A McDonnell Douglas DC-8 similar to the aircraft that crashed.

United Airlines Flight 173 was a flight from John F. Kennedy International
Airport in New York City, New York to Portland International Airport in
Portland, Oregon, with a scheduled stop in Denver, Colorado. While the
aircraft was approaching Portland it ran out of fuel and crashed in a
suburban Portland neighborhood near NE 158th Avenue and East
Burnside Street.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the following probable cause: “The failure of the captain (Malburn McBroom) to monitor
properly the aircraft’s fuel state and the crewmember’s advisories regarding
the fuel state. This resulted in fuel exhaustion to all engines. The pilots
inattention resulted from preoccupation with a landing gear malfunction 
and the preparations for a possible landing emergency”.   

The crash site as it looks today.

ROSS SIMPSON

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924)

Wilson served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921
as a member of the Democratic Party.

On this day in 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president
of the United States to resign, stepping down over differences with President Jackson.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn published "Gulag Archipelago,"
an expose of the Soviet prison system on this day in
1973.

Solzhenitsyn bravely wrote about the brutality of Stalin’s network
of gulags.

The musical "On the Town" opened in New York City on
this day in 1944 and ran for 462 performances. It featured
the song, "New York, New York." It was made into a film
in 1949.

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is 63 today.

Popular actor Denzel Washington won an Academy Award
for Best Actor for his role in the 2001 film Training Day.

1995

2006

20012

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1979, Soviet forces seized control of Afghanistan
and Babrak Karmal succeeded President Hafizullah Amin, who
was overthrown and executed. 

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

NYC is home to the largest movie theater in the world: Radio
City Music Hall. It opened in Rockefeller Center on this day
1932.

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

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

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 at least 283,000 people in a dozen
countries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Sumatra, Thailand
and India.

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 on this day in 1996.

On this day in 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.

Tennessee Williams’ play "The Glass Menagerie"
was first performed publicly, at the Civic Theatre
in Chicago, IL. on this day in 1944.

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972)

Truman served as the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953),
taking the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

On December 5, 1972, Truman was admitted to Kansas City’s Research
Hospital and Medical Center with lung congestion from pneumonia. He
developed multiple organ failure and died at 7:50 am on December 26
at the age of 88.

Although one paper decided early that Dewey won, Truman was victorious, November 4, 1948.

Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957)

Humphrey Bogart played Rick Blaine in Casablanca (1942) and Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941). The American Film Institute called him the greatest male
star in cinema’s history in 1999. His other film credits include The Big Sleep (1946)
The African Queen (1951) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

1954

Humphrey Bogart and wife Lauren Bacall in 1955.