Capt. McBroom was the Pilot of United
Airlines Flight 173. He said he tried to
aim the plane at a dark spot.

A United Airlines Douglas DC-8 similar to the one involved in the
crash.

The crash site as it looks today.

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1831, Charles Darwin (above) set out on a
voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin’s
discoveries during the voyage helped him form the basis
of his theories on evolution.

The British naval vessel HMS Beagle.

James Barrie’s play "Peter Pan" premiered in London
on this day in 1904.

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet (May 9, 1860 – June 19, 1937)  

Historical newspaper report on “Peter Pan”.

Peter Pan statue by Sir George Frampton in Kensington
Gardens, London.

ROSS SIMPSON

Under the Indian Ocean, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent 500-mph
waves across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal on this day in
2004. The tsunami killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen
countries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Sumatra, Thailand and
India.

On this day in 1996, six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey
was found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her
family’s home in Boulder, CO. It was reported in September 2016
that the investigation into JonBenét’s death continues to be an
active homicide case, per Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa.

Patsy Ramsey and her husband John Ramsey, parents of JonBenet.

John Mark Karr, 41, was being charged by police for child porn in
California when out of nowhere, he confessed to killing JonBenet,
but his DNA didn’t match the DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey,
and he wasn’t charged with her death.

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1776, Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed
the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at
Trenton, NJ.

At The Battle of Trenton, after a brief struggle, nearly the entire
Hessian force was captured, with negligible losses to American
forces.

The above historical marker is near the very spot the Continental
Army soldiers under George Washington’s command would have disembarked from their boats to begin their march to Trenton.

"Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus (above) in Oberndorff, Austria on this day in 1818.

Shown above is the only surviving autograph of the song by Joseph Mohr (below).

Josephus Franciscus Mohr
(December 11, 1792 – December 4, 1848)

Josephus Mohr was an Austrian Roman Catholic
priest and lyricist.  He wrote the lyrics of the
Christmas carol (English: ‘Silent Night’).

SANDY KOZEL

Apollo 8 astronauts, James A. Lovell, William Anders and Frank 
Borman, reached the moon on this day in 1968. They orbited the 
moon 10 times before coming back to Earth. Seven months later 
man first landed on the moon.

Apollo 8 crew members (from left) James A. Lovell Jr., William A.
Anders and Frank Borman.