MIKE GRACIA

Thomas Edison perfected a workable electric light bulb on this
day in 1877. It would last 13 1/2 hours before it burned out.

Thomas Alva Edison
(February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931)

On this day in 1805, The Battle of Trafalgar occurred off the coast of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. The British defeated the French
and Spanish fleet. It was the greatest battle in British naval history.

British Admiral Horatio Nelson was shot and killed during battle.

Admiral Horatio Nelson was one of
Great Britain’s greatest war heroes.

BOSTON (AP) — A 12-pound chunk of the moon that fell to the Earth as a
lunar meteorite has been sold at auction for more than $600,000. It was
found last year in a remote area of Mauritania in northwest Africa.

Boston-based RR Auction announced Friday the $612,500 winning bid for
the meteorite, composed of six fragments that fit together like a puzzle,
came from a representative working with the Tam Chuc Pagoda complex
in Ha Nam Province, Vietnam. They predicted it would get $500,000 at
auction.

It is considered one of the most significant lunar meteorites ever found
because of its large size and because it has "partial fusion crust" caused
by the tremendous heat that sears the rock as it falls to Earth.

TIM MAGUIRE

General Douglas MacArthur (center) fulfilled his promise to return
to the Philippines on this day in 1944 when an amphibious retaking
of the islands by allied forces took place.

It was on this day in 1977.

The Convair aircraft before the crash.

On this day in 1947, Hollywood came under scrutiny as the House
Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence within the motion picture industry.

Hollywood stars (Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in the lead) descend on the Capitol to lodge their note of protest against the
HUAC’s proceedings.

Photograph of HUAC hearing with actor Gary Cooper (far left).

NANCY LYONS

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 508 points on this day in 1987. It was called Black Monday, the worst one-day percentage
decline, 22.6%, in history.

The supersonic Concorde made its first landing at John F. Kennedy
Airport in New York City on this day in 1977.   

Concorde Press Conference at JFK Airport.

On this day in 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska
after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less
than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412
square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed
by William Henry Seward, the secretary of state under the 17th
President of the United States Andrew Johnson.

William Henry Seward
(May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872)

Andrew Johnson
(December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875)