England’s Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married on this day in 1981.
Italy’s leader of the National Fascist Party, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini(July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945).
From left: Benito Mussolini with the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was authorized by the U.S. Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower (center) signed an act creating the agency on this day in 1958.
Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17), the Big Bopper (28) and pilot Roger Peterson died in a plane crash in Iowa on this day in 1959.
Crash site memorial north of Clear Lake, Iowa.
The first rocket-assisted controlled landing on the Moon was made by the Soviet space vehicle Luna 9 (above) on this day in 1966.
Eileen Marie Collins is a retired NASAastronaut and a retired United States Air Forcecolonel. A former military instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first female pilot and first female commander of a Space Shuttle on this day in 1995 aboard STS-63. She was awarded several medals for her work. She has logged 38 days 8 hours and 20 minutes in outer space. Collins retired onMay 1, 2006, to pursue privateinterests.
On this day in 2003, Phillip Harvey Spector became notorious for the murder of the actress Lana Clarkson (below). He was convicted of murder in second degree.
Recently released prison mugshots of Phil Spector (AP).
Hundreds of people were feared drowned in the Red Sea on this day in 2006 after an Egyptian ferry carrying 1,400 passengers and crew sank in rough weather in one of the worst shipping disasters in the world. Rescuers found at least 200 survivors in lifeboats and were brought ashore.
Norman Percevel Rockwell(February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978)
Norman Rockwell was a 20th-century American author, painter and illustrator whose works have a broad popular appeal in the U.S. for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations that depict everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades.
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847)
The painting ‘Salvator Mundi’ by Leonardo da Vinci at Christie’s.
(Fox News) – A painting by Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci that depicts Jesus Christ holding an orb sold for a world record $450.3 million at Christie’s auction house in New York Wednesday night.
The painting, called "Salvator Mundi," Italian for "Savior of the World," is one of fewer than 20 paintings by Leonardo known to exist and the only one in private hands. The buyer was not immediately identified.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519)
Smokey Bear’s debut poster (above) was released on August 9, 1944, which is considered his birthday. Overseen by the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign, the first poster was illustrated by Albert Staehle. That same year, Forest Service worker Rudy Wendelin became the full-time campaign artist; he was considered Smokey Bear’s "manager" until he retired in 1973.
George Washington’s older half-brother, Lawrence, used personal connections with the Fairfax family to have him appointed official surveyor for Culpeper County, a prestigious position.
Andy Warhol (Andrew Warhola) (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987)