Robert Lee Montague (died 1982)

In 1863, on January 1st, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation made the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It also immediately freed 50,000 slaves, with the rest freed as Union armies advanced into Confederate states. The Proclamation wasn't a Congressional law - it was an Executive Order.

In 1873, on September 18th, the New York stock market crash - due to the failure of a number of banks - began the Panic of 1873. After the boom following the Civil War, the Coinage Act of 1873 and other factors led to the market crash. Thus began the "Long Depression" - also called the "Great Depression" until the 1930's.

In 1932, on February 27th, actress Elizabeth Taylor was born in London. Her parents were Americans living in London and when she was 7, the family moved to Los Angeles. Her first small part in a movie was in There's One Born Every Minute in 1942 but her first starring role was in National Velvet in 1944. She became as famous for her 8 marriages (to 7 people) as she was for her beauty and films.

In 1960, on September 26th, the first televised debate for a Presidential campaign in the United States - Kennedy vs Nixon - was held. Seventy million people watched the debate on TV. The debate pre-empted the very popular Andy Griffith Show.

In 1982, in the year of Robert Lee Montague's passing, on September 14th, Princess Grace of Monaco (American actress Grace Kelly), 52, died of injuries when her car plunged off a mountain road. Her 17 year old daughter, Stephanie, was also in the car and suffered serious injuries but recovered. It's believed that the accident was caused when Princess Grace, who was driving, had a mild stroke.