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On this day in 1879, Thomas Edison gave his first demonstration of incandescent lighting to an audience in Menlo Park, NJ.

On this day in 1961,  the U.S. Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.

Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins is80 years old today.

Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins is best known for his portrayal of the serial
killer Hannibal Lecter, a role that won him the Academy Award for Best
Actor.

1991

Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.

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Saddam Hussein was executed on this day in 2006.

About 600 people died on this day in 1903 when fire broke out at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, IL.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed on this
day in 1922. Vladimir Lenin (above) proclaimed the establishment.

The United Auto Workers union staged its first sit-down strike, at the Fisher Body Plant in Flint, MI. on this day in 1936.

On this day in 1948, the musical "Kiss Me Kate" opened at the New Century Theatre in New York City. Cole Porter composed the music
for the classic play that ran for 1,077 performances.

Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, and Julie Wilson.

Bo Diddley  (Ellas Otha Bates)  (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008)

Singer, guitarist, songwriter and music producer Bo Diddley  who played a
key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many
artists, including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones with his 
use of African rhythms and a signature beat.

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Noblemen in Russia murdered Gregory Rasputin on this day in 1916.

The U.S. Seventh Cavalry massacred over 400 men, women and
children at Wounded Knee Creek, SD. on this day in 1890. This
was the last major conflict between Indians and U.S. troops.

President James Polk (above) signed legislation making Texas
the 28th state of the United States on this day in 1845.

On this day in 1989, dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia by the country’s Federal Assembly. He
was the first non-Communist to hold the position in more than four decades.

The first American Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized, in Boston, MA. on this day in 1851.

Baby Rose Marie was a popular radio personality in 1928.

Rose Marie Mazzetta (August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017)

(FoxNews) – Rose Marie, the actress made famous for her role as Sally
Rogers on famed 1960 sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” has died.

The news comes from the star’s official Twitter account, which stated
she had passed at her home in Van Nuys California. 

                                                                                                  (CBS photo)
From left: Rose Marie,fellow cast members Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam and Dick Van Dyke, front, on ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’
in the early 1960s.