SANDY KOZEL

Berlin was once divided by a barbed wire fence to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later on this day in 1961, work on the Berlin Wall began.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016)

Infamous Cuban dictator and revolutionary Fidel Castro came to power in
1959 and served as his country’s Prime Minister until 1976 and President
from 1976 to 2008.

Present day Mexico City was captured by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez from the Aztec Indians on this day in 1521.

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
(August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980)  

Iconic director Alfred Hitchcock is known as The
Master of Suspense for his classic films such as 
Psycho (1960), Rear Window (1954), Dial M for
Murder (1954), and The Birds (1963). One of the
most influential filmmakers of all time, he directed
over 50 feature films, and his work continues to
circulate through film circles and classic movie
channels.
 

It was on this day in 1995.

Mickey Charles Mantle
(October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995)

Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball career with the New
York Yankees as a center fielder and first baseman, from 1951
through 1968. He was nicknamed The Commerce Comet and The
Mick.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC)

On this day in 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F.
Mondale named U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be
his running mate. Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice
president on a major party ticket.

Russian republic president Boris N. Yeltsin (above) announced
his resignation from the the Soviet Communist Party on this day
in 1990.

George Eastman (July 12, 1854 – March 14, 1932)

George Eastman was an American entrepreneur who
founded the Eastman Kodak Company and popularized
the use of roll film, helping to bring photography to the
mainstream.

George Eastman taking pictures with his Kodak
camera, 1926.

Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II 
(July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960)

Oscar Hammerstein was an American music writer,
theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) theatre
director of musicals for almost forty years. He won
eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for
Best Original Song.

TIM MAGUIRE

An exchange between Sen. Joseph McCarthy (right) and Joseph
Welch (left) took place on this day in 1954. Sen. McCarthy was
confronted by Welch over his anti-communist stance. Welch
represented the Army during the Army-McCarthy hearings.   

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Charles John Huffam Dickens
(February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870) 

Charles Dickens was an English writer and social
critic. He created some of the world’s best-known
fictional characters and is regarded by many as
the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works
enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime,
and by the 20th century critics and scholars had
recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and
short stories enjoy lasting popularity. Dickens
suffered stroke at his home after a full day’s work
on his final novel Edwin Drood and never regained
consciousness. His ending for the unfinished book
remains unknown.

Comedian/actor Richard Pryor was severely burned by a "free-base" mixture that exploded in his home on this day in 1980. He was hospitalized more than two months.

On this day in 1973, Secretariat won the 105th Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths and ran the fastest 1 1/2 miles on dirt at 2:24.

Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss) (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)

Les Paul  was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar. He
taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz
and popular music, he had an early career in country music. Paul is
credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first
to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known
as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention

Les Paul is the only person to be included in both the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

 

He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and together 
they sold millions of records.

TIM MAGUIRE

John William King

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 of the first groups he worked with was 94 East.

SANDY KOZEL

Joseph Raymond McCarthy

During the U.S. Civil War on this day in 1862, the ironclads Monitor
(left) and USS Merrimack (right), which had been rechristened the Virginia, fought to a draw in a five-hour battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

George Burns (Nathan Birnbaum)
(January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996)

George Burns was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully
spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. He and his wife, Gracie
Allen, appeared on radio, television, and film as the comedy duo Burns
and Allen.

1977