CAMILLE BOHANNON
On June 26, 1948, U.S. and British pilots begin delivering food and supplies by airplane to Berlin after the city is isolated by a Soviet
Union blockade.
When World War II ended in 1945, defeated Germany was divided
into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation. The
city of Berlin, though located within the Soviet zone of occupation,
was also split into four sectors, with the Allies taking the western
part of the city and the Soviets the eastern. In June 1948, Josef
Stalin’s government attempted to consolidate control of the city
by cutting off all land and sea routes to West Berlin in order to
pressure the Allies to evacuate. As a result, beginning on June 24
the western section of Berlin and its 2 million people were deprived
of food, heating fuel and other crucial supplies.
The Soviet Union began the Berlin Blockade on this day in 1948. It
was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. The
Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal
access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. (Wikipedia)
An international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, found 22
top Nazi leaders guilty of war crimes on this day in 1946.
The Berlin Airlift came to an end on this day in 1949. The airlift had
taken 2.3 million tons of food into the western sector despite the
Soviet blockade.
On this day in 1962, James Meredith, a black US military veteran,
succeeded in registering at the University of Mississippi. It was
his fourth attempt to register. President Kennedy (below) had to
call in the army to get him admitted.
Meredith, center with briefcase, is escorted to the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. marshals.
August 18, 1963: James Meredith graduates from Ole Miss.
It was on this day in 1955.
James Dean was driving his brand-new Porsche 550 Spyder to an
auto rally in Salinas, California, when he was involved in a head-on collision.
1955
1955