BRIAN THOMAS

During World War II on this day in 1945, about 30,000 U.S. Marines
landed on Iwo Jima.

On this day in 1942, President Roosevelt signed an executive order
giving the military the authority to relocate and intern Japanese-Americans.

On February 19, 1473, Nicolaus Copernicus is born in Torun, a city
in north-central Poland on the Vistula River. The father of modern astronomy, he was the first modern European scientist to propose
that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun.

The monument to Nicolaus Copernicus in Warsaw.

Deng Xiaoping of China died on t his day in 1997 at the age of
92. He was the last of China’s major revolutionaries.

William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. is 78 years old today.

Singer Smokey Robinson was with The Miracles who helped define
the Motown sound. He also played with The Five Chimes until 1972
and pursued a solo career. He released such popular songs as "A
Quiet Storm," "Tears of a Clown," "You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,"
and "I Second That Emotion."

JOHN BELMONT

Mark Twain’s "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was
published in the United States for the first time on
this day in 1885.

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
(November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)

In Montgomery, AL, on this day in 1861, Jefferson Davis was
inaugurated as the President of the Confederate States.

Jefferson Davis was sworn in as Provisional President
of the Confederate States of America on the steps of
the Alabama State Capitol (above/below).

On this day in 1970, The Chicago Seven defendants were found
innocent of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic
national convention.

Police arrest protesters outside of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

John Joseph Travolta is 64 years old today. Born in Englewood, NJ.

John Travolta starred in the 1970s hit films Saturday Night Fever and 
Grease. He later went on to play Vincent Vega in the critically acclaimed
1994 film Pulp Fiction.

On this day in 2001, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr., was
killed in a crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500 race. He
died instantly from blunt force trauma to the skull.

Comedienne Joan Rivers made her first guest appearances on
" The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson" on NBC-TV in
1965.

BRIAN THOMAS

In Milwaukee on this day in 1992, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison. In November of 1994, he was beaten to
death in prison.

On this day in 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives
broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson (above)  
and Aaron Burr (below). Jefferson was elected president
and Burr became vice president.

World chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM supercomputer "Deep Blue" in Philadelphia, PA. on this day in 1996.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is 55 years old today.

Michael Jordan is a retired professional basketball player, businessman,
and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA for
the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. His biography on the NBA
website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball
player of all time.” He is considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA
around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Eagles released their "Greatest Hits” album on this day in 1976. 

News-Week was launched in 1933 by Thomas J. C. Martyn, a former
foreign-news editor for Time. Journalist Samuel T. Williamson served
as the first editor-in-chief of Newsweek. The magazine ceased print
publication with the December 31, 2012, issue and transitioned to an
all-digital format, called Newsweek Global.

Thomas John Cardell Martyn (January 3, 1896 – February 6, 1979)