Evel Knievel

On December 31, 1967, Knievel attempted to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace on a Triumph motorcycle. He cleared the water but crashed on landing. The Las Vegas Sun’s report published that morning preserves the anticipation before the attempt; the later HISTORY account places the crash within the resort’s wider spectacle-making history.

Knievel belongs here because of landmark Las Vegas performances, not because the city was his birthplace. The date archive also includes his 1973 Las Vegas Convention Center appearances and the later Vegas jumps of Robbie Knievel and other stunt riders. These events sit between athletic performance, promotion and television entertainment, a combination especially important to the city.