Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal
holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed
on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King’s birthday, January 15. The holiday is similar to holidays set under
the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The earliest Monday for this
holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21.

Marchers gather at the Martin Luther King Memorial for a silent
walk to a prayer service on the National Mall in Washington DC.

TIM MAGUIRE

 On this day in 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders. During his presidential campaign, he
had announced his intention to pardon those who had failed to
register for the draft or left the country to avoid service.    

 


Vietnam Draft Dodgers in 1977.
      
      

On this day in 1976, the French Concorde SST aircraft began regular commercial service for Air France and British Airways.

The official handover ceremony to British Airways of its first
Concorde occurred on 15 January 1976 at Heathrow Airport.

Buzz Aldrin (Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.)

The second person to ever walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin was the pilot of
NASA’s Apollo 11 mission and was a member of the third group of astronauts
ever selected by NASA. He served as an astronaut from his selection in 1963
until his retirement in 1971. Aldrin served as an U.S. Air Force officer and had
a Command Pilot rating. Appropriately enough, his mother’s maiden name
was Moon.

Aldrin walks on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission
in 1969.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1981, Iran released 52 Americans that had been held hostage for 444 days. The hostages were flown to Algeria and then
to a U.S. base in Wiesbaden, West Germany. The release occurred minutes after the U.S. presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter
to Ronald Reagan. The Iranians waited until the hour President
Reagan was sworn in before allowing the plane with the hostages
to take off.

President Ronald Reagan being sworn into office on this day1981.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy takes the Oath of Office and becomes the
35th President of the United States on this day in 1961. At age 43,
he is the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected, winning by one of the smallest margins of victory, only 115,000 
popular votes. Lyndon B. Johnson, 51, is his Vice President.

President John F. Kennedy During his inaugural speech on Jan. 20,
1961.