MIKE GRACIA

On this day in 1773, nearly 350 chests of tea were dumped into
Boston Harbor off of British ships by Colonial patriots. The
patriots were disguised as Indians. The act was to protest
taxation without representation and the monopoly the
government granted to the East India Company.

During World War II, the Battle of the Bulge began in Belgium on
this day in 1944. It was the final major German counteroffensive
in the war.

Ludwig van Beethoven (December 16, 1770 – March 26, 1827)

Beethoven bridged the gap between Classical and Romantic music with
his symphonies, concertos, and sonatas despite losing his hearing. His
most famous compositions included "Für Elise," the "Moonlight Sonata,"
and the Ninth Symphony.

SANDY KOZEL

U.S. forces captured ousted dictator Saddam Hussein on this
day in 2003.

Authorities in Poland imposed martial law on this day in 1981 in an 
attempt to crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. Martial law 
ended formally in 1983.

In America on this day in 1862, an estimated 11,000 Northern
troops were killed or wounded when Union forces were defeated
by the Confederates under the command of General Robert E.
Lee, at the Battle of  Fredericksburg.

The Korean war campaign for the Chosin Reservoir began on
this day in 1950.

Richard Wayne Van Dyke is 92 years old today.

Van Dyke of The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS from 1961 – 1966
and Diagnosis: Murder on CBS from 1993 – 2001. He won a SAG
Life Achievement Award in 2012 and a Disney Legend Award in
1998. He starred in the 1964 classic Mary Poppins and was also
cast in the film’s sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, which is slated
for a 2018 release.

During the late 1940s, Van Dyke was a radio DJ in Danville, IL.
and served as a radio announcer in the United States Army Air
Corps during World War II and later transferred to the Special
Services as an entertainer. 

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Joseph Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union
on this day in 1927. Leon Trotsky (below) was expelled from the
Communist Party leading to Stalin coming to power.

Leon Davidovich Trotsky

During World War II, the naval battle of Guadalcanal began between Japanese and American forces on this day in 1942. The Americans
won a major victory.

Canadian singer-songwriter, and musician Neil Percival Young
is 72 years old today.

After embarking on a music career in the 1960s, Neil Young moved to Los
Angeles, where he formed Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie
Furay and others.

CARLATA BRADLEY

On this day in 1962,  U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson (below) presented
photographic evidence to the United Nations Security Council. The photos 
were of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II 
(February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965)

The U.N. General Assembly voted to expel Taiwan and admit mainland China
on this day in 1971.

On this day in 1983, U.S. troops and soldiers from six Caribbean nations
invaded Grenada to restore order and provide protection to U.S. citizens
after a recent coup within Grenada’s Communist (pro-Cuban) government.

The Charge of the Light Brigade took place during the Crimean War on this
day in 1854. The British were winning the Battle of Balaclava when Lord
James Cardigan received an order to attack the Russians. He took his troops
into a valley and suffered 40 percent caualties. Later it was revealed that the
order was the result of confusion and was not given intentionally.

Professional Golfer Payne Stewart was the U.S.Open champion in
1991 and 1999. His chartered jet lost pressurization shortly after
takeoff, then crashed several hours later. He was 42.

Learjet 35 N47BA Prior to the crash in a field near Aberdeen, South
Dakota.

Poet and author Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – October 25, 1400) 

MIKE GRACIA

Thomas Edison invented a workable electric incandescent lamp on this day in
1879. It would last 13 1/2 hours before it would burn out.

Anthrax scare claims first two U.S. Postal workers in Washington,
D.C. on this day in 2001.

The Battle of Trafalgar occurred off the coast of Spain on this day in 1805. The British defeated the French and Spanish fleet.