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.
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.
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 lyricistsLorenz 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.
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.
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.
