On this day in 1957, 300 U.S. Army troops stood guard as nine black students were escorted to class at Central High School in Little Rock, AR. The children had been forced to withdraw 2 days earlier because of unruly white mobs.
Michael Kirk Douglas is 74 today.
Michael Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1987 film Wall Street. He reprised his role in the 2010 sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. His other notable film credits include The Game (1997), Traffic(2000), Basic Instinct (1992) and Falling Down (1993). He is the son of legendary actor Kirk Douglas.
On this day in 1776, Richard Henry Lee’s resolution to break away from Britain was adopted by the Continental Congress.
On this day in 1964, U.S. President Johnson signed the "Civil Rights Act of 1964" into law. The act made it illegal in the United states to discriminate against others because of their race.
On this day in 1937, American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart disappeared in the Central Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world at the equator.
Alabama Gov. George Wallace allowed two black students to enroll at the University of Alabama on this day in 1963.
Vivian Malone entering Foster Auditorium to register for classes at the University of Alabama. Vivian Malone, one of the first African Americans to attend the university, walks through a crowd that includes photographers, National Guard members, and Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach.
Protesting the persecution of Buddhist, a Vietnamese monk burned himself to death in a Saigon intersection on this day in 1963. He reportedly didn’t make a sound or even move during the incident.
The execution room at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, IN.
The U.S. government executed Timothy McVeigh (above) by chemical injection on this day in 2001. He was accused of taking the lives of 168 people when he blew up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. He died silently, with his eyes open. Instead of making an oral statement, McVeigh, 33, issued a copy of the 1875poem "Invictus," which concludes with the lines: "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
Oklahoma City fire Captain Chris Fields carries Baylee Almon from the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City following the 1995 bombing. Little Baylee died a short time later.
Sir Barton became the first horse to capture the Triple Crown when he won the Belmont Stakes in New York City on this day in 1919.
The 1919 Belmont Stakes Trophy Silver Tray Presented to the Owner of Sir Barton.
Marion Mitchell Morrison (Marion Robert Morrison) Born in Winterset, Iowa. (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979)
Between 1926 and 1976, John Wayne (nicknamed Duke) appeared in over 170 motion pictures, and became one of America’s biggest box office stars, only Clark Gable sold more tickets than Wayne.
Jasper County Assistant District Attorney Pat Hardy displays the
chain allegedly used to drag James Byrd.
The Communists completed their takeover of Czechoslovakia on
this day in 1948.
Czechoslovakian Communist Party leader Klement Gottwald,
addressing the crowds in Wenceslas Square, Prague, on 25
February 1948.
Israeli F-16 fighter-bombers destroyed Iraq’s only nuclear reactor on
this day in 1981.
On this day in 1972, the musical “Grease” opened
on Broadway. It had been playing off-Broadway for
about 4 months.
Prince Rogers Nelson(June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016)
Prince released ten platinum-selling albums and won multiple Grammy
Awards for Purple Rain (1984), including Best Performance and Best
Soundtrack. He became known for releasing over thirty Top Forty single
hits. He suffered from epilepsy as a child, and began writing music at
age seven. One ofthefirst groups he worked with was 94 East.
On this day in 1939, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a military alliance between Germany and Italy known as the "Pact of Steel."
Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit Russia on this day in 1972. He met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
In Birmingham, AL. on this day in 2002, a jury convicted former Ku Klux Klansman Bobby Frank Cherry (above) of murder in the 1963 church bombing that killed four girls shown on the memorial below.
Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s "Tonight Show" for the last time on this day in 1992. He had been host for 30 years.
English actor and director Laurence Olivier who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles.
