MIKE GRACIA

Douglas Wilder, the first African American to be elected governor
of an American state, took office as Governor of Virginia on this
day in 1990. Wilder broke a number of color barriers in Virginia
politics and remains an enduring and controversial figure in the
state’s political scene.

Born in 1931 in Church Hill, a poor and segregated neighborhood
of Richmond, Wilder is the grandson of slaves and is named for Frederick Douglass. He grew up in the Jim Crow era, graduating
from Richmond’s Virginia Union University in 1951. Wilder fought
in the Korean War, earning the Bronze Star, before studying law
at Howard University and returning to Richmond to practice.

On December 22, 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67—the “Fifth Symphony”—received
its world premiere in Vienna. It was a benefit concert held
for Beethoven at the Theater an der Wien. It would soon
become the world’s most recognizable piece of classical
music.

Ludwig van Beethoven
(baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827)

(FOX NEWS) -Quincy Jones, a music mogul whose career in the
industry spanned over seven decades, died Sunday night at 91
years old.

Jones was surrounded by his children, siblings and close family
at his home in Bel Air, California. His cause of death was not
revealed.

Jones, who worked in the music industry for over 75 years, was
a multi-Grammy winning producer, arranger, composer and
multi-media entrepreneur.

Michael Jackson with Quincy Jones.

   
Jackson won a record eight awards, including Album of the Year
and Record of the Year for Thriller — the bestselling album of all
time — with record producer Quincy Jones.

Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones.

TIM MAGUIRE

Melvin James Brooks (Kaminsky) is a actor, comedian, filmmaker, songwriter, and playwright. He’s 98 today.

1974

ROSS SIMPSON

In the name of African American voting rights, 3,200 civil rights demonstrators in Alabama, led by Martin Luther King Jr., began
an historic march from Selma to Montgomery, the state’s capital. Federalized Alabama National Guardsmen and FBI agents were
on hand to provide safe passage for the march, which twice had
been turned back by Alabama state police at Selma’s Edmund
Pettus Bridge.