TIM MAGUIRE

The assassination on this day in 1914 sparked World War-ll.

On this day in 2000, six-year-old Elián González returned to Cuba
from the U.S. with his father. The child had been the center of an international custody dispute.

Federal agents seized Elián González, held in a closet by Donato Dalrymple, in Miami in April 2000. Dalrymple rescued the boy
from the ocean after his mother drowned when they tried to
escape Cuba.

On this day in 1997, boxer Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting
part of Evander Holyfield’s ear after three rounds of their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, NV.

Referee Mills Lane checks the ear of WBA heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield after it was bitten by Mike Tyson.

Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979)

Richard Rodgers was an American composer, with over 900 songs and
43 Broadway musicals, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant
composers of 20th century American music. He is best known for his
songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar
Hammerstein II. His compositions have had a significant impact on
popular music.

Richard Rodgers (left) and Oscar Hammerstein ll.

1955

1965

Mel Brooks (Melvin Kaminsky) is 92 years old today.

Mel Brooks was the director of the classic satirical comedies Blazing
Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Spaceballs (1987), High
Anxiety (1977), The Producers (1967) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights
(1993). Brooks belongs to an exclusive club of entertainers as the
recipient of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

Mel Brooks in Spaceballs.

CARLATA BRADLEY

The Soviet Union began the Berlin Blockade on this day in 1948.

William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey
(June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983)

Professional boxer and cultural icon of the 1920s, Jack
Dempsey competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as
the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926.

Nicknamed "Kid Blackie" and "The Manassa Mauler".

It was on this day in 1987.

John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987)

In 1986, doctors determined that Jackie Gleason was suffering from terminal
colon cancer, which had metastasized to his liver. Gleason was also suffering
from diabetes. He kept his medical problems private, although it had been
rumored that he was seriously ill.  A year later, on June 24, 1987, Gleason
died at his Florida home at age 71.

Jackie Gleason with fellow cast members Art Carney
and Audrey Meadows in The Honeymooners.

SANDY KOZEL

The Lusitania, a civilian ship, was sunk by a German submarine on during WW l on this day in 1915. A total of 1,201 people were killed.

Germany signed unconditional surrender ending World War II on
this day in 1945. It would take effect the next day.

On this day in 1954, French Colonial Forces surrendered to the
Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu after 55 days of fighting.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840 – November 6, 1893)  

Tchaikovsky is famous for composing "The Nutcracker" ballet, as
well as numerous symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, and
chamber-music pieces, he’s remembered as one of classical
music’s most popular composers. He began taking piano lessons
when he was five and was able to read music at the same level as
his first piano teacher in only three years.

Bust sculpture monument to composer Peter Tchaikovsky near
the music school in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded "Chattanooga Choo Choo”
on this day in 1941.

SANDY KOZEL

The Stamp Act was passed on this day in 1765. It was the first direct British tax on the American colonists. It was repealed on March 17,
1766.

On this day in 1987, a barge loaded with 32,000 tons of refuse left
Islip, NY, to find a place to unload. After being refused by several
states and three countries space was found back in Islip.

    
On NBC-TV, Tom Brokaw (above) called the barge the“homeless
garbage barge” from Islip, N.Y. On CBS-TV, Dan Rather called the
Mobro barge “the most-watched load of garbage in the memory
of man."

Tara Lipinski, at 14 years and 10 months, became the youngest
women’s world figure skating champion on this day in 1997.

Tara Kristen Lipinski will be 36 June 10.

The Beatles‘ first album, "Please Please Me," was released in the
U.K. on this day in 1963.

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Baron Lloyd-Webber) is 70 today.

Legendary showman and musical theatre impresario Andrew
Lloyd Webber is known for "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera,"
and "Jesus Christ Superstar." He was honored with a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was also inducted into the
Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.

Jan. 18, 1988

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led
by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (center) began a march from Selma
to Montgomery, AL.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arrives in Montgomery, Alabama.

On this day in 1960, about 70 people were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police fired upon demonstrators.

On this day in 1989, Randall Dale Adams was released from a
Texas prison after his conviction was overturned. The 1988 
documentary film "The Thin Blue Line" challenged evidence
of Adams’ conviction for killing a police officer.

Composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born on this day in 1685.

Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is
known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos 
and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew
Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he
has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.