On March 9, 1959, the first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy
Fair in New York City.

Eleven inches tall, with a waterfall of blond hair, Barbie was the first mass-
produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The woman
behind Barbie was Ruth Handler (below), who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with
her husband in 1945. After seeing her young daughter ignore her baby dolls
to play make-believe with paper dolls of adult women, Handler realized there
was an important niche in the market for a toy that allowed little girls to
imagine the future.

Barbie’s appearance was modeled on a doll named Lilli, based on a German
comic strip character.

Mattell founders Ruth and Elliot Handler with a Barbie doll.

Ruth Marianna Handler(Mosko)
(November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002)

SANDY KOZEL

During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment of the 5th Division take the crest of
Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak and most strategic position, and
raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and
recorded the event.

Louis R. "Lou" Lowery (July 24, 1916 – April 15, 1987)

Lee Petty No. 42 and Johnny Beauchamp No. 73 battle on the last lap
of the 1959 Daytona 500.

The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona
(now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race
of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on
February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race
held at the 2.5-mile Daytona. The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average
speed of 135.521 mph.

It took NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. three days to decide the winner
the following Wednesday. In the end, with the help of photographs and
newsreel footage, Petty was officially declared the winner.

Lee Arnold Petty
(March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)

Lee Petty was one of the pioneers of
NASCAR and one of its first superstars.
He is also the father of Richard Petty,
who went on to become one of the
most successful stock car racing
drivers of all time.

The original NASCAR logo.

On February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, 
a group that included African American leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois 
and Ida B. Wells-Barnett announced the formation of a new organization 
Called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
it would have a profound effect on the struggle for civil rights and the
course of 20th Century American history. The conference that led to
the NAACP’s founding had been called in response to a race riot in
Illinois.

A silent march in New York to protest the police treatment of blacks during riots in East St. Louis in 1917. They marched down Fifth
Avenue on that summer Saturday without saying a word. 

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in Hollywood on May 16, 1929
with a mere 270 guests. The name Oscar would not used for another few
years. Emil Jannings was the first Best Actor and Janet Gaynor Best Actress.

The first 12 winners (and the 20 films that were given an honorary scroll of commendation) had already been revealed in the Los Angeles Times three
months earlier.

The inaugural awards were the only time in Academy history that the
ceremony wasn’t broadcast in some way; even a year later it was covered
live on radio.