Prohibition came to an end when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S.Constitution on this day in 1933.
Walt Disney with cartoon character Mickey Mouse.
Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)
Animator, voice actor, producer, and entertainer Walt Disney founded The Walt Disney Company and created the iconic character Mickey Mouse. He produced such classic films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), and Cinderella (1950).
On this day in 1978, Cult leader Jim Jones and hundreds of his followers died in a mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana in South America. It was the largest mass suicide in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until September 11, 2001.
REV. JIM JONES
Shown are bodies of members of the Peoples Temple who died after their leader Jim Jones ordered them to drink Flav-R-Aid laced with cyanide.
Congressman Leo Ryan (above) was among five killed by Temple members at the nearby Port Kaituma airstrip (below).
The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon premiered in New York on this day in 1928. It was Walt Disney’s "Steamboat Willie," starring Mickey Mouse.
Prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden seek life without parole forO.J.
After careful selection, a Jury of eight women and four men was selected and included eight blacks, one white, one Hispanic and two people of mixed race.
In baseball, the "Shot Heard ‘Round the World" was a game-winning home run by New York Giants outfielder and third baseman Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds in New York City on October 3, 1951, to win the National League (NL) pennant.
Thomson hits the ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World’ atThe Polo Grounds in New York City .
Robert (Bobby) Brown Thomson (October 25, 1923 – August 16, 2010)
The children’s television series “Captain Kangaroo” aired weekday mornings on the CBS network from October 3, 1955, until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children’s television program of its day.
Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004)
On this day in 1955, "The Mickey Mouse Club" premiered on ABC-TV and ran until 1959.
Walt Disney (center) is surrounded by members of "The Mickey Mouse Club" cast.
Head Mouseketeer Jimmie Dodd with his Mouse Guitar.
On this day in 1940, the 114-day Battle of Britain began during World War II.
The Telstar Communications satellite was launched on this day in 1962. It relayed TV and telephone signals between Europe and the U.S.
Millard Fillmore(January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874)
Following Zachary Taylor’s death,Millard Fillmore (above) became the 13th President of the United States on this day in 1850. He was the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president.
Zachary Taylor(November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850)
The identity and source of Taylor’s illness are the subject of historical speculation, although it is known that Taylor and several of his cabinet members had come down with similar intestinal ailments on July 4, 1850, while attending holiday celebrations during a fund-raising event.
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev (January 14, 1965 – July 10, 2006)
Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and a leader of the Chechen movement.
He was killed by an explosion on July 10, 2006. Controversy still surrounds who was responsible for his death.
Folk singer/songwriter Arlo Davy Guthrieis 71 years older today.
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) Born in Detroit, Michigan.
Casey Kasem was the famed disc jockey of American Top 40, a national radio show from 1970 until his retirement in 2009. He also provided the voice of “Shaggy” (below) in the animated Saturday morning TV series Scooby-Doo.
