Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales (above)—
affectionately known as "the People’s Princess"—died in a car crash in Paris
at the age  of 36.  Her boyfriend, the Egyptian-born socialite Dodi Fayed, and
the driver of the car, Henri Paul, died as well.

Princess Diana was one of the most popular public figures in the world. Her
death was met with a massive outpouring of grief. Mourners began visiting Kensington Palace immediately, leaving bouquets at the home where the
princess, also known as Lady Di, would never return. Piles of flowers
reached some 30 feet from the palace’s gate (below).

Jessi Combs (July 27, 1983 – August 27, 2019)

(FoxNews) – Jet-car race driver and TV personality Jessi Combs died
tragically during an attempt to break her own land-speed record.

She was involved in the fatal crash during her attempt on Tuesday
on a dry lake bed in Oregon. She was attempting to hit 619 mph.

The details of the crash have not been released at this time.

SANDY KOZEL

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that set sail from
Southampton on this day in 1912. It sank in the North Atlantic
Ocean after colliding with an iceberg four days into her maiden
voyage to New York City. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and 
crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it one of modern
history’s deadliest commercial marine disasters during
peacetime.

Rare photo of the actual iceberg that sank Titanic!

Photo of Survivors in Lifeboats After Titanic sank.

TIM MAGUIRE

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.

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

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1901, President William McKinley (below) died of
gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. His Vice President,
Theodore Roosevelt (above) succeeded him at age 43.     

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901)

The assassination of McKinley occurred on September 6, 1901.

It was on this day in 1982 Grace Kelly died of severe head injuries.

Photo of the crashed car after dropping more than
100 feet over a retaining wall.

Spectators view the site of the car crash.