Singer, actress, and fashion designer Vanessa Williams
turned 59 in March.

On July 23, 1984, 21-year-old Vanessa Williams gave up her
Miss America title, the first resignation in the pageant’s history,
after Penthouse magazine announces plans to publish nude
photos of the beauty queen in its September issue. Williams
originally made history on September 17, 1983, when she
became the first Black woman to win the Miss America crown.

Miss New Jersey, Suzette Charles (below), the first runner-up
and also African American, assumed Williams’ tiara for the two
months that remained of her reign. 

   

Suzette Charles

ROSS SIMPSON

Under the Indian Ocean, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent 500-mph
waves across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal on this day in
2004. The tsunami killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen
countries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Sumatra, Thailand and
India.

On this day in 1996, six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey
was found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her
family’s home in Boulder, CO. It was reported in September 2016
that the investigation into JonBenét’s death continues to be an
active homicide case, per Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa.

Patsy Ramsey and her husband John Ramsey, parents of JonBenet.

John Mark Karr, 41, was being charged by police for child porn in
California when out of nowhere, he confessed to killing JonBenet,
but his DNA didn’t match the DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey,
and he wasn’t charged with her death.

ROSS SIMPSON

Under the Indian Ocean, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent 500-mph
waves across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal on this day in
2004. The tsunami killed at least 283,000 people in a dozen
countries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Sumatra, Thailand
and India.

Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder,
CO on this day in 1996.

On this day in 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.

Tennessee Williams’ play "The Glass Menagerie"
was first performed publicly, at the Civic Theatre
in Chicago, IL. on this day in 1944.

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972)

Truman served as the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953),
taking the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

On December 5, 1972, Truman was admitted to Kansas City’s Research
Hospital and Medical Center with lung congestion from pneumonia. He
developed multiple organ failure and died at 7:50 am on December 26
at the age of 88.

Although one paper decided early that Dewey won, Truman was victorious, November 4, 1948.

Shirley Mae Jones was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

Musical actress Shirley Jones starred as the mom of The Partridge Family on
ABC-TV from  September 25, 1970 – March 23, 1974. She won the Miss
Pittsburgh contest in 1952.

Dawn Wells as Miss Nevada in 1959.

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Dawn Elberta Wells was born in Reno, Nevada.

Actress Dawn Wells played Mary Ann Summers on the CBS 
television series Gilligan’s Island (1964-1967). She later
opened boot camp for actors. Wells gained the title of Miss
Nevada after competing in the Miss America pageant. She 
made her TV debut in a 1961 episode of The Everglades,
playing the character Piney.