History of the BFR?

Mary is off doing her BFR as I write this, which got me to wondering about
the history of the biennial flight review.

As I understand it, BFRs were not required until fairly recently (like, in
the last 30 years?). Given the current uproar over the creation of
relatively simple new requirements (like foreign pilots having to register,
etc.), I can barely imagine the howls of protest that must have ensued
during and after the creation of a rule that required every pilot to "prove
himself" with a CFI every 2 years!

(Although, I suspect, CFIs at the time must have thought they had died and
gone to heaven! Talk about a guaranteed money-maker! :-)

Was there a rash of incidents caused by rusty pilots before this rule was
proposed? What happened to bring about such a radical change?

For those who were flying back then, can you give us a brief history of what
happened?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"