The Lone Ranger…..
September 15, 1949……
The television show The Lone Ranger debuts on ABC, starring Clayton Moore as the masked hero. The TV series ran until 1957. It had been a successful radio show since 1933.
World’s Largest Scramble for Free Land…..
September 16, 1893……
More than 100,000 homesteaders descend on the 6,000,000-acre Cherokee Strip to stake their claim on 40,000 homesteads. This territory would become part of Oklahoma in 1907.
The land had originally been set aside for the Cherokee Indians. However, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison forbade grazing leases in the Cherokee Outlet after October 2 of 1890, thus eliminating tribal profits from cattle leases, and the Cherokee agreed to sell these lands to the government.
The settlers were known as “Boomers” and weren’t supposed to enter the territory until noon September 16, but many snuck in early becoming known as “Sooners.”
M*A*S*H…..
September 17, 1972……
The TV show M*A*S*H premieres. It was almost canceled due to poor initial ratings. However, it grew in popularity and the series finale was the most watched single U.S. TV episode in history up to that point, seen by 125 million viewers.