MIKE GRACIA

The first Barbie doll was officially unveiled on March 9,
1959, at the New York Toy Fair and 60 years later she’s
still a sensation among children and the adults who
grew up playing with her and her friends.

Barbie doll was created by Ruth Handler, the co-founder
of Mattel, whose daughter was named Barbara.

The full name of the first doll was Barbie Millicent Roberts,
and she was from Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie’s job was a teenage fashion model. Now, however, the doll has been
made in versions connected to over 125 different careers, including President of the United States.

Mattell founders Ruth and Elliott Handler with a Barbie doll.

The winners from the 1st Academy Awards.

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1927 and
1928 and took place on May 16, 1929 during a private dinner held at the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. AMPAS president
Douglas Fairbanks hosted the show.

Only 270 guests attended the ceremony that took just 15 minutes.

Douglas Fairbanks presents Janet Gaynor with the
first Academy Award for Best Actress, for her work
in Seventh Heaven. 

Emil Jannings with the first ever Academy Award “Oscar”.

William C. Demille, President Of The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts
And Sciences hands an Oscar to Mary Pickford (with Warner Baxter
and Hans Kraly looking on) at the first ceremony in 1929.

On this day in 1959, Lee Petty defeats Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish at
the just-opened Daytona International Speedway in Florida to win the first-ever Daytona 500. The race was so close that Beauchamp was initially named the
winner by William France, the owner of the track and head of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). However, Petty, who was
driving a hardtop Oldsmobile 88, challenged the results and three days later,
with the assistance of news photographs, he was officially named the champ.

There was speculation that France declared Beauchamp the winner in order to intentionally stir up controversy and generate publicity for his new race track.

Today, the 200-lap, 500-mile Daytona 500 is one of auto racing’s premiere
events and the first race of the NASCAR season. France, a gas station owner
and racing promoter, officially co-founded NASCAR in Daytona Beach in
1948.

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

Johnny Beauchamp
(March 23, 1923 – April 17, 1981)

   
William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992)

Lee Petty’s 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

MIKE GRACIA

During the Civil War on this day in 1862, about 14,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Fort Donelson, TN.

Ulysses S. Grant (Hiram Ulysses Grant)
(April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885)