ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1871, The Great Chicago Fire began in southwest
Chicago, possibly in a barn owned by Patrick and Katherine O’Leary,
was fanned by strong southwesterly winds, the flames rage for more
than 24 hours, eventually leveling three and a half square miles and 
wiping out one-third of the city. Approximately 250 people were
killed in the fire; 98,500 people are left homeless; 17,450 buildings
were destroyed. Parts of the upper Midwest were also scorched.

Donald James Larsen (New York Yankees) pitched the first perfect
game in the history of the World Series on this day in 1956.

New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra leaping into the
arms of pitcher Don Larsen after the completion of his
perfect game.

Don James Larsen turned 89 August 7.

New York Yankees’ Don Larsen (above) sits in the dugout at the
Yankees Old Timers’ Day baseball game Sunday, June 17, 2018,
at Yankee Stadium in New York.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

During the Revolutionary War on this day in 1781, American forces
began the siege on Yorktown, VA. as the last battle of the war begins.  

    
    
   

Storming of Redoubt #10.

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull, depicts the British surrendering to Benjamin Lincoln, flanked by French (left) and American troops.        

The first around-the-world flight was completed by two U.S. Army
planes when they landed in Seattle, WA. on this day in 19244. The
trip took 175 days.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 1945, Japan surrendered to the U.S. aboard the USS
Missouri, ending World War II. The war ended six years and one day
after it began.

Douglas MacArthur signs the Japanese surrender documents.

On this day in 1864, during the U.S. Civil War, Union forces led by
Gen. William T. Sherman (below) occupied Atlanta following the
retreat of the Confederates.

On this day in 1944, future President George Herbert Walker Bush
is serving as a torpedo bomber pilot in the Pacific theater of World
War II when his squadron is attacked by Japanese anti-aircraft guns
forcing Bush to bail out of the plane over the ocean. According to
the Navy’s records, Bush’s squadron was conducting a bombing
mission on a Japanese installation on the island of Chi Chi Jima in
the Pacific when they encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. The engine
on Bush’s plane was set ablaze, yet Bush managed to release his
bombs and head back toward the aircraft carrier San Jacinto before
bailing out over the water.

George H.W. Bush turned 94 in June.

The Great Fire of London broke out on this day in 1666. It burned for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral
with only six fatalities.        
     
    

It was announced on this day in 1985, the Titanic had been found on 
by a U.S. and French expedition 560 miles off Newfoundland. The
luxury liner had been missing for 73 years.

A photograph of the Titanic believed to have been taken the day
before she left on her ill-fated voyage in 1912.

The last known photo of Titanic heading out for open sea off the
coast of Ireland.

SANDY KOZEL

Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people on this
day in 79 AD. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash.

The above Photos of Plaster casts were made from actual victims trapped in the lava flows of the  ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy.      

        
       

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Florida City: Gary Davis cradles his chihuahua Boo Boo in front of
his mobile home in the Goldcoaster Mobile Home Park the morning
after Hurricane Andrew.

Washington, DC, was invaded by British forces that set fire to the
White House and Capitol on this day in 1814.

The United States Capitol depicted after the 1812 burning of WA. D.C.

An artists depiction of the White House ruins after the conflagration
of August 24, 1814.

The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the
International Astronomical Union on this day in 2006. Pluto’s
status was changed due to the IAU’s new rules for an object
qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because
it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round
shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps
the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly
across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark,
NJ, took about 19 hours.

It was on this day in 1989.

Peter Edward Rose Sr. turned 77 in April.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 1984, President Ronald Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, during testing of the microphone, the President said of the Soviet Union, "My fellow Americans, I am
pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw
Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

In Bloomington, MN, the Mall of America opened on this day in 1992. It
was the largest shopping mall in the United States.