fargo)
1917-08-25 - Don Defore, Cedar Rapids Iowa, actor (George-Hazel, Ozzie & Harriet)
1918-07-04 - Abigail Van Buren, [Mrs Morton Phillips], Sioux City Iowa, columnist
1918-07-04 - Ann Landers, Sioux City Iowa, twin sister/advice columnist
1918-10-27 - Paul Dixon, Earling Iowa, Ohio talk show host (Paul Dixon Show)
1921-01-27 - Donna Reed, Denison Iowa, (From Here to Eternity, Wonderful Life)
1922-01-18 - Constance Moore, Sioux City Iowa, actress (Window on Main Street)
1922-02-10 - Neva Patterson, Iowa, actress (Governor & JJ, Doc Elliot, Nichols)
1922-06-26 - Frances Rafferty, Sioux City Iowa, actress (December Bride)
1923-04-17 - Harry Reasoner, Dakota City Iowa, newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS)
1923-06-27 - Paul F Conrad, Cedar Rapids Iowa, cartoonist (Pulitzer 1964, 71, 84)
1923-07-28 - Mary Jane Odell, Iowa, secretary of state
1925-10-23 - Johnny Carson, Corning Iowa, comedian (Tonight Show, Who Do You Trust)
1926-04-04 - Cloris Leachman, Des Moines Iowa, actress (Phyllis, High Anxiety)
1926-04-30 - Cloris Leachman, Des Moines Iowa, actress (Last Picture Show, Phyllis)
1926-06-07 - Dick Williams, Wall Lake Iowa, choral director (Andy Williams Show)
1926-08-15 - Georgiann Johnson, Decorah Iowa, actress (Marge-Mr Peepers)
1926-10-17 - Julie Adams, Waterloo Iowa, actress (Yancy Derringer, Code Red)
1928-08-30 - Bill Daily, Des Moines Iowa, actor (I Dream of Jeannie, Newhart)
1930-12-03 - Andy Williams, Wall Lake Iowa, singer (Moon River, Andy Williams Show)
1932-03-16 - Ronnie Walter Cunningham, Creston Iowa, Col USMC/astronaut (Apollo 7)
1933-09-17 - Charles E Grassley, (Sen-R-Iowa, 1981- )
1935-07-17 - P D Q Bach, [Peter Schickele], Iowa, composer (5th of Beethoven)
1936-03-27 - Jerry Lacy, Sioux City Iowa, actor (Play it Again Sam)
1938-03-02 - Simon Estes, Centerville Iowa, bass/baritone (Wonton, Don Carlos)
1938-11-13 - Jean Seberg, Marshaltown Iowa, actress (Breathless, Paint Your Wagon)
1939-09-27 - Jim Ross Lightfoot, (Rep-R-Iowa, 1985- )
1939-11-19 - Thomas Harkin, (Sen-D-Iowa, 1985- )
1940-01-31 - Stuart Margolin, Davenport Iowa, actor (Love American Style)
1940-03-10 - David Rabe, Dubuque Iowa, playwright (Streamers)
1942-10-15 - James A Leach, (Rep-R-Iowa, 1977- )
1942-11-01 - Marcia Wallace, Creston Iowa, actress (Carol-Bob Newhart Show)
1944-09-23 - Loren J Shriver, Iowa, Col USAF/astronaut (STS 51-C, STS 31, STS 46)
1946-07-10 - Sue Lyon, Davenport Iowa, actress (Lolita, Night of the Iguana)
1946-09-26 - Mary Beth Hurt, [Mary Supinger], Iowa, actress (Garp, Interiors)
1946-09-27 - T.C. Cannon, Kiowa/Caddo artist (d. 1978)
1946-11-17 - Terry E. Branstad, Governor of Iowa
1946-12-24 - Sharon Farrell, Sioux City Iowa, (Lori-Hawaii 5-0, Young & Restless)
1947-10-01 - Stephen Collins, Des Moines Iowa, actor (Star Trek I, Tattingers)
1948-06-02 - Jerry Mathers, Sioux City Iowa, actor (Beaver-Leave It To Beaver)
1948-06-29 - Fred Grandy, Sioux City IA, (Rep-R-Iowa, 1986- )/actor (Love Boat)
1948-10-25 - Dan Gable, Waterloo Iowa, 68kg freestyle wrestler (Oly-gold-72)
1949-05-01 - Douglas Barr, Cedar Rapids Iowa, actor (Howie-Fall Guy)
1950-01-28 - David Carl Hilmers, Iowa, Col USMC/astronaut (STS 51-J, 26, 36, 42)
1950-03-07 - Mark Pinter, Decorah Iowa, actor (Behind the Screen, Another World)
1950-04-14 - Randolph Powell, Iowa City Iowa, actor (Alan-Dallas, Logan's Run)
1950-07-13 - George D "Pinky" Nelson, Iowa, PhD/astro (STS 41C, STS 61-C, STS-26)
1951-08-19 - Randi Oakes, Randalia Iowa, actress (Officer Bonnie Clark-CHiPs)
1955-02-02 - Michael Talbott, Waverly Iowa, actor (Stan-Miami Vice)
1955-04-29 - Kate Mulgrew, Dubuque Iowa, actress (Capt Janeway-Star Trek Voyager)
1957-04-13 - Gary Kroeger, Cedar Falls Iowa, comedian (SNL, Return of Shaggy Dog)
1958-05-27 - Linnea Quigley, Davenport Iowa, actress (Night of Demons, Virgin High)
1959-03-06 - Tom Arnold, Iowa, [Mr Roseanne Barr Arnold], actor (Tom, True Lies)
1960-02-09 - Peggy A Whitson, Mt Ayr Iowa, PhD/astronaut
1960-06-27 - Jim Nussle, (Rep-R-Iowa)
1961-01-05 - Curt Bader, Bloomfield Iowa, sprint kayak (Olympics-96)
1961-03-10 - Laurel B Clark, Ames Iowa, Lt cmdr USN/astronaut
1962-02-25 - Cammy Ciarelli, Iowa City, WPVA volleyballer (Best of Beach-2nd-1995)
1962-04-17 - Nancy Hogshead, Iowa City, swimmer (Olympic-gold-1984)/model (jockey)
1963-03-09 - Kent Ferguson, Cedar Rapids Iowa, diver (Olympics-92, 96)
1963-10-26 - Kerri Lynne Rosenberg, Burlington Ia, Miss Iowa-America (1991-top 10)
1964-05-14 - James M Kelly, Burlington Iowa, Capt USAF/astronaut
1966-01-25 - Chet Culver, American politician, governor of Iowa
1967-05-14 - Natasha Elaine Kaiser-Brown, Des Moines Iowa, 400m runner
1968-07-26 - Laura Leighton, Iowa City IA, actress (Sydney-Melrose Place)
1969-07-05 - John Oostendorp, Iowa City Iowa, 220 lbs greco-roman wrestler (Oly-96)
1970-02-11 - Jason Allyn Scott, Iowa City Iowa, rower (Olympics-1996)
1970-03-01 - Lisa Eagen, Harlan Iowa, team handball wing/back court (Olympics-1996)
1970-03-03 - Shawn Marie Brogan, Miss USA-Iowa (1997)
1970-03-24 - Lara Flynn Boyle, Davenport Iowa, actress (Donna Hayward-Twin Peaks)
Famous Deaths
Results 1 - 3 of 3
1868-08-25 - Henry P Scholte, Dutch/US vicar (Iowa), dies at 62
1871-06-08 - Satank, Kiowa indian chief, shot to death
1986-11-29 - Cary Grant, actor (Charades), dies in Davenport Iowa at 82
