On this day in 1968, North Korea seized the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo, charging it had intruded into the nation’s territorial waters on a spying mission. The crew was released 11 months later.
The Pueblo’s mission began in early January, 1968, when the crew set off from the U.S. Navy base on Yokosuka, Japan with orders to conduct surveillance on Soviet Navy and North Korean signal and electronic intelligence activity.
The captured crew (above) were beaten and nearly starved in the incident that almost led to another war.
Pueblo on display in North Korea, 2012.
North Koreans raise their fists during a rally in 2010 in front of the U.S. Navy spy ship Pueblo.
On this day in 1977, the TV mini-series "Roots," began airing on ABC. The show was based on the Alex Haley novel. Roots received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the third-highest-rated episode for any type of television series, and the second-most watched overall series finale in U.S. television history.
LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte, a warrior of the Mandinka people in Gambia who is captured by slavers and taken to Annapolis, Md.
John William Carson(October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005)
On this day in 1943, work was completed on the Pentagon and it was dedicated as the world’s largest office building located just outside Washington, DC, in Arlington, VA. The structure covers 34 acres of land and has 17 miles of corridors.
The first National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl was played on this day in 1967. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League. The final score was 35-10.
Even though ticket prices averaged just $12, it was the only Super Bowl that didn’t sell out. The game aired on two different networks, NBC and CBS and drew in an audience of more than 61,000 fans. The popularity of the event continued to grow after the leagues integrated.
Super Bowl I – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Packers quarterback Bart Starr.
Football great and TV commentator Frank Gifford (second from left).
On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress in Montgomery, AL, refused to give up her seat to a white man. Mrs. Parks was arrested marking a milestone in the civil rights movement in the U.S.
The bus, restored to the 1955 condition of Ms. Parks’ historic ride, is located in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks(February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)
Heywood "Woody" Allen (Allan Stewart Konigsberg) is 83 today.
Iconic writer and director Woody Allen is known for his unique blend of comedy and style. His most celebrated films include Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Deconstructing Harry (1997), and Midnight in Paris (2011). He performed card and magic tricks in his youth and underwent the legal process of changing his name to Heywood Allen when he was 17.
