MIKE GRACIA

Communist East Germany opened its borders on this day in
1989, allowing its citizens to travel freely to West Germany.

On this day in 1938, Nazi troops and sympathizers destroyed and
looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, burned 267 synagogues, killed 91
Jews, and rounded up over 25,000 Jewish men in an event that
became known as Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass."

The great Northeast blackout occurred on this day in 1965, as
several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power
failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.

Dylan Marlais Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953)

Thomas came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though
he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income
with reading tours and radio broadcasts.

At the post-mortem, the pathologist found three causes of death – pneumonia,
brain swelling and a fatty liver. Despite his heavy drinking his liver showed no
sign of cirrhosis. He was only 39.

Arthur William Matthew "Art" Carney
(November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003)

Actor in film, stage, television and radio, Art Carney is best known
for playing sewer worker Ed Norton opposite Jackie Gleason‘s Ralph
Kramden in the CBS television sitcom The Honeymooners from 1955
to 1956. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in
Harry and Tonto (1974). Carney died in his sleep of natural causes
on November 9, 2003, 5 days after his 85th birthday, near his home
in Westbrook, Connecticut.

Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, and Audey Meadows

Art Carney as a department store Santa Clause in the
1960 Twilight Zone episode "Night of the Meek".  

ROSS SIMPSON

The Great Chicago Fire was a large destructive fire that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. It killed up to 300 people,
destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles of Chicago, Illinois, and left more than
100,000 residents homeless. The fire started at about 9:00 p.m. on October 8,
in or around a small barn belonging to the O’Leary family. The shed next to
the barn was the first building to be consumed by the fire, but city officials
never determined the exact cause of the blaze. There has, however, been
much speculation over the years.

In Poland on this day in 1982, all labor organizations were banned
including Solidarity.  
        
       

On this day in 1970, Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn won the
Nobel Prize for literature.

The Novels of Alexander Solzhenitsyn:
4-book Set (Cancer Ward, August 1914,
the First Circle, One Day in the Life of
Ivan Denisovitch.

Donald James Larsen (New York Yankees) pitched the first
perfect game in the history of the World Series on this day
in 1956.

Donald James Larsen turned 88 on August 7.

TIM MAGUIRE

The Model T automobile was introduced by Henry Ford on this day in 1908.

On this day in 1949, Mao Tse-tung raised the first flag of the People’s Republic
of China when the communist forces had defeated the Nationalists. The
Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan.

The first modern World Series took place on this day in 1903 between the
Boston Pilgrims and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston prevailed five games
to three, winning the last four.

Groucho Marx (left) introducing Johnny Carson on his first night
as host of ‘The Tonight Show’.

On this day in 1962, Johnny Carson began hosting the "Tonight" show on
NBC-TV. He stayed with the show for 29 years. Jack Paar was the previous
host.

John William Carson  (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005)

Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, FL. on this day in 1971.

Roy E. Disney and Mickey Mouse at the Walt Disney World Resort opening.

ED DONAHUE

On this day in 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously
ruled that President Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed
White House tape recordings to the Watergate special
prosecutor Leon Jaworski.

Vice President Nixon (far right) and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
(wearing hat) speak as the press looks on in part of what came to be known as the Kitchen Debate.

Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the
valley of the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah on this day in
1847. 

Brigham Young
(June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877)

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco
(July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830)

 
Simon Bolivar,known as El Libertador, was a Venezuelan military and political
leader who played a leading role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama as sovereign states, independent of
Spanish rule.

The Apollo 11 astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific
Ocean on this day in 1969.

The Apollo 11 crew stand next to their spacecraft on the deck of
the recovery ship U.S.S. Hornet.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 1963

Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963)

It was on this day in 1978.

In 1987, David Berkowitz claimed to have become an evangelical 
Christian while in prison. According to his personal testimony,
his conversion occurred after reading Psalm 34:6 in a fellow
inmates Bible.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.