SANDY KOZEL

Richard (Dick) Wagstaff Clark
(November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012)

“American Bandstand” with host Dick Clark  debuted on this
day in 1957.

Taken from “EYES OF A GENERATION…TELEVISION’S LIVING HISTORY

The world’s first electric traffic signal (above) was put into place
on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland,
Ohio, on August 5, 1914.

In the earliest days of the automobile, navigating America’s roads
was a chaotic experience, with pedestrians, bicycles, horses and streetcars all competing with motor vehicles for right of way. The problem was alleviated somewhat with the gradual disappearance
of horse-drawn carriages, but even before World War I it had
become clear that a system of regulations was necessary to keep
traffic moving and reduce the number of accidents on the roads.

The U.S. Congress passed legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency
responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space, on July 29,
1958. NASA has since sponsored space expeditions, both human and
mechanical, that have yielded vital information about the solar system
and universe. It has also launched numerous earth-orbiting satellites
that have been instrumental in everything from weather forecasting to
navigation to global communications.

On July 24, 1998, director Steven Spielberg’s World War
II epic, Saving Private Ryan, was released in theaters
across the United States. The film, which starred Tom
Hanks and Matt Damon, was praised for its authentic
portrayal of war and was nominated for 11 Academy
Awards. It took home five Oscars, for Best Director,
Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
and Best Sound Effects Editing.

The film’s lengthy opening scene was a bloody re-
enactment of American troops landing at Omaha
Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong (above),
240,000 miles from Earth, spoke these words to more than a
billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar
landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to
walk on the surface of the moon.