On this date in . . .

1302: Romeo Monteveccio married Juliet Cappelleto in Citadela, Italy, and inspired Shakespeare to write a play about them. They had never seen each other.

1903: Lawrence Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota. He sold accordion lessons by mail before his TV show became a hit. The 16-year network show still thrives in syndication. His only hit record was "Calcutta" in 1960.

1930: The Intimate Revue closed at London’s Duchess Theatre after half a performance, history’s shortest theatrical run.

1945: Golfer Byron Nelson won the Miami Four-Ball Tourney, the first of 11 consecutive tournament victories on the pro golf tour. No other golfer has won more than four in a row. For all 11 victories, Nelson won barely $30-thousand.

1951: The comic strip "Dennis the Menace" first appeared in U.S. newspapers. His favorite drink was root beer. For years, he always carried a slingshot in his back pocket.

1958: A B-47 accidentally dropped an unarmed nuclear weapon into the garden of a family in Mars Bluff, South Carolina. The conventional explosives detonated, destroying the home and injuring six family members. The blast resulted in the formation of a crater 50-70 feet wide and 25-30 feet deep. Five other houses and a church were also damaged. The Air Force paid the injured family $54,000 in compensation.

1986: NFL owners voted to use instant replays for the 1986 football season. The practice was discontinued in 1991, then brought back in 2000.

1993: After he was robbed of $20.00 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the victim asked for his wallet back. The nervous mugger handed over his own wallet by mistake, then ran. The thief’s wallet contained $250.00.

1994: Actress Melanie Griffith filed for divorce from actor Don Johnson.

1997: Queen Elizabeth II knighted rock musician Paul McCartney.

1998: The International Astronomical Union reported that a mile-wide asteroid could collide with Earth on October 26, 2028. The following day NASA said there was no chance of the asteroid hitting earth.

2002: England's Plymouth University became the first school in the world to offer a degree in surfing. Surfing head Dr. Colin Williams said the degree in surf science and technology would come from the same intellectual mould as golf course studies and car showroom management.