ROSS SIMPSON

The "Anschluss" took place on this day in 1938 as German troops entered Austria.

President Franklin Roosevelt presented his first presidential address
to the nation. It was the first of the "Fireside Chats."

Gacy, known as the “Killer Clown” was convicted on this day
in 1980.

The Girl Scout organization was founded by Juliette Gordon Low on
this day in 1912. The original name was Girl Guides.

Juliette Gordon Low 
(October 31, 1860 – January 17, 1927)

On this day in 1987, "Les Miserables" opened on Broadway.

The Broadway production opened ran until 18 May 2003, closing after
6,680 performances. It is the fifth longest-running Broadway show in
history and was the second-longest at the time. The production was
nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won eight, including Best Musical
and Best Original Score.

Sharon Yvonne Stone was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania. 

Actress Sharon Stone became famous for her role in the 1992 film Basic
Instinct. She also appeared in Martin Scorsese‘s Casino (1995). She won
a Golden Globe Award for her work in the movie.

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1965, the United States landed about 3,500 Marines
in South Vietnam. They were the first U.S. combat troops to land 
there.
    
    
    
    
    
   

Russia’s "February Revolution" began on this day in 1917 with
rioting and strikes in St. Petersburg. The revolution was called
the "February Revolution" due to Russia’s use of the Old Style
calendar.

Lenin during the Russian Revolution.

On this day in 1852, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry (below) 
(1794-1858) of the United States Navy arrived in Japan. He had
been sent there by U.S. President Millard Fillmore to induce the
Japanese government to establish diplomatic relations with the
United States.

Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999)

Nicknamed "Joltin’ Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper", Joe DiMaggio
was a baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career
in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps
best known for his 56-game hitting streak (May 15 – July 16, 1941),
a record that still stands. DiMaggio was a three-time Most Valuable
Player Award winner and an All-Star in each of his 13 seasons.

       1954

     
    
   
    
   

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 and 
took place on May 16, 1929 at a private dinner held at the Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The academy’s president
Douglas Fairbanks hosted the show. Tickets cost $5 and 270 people
attended the event. The presentation ceremony lasted 15 minutes. The
Awards were created by Louis B. Mayer, founder of Louis B. Mayer
Pictures Corporation which merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the
only Awards ceremony not to be broadcast either on radio or TV. The
radio broadcast was aired the following year in 1930. The first television
broadcast was made by NBC on March 19, 1953.

Janet Gaynor won the first Best Actress Academy Award
in the 1929 ceremony.

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968)

American author John Steinbeck is well-known for his novels The Grapes
of Wrath, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men. He won both the Pulitzer
and Nobel Prizes for his work. 

Steinbeck grew up in central California and attended Stanford University
for several years. He later returned to California following failed attempts
at writing jobs in New York and worked as a tour guide and caretaker at
a fish hatchery in Tahoe City.    
   
John Steinbeck, a lifelong heavy smoker, died in New York City of heart
disease and congestive heart failure. He was 66.