CAMILLE BOHANNON

During World War II on this day in 1940, German war planes bombed
most of the English town of Coventry when about 500 Luftwaffe
bombers attacked.

Coventry Cathedral in ruins following the German attack.

The ruins of the old Coventry Cathedral today, a visible modern-day
reminder of the Blitz of 1940.

Herman Melville’s novel "Moby Dick" was first published in the U.S.
on this day in 1851. 

Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891)

TIM MAGUIRE

The Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore-hauling freighter and its crew of 29
vanished during a storm in Lake Superior on this day in 1975. It was
the largest ship to sail on the Great Lakes.

Edmund Fitzgerald in its watery grave.

On this day in 1969, the children’s TV series "Sesame Street" made
its debut on PBS.

Shown above is an early cast and crew photo. (click to enlarge)

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the sixteenth president of the United States in a four-way race ad the American
Civil War nears.

Election poster, campaign of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin, 1860, lithograph.

The American Civil War (1861-1865)

TIM MAGUIRE

On October 10, 1973, after months of maintaining his innocence,
Agnew pleaded no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion
and resigned from office. He was replaced by House Minority
Leader Gerald Ford (below).

Gerald Ford (center) was sworn in as Vice President Ford. 

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)

Wells is best remembered for the legendary 1938 radio broadcast of “The
War of the Worlds’’, and in film, Citizen Kane (1941), consistently ranked
as one of the greatest films ever made.

TIM MAGUIRE

The first televised debate between presidential candidates Richard
M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy took place in Chicago, IL. on this
day in 1960.

The musical "West Side Story" opened at the Winter Garden Theatre
on this day in 1957.

The Broadway production ran for 732 performances before going on tour. It
was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical in 1957, but the
Best Musical award went to Meredith Willson‘s The Music Man.