th Today in 1839,the famed “Curse of Tecumseh” aka “Curse of Tippecanoe” was issued by Shawnee Indian Tenskwatawa (also known as “The Prophet”)against “the Great White Father” for violating Indian treaties following the battle of Tippecanoe. The curse directed that every president elected in a year divisible by ‘20’ would die in office, beginning the curious cycle of American Presidential deaths. Alleged “victims” included Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Who “broke” the curse? Ronald Reagan. Today in 1847,Mormon pioneer William Clayton invented the modern odometer while crossing the plains in his covered wagon, because he got tired of counting the revolutions of a rag tied to a spoke of a wagon wheel to figure out how many miles he had traveled.