Michigan Minute

On this date, we recognize key milestones: in 1920, Eva M. Hamilton became the first woman elected to the Michigan Legislature, and in 1954, Charles Diggs was elected as Michigan’s first African-American U.S. Congressman. In 2017, a legislative update officially designated "Michigander" over "Michiganian."

Today, we commemorate pivotal moments in Michigan's history: the establishment of the first European outpost by Robert Cavalier de la Salle in 1679, the opening of the current Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit in 1923, and the debut of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957—the largest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere, maintained through tolls and fees.

On this day in 1926, legendary magician Harry Houdini passed away at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. After being punched unexpectedly in the stomach while unbraced during a Montreal stop on his tour, Houdini performed in Detroit with a high fever. The blows led to or worsened appendicitis, and Houdini died at age 52 on Halloween. His last words were reportedly, "I'm tired of fighting..."

On this day in 1943, University of Michigan football star Tom Harmon survived a dogfight over Japanese-occupied China during WWII, earning the Purple Heart and Silver Star. In 1956, 52 boys at Romeo Community High School were told to trim their Elvis-style sideburns or leave school. All complied after barbers offered free haircuts.

On this day in 1901, Roy D. Chapin embarked on a challenging journey from Detroit to New York in a Curved Dash Oldsmobile, overcoming multiple mechanical issues to make it to the Auto Show on time. Also today in 1975, Michael Schur, creator of Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

On this day in 1912, stunt pilot Art Smith and Aimee Cour made history with the first aerial elopement after crashing their plane en route to Michigan for marriage. In 2013, Matt Wesaw became the first Indigenous Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, having led the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and its gaming authority.

On this day in 1992, the Keweenaw National Historic Park was established in Calumet, MI, honoring Michigan's rich mining history. Also, in 1876, after witnessing Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, Linus Stannard founded Michigan’s first independent telephone company in Ontonagon County, connecting Rockland and Greenland with a private line.

On this day in 1975, Paula Faris, journalist and TV personality for ABC News, was born in Jackson, Michigan. Faris co-anchored Good Morning America from 2014 to 2018 and was an Emmy-nominated panelist on The View. Also today in 1825, the Erie Canal officially opened, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River. Championed by New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, the canal's construction began in 1817, revolutionizing transportation across the Great Lakes.

On this day in 1918, Lucy A. Sloan, a Michigan scholar, educator, author, and suffragist, passed away in Mt. Pleasant. Sloan was a champion of women's rights and helped found the first literary society for women at Central Michigan University. On this same date in 1889, the first permanent connection between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas was established with an underwater telephone cable at the Straits of Mackinac. Lastly, in 1924, Ty Tyson delivered Detroit’s WWJ’s first play-by-play radio broadcast of a University of Michigan football game.

On this day in 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, a widowed schoolteacher from Bay City, Michigan, made history by becoming the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel on her 63rd birthday. Desperate for work, she hoped the stunt would lead to speaking engagements, but it didn’t pan out as planned. Despite facing many challenges, including a manager who stole her barrel, she remains forever known as the "Heroine of Niagara."