Spanish Influenza breaks out, Janet Reno is confirmed as the first female attorney general, and a massive earthquake and tsunami cripple Japan, all on this day.
39 / 42
NBC Television
2010: Merlin Olsen, a former NFL player who also starred in the TV shows "Little House on the Prairie" and "Father Murphy," dies of peritoneal mesothelioma at the age of 69 in Duarte, Calif. Olsen, a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, won the Outland Trophy at Utah State as the nation's best college interior lineman. He was drafted with the third overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 1962 and played his entire 15-year career with the team, earning a spot in 14 Pro Bowls.