Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977)

In one of history’s most famous cases of body-snatching, two men steal the
corpse of the revered film actor Sir Charles Chaplin from a cemetery in the
Swiss village of Corsier-sur-Vevey, located in the hills above Lake Geneva,
near Lausanne, Switzerland, on this day in 1978.

After a five-week investigation, police arrested two auto mechanics–
Roman Wardas, of Poland, and Gantscho Ganev, of Bulgaria–who on
May 17 led them to Chaplin’s body, which they had buried in a cornfield
about one mile from the Chaplin family’s home in Corsier.

A comic actor who was perhaps most famous for his alter ego, the Little
Tramp, Chaplin was also a respected filmmaker whose career spanned
Hollywood’s silent film era and the momentous transition to “talkies” in
the late 1920s. Chaplin died on Christmas Day in 1977, at the age of 88.

                                                                                                      (HISTORY)

The Little Tramp

In a 1995 survey of film critics worldwide, Chaplin was
voted the greatest actor in film history.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of
the 1876 presidential election by the U.S. Congress. Samuel J. Tilden(below) however, had won the popular vote on November 7,
1876.

Samuel Jones Tilden

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is 87 years old today.

Mikhail Gorbachev was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union,
having been General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union from 1985 until 1991.

From left: President Ronald Reagan and Mikail Gorbachev.

The motion picture King Kong had its world premiere in New
York on this day in 1933.

The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and
directed by Robert Wise, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher
Plummer premiered on this day in 1965 in  New York City. The film is an
adaptation of the 1959 stage musical of the same name, composed by
Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

The United States Congress established Yellowstone National Park in 1872
and President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park
Protection Act into law. Thus the world’s first national park was born.

Ulysses S. Grant  (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885)

MIKE GRACIA

The 22-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was kidnapped
on this day in 1932. The child was found dead in May.

Bruno Richard Hauptmann was convicted and executed
for the kidnapping and murder of baby Lindbergh.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was captured by CIA and Pakistani
agents near Islamabad on this day in 2003. He was the suspected
mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 (below).

On this day in 1981, Bobby Sands (above) who was a member
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army began a hunger strike
while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze after being sentenced for
firearms possession. He eventually died May 5, 1981 at age 27.

The Peace Corps was established on this day in 1961 by President Kennedy (pictured signing the act).

Ronald William Howard is 64 years old today.

Director, producer, and actor Ron Howard first became known as Andy
Griffith‘s son Opie on The Andy Griffith Show on CBS from 1960-1968 
and also played teenager Richie Cunningham on Happy Days on ABC
from 1974-1984. His 2001 film A Beautiful Mind received the Academy
Award for Best Picture and earned Howard the Academy Award for
Best Director. He also directed the 1995 film Apollo 13.

GOT MILK AD (1997)