SANDY KOZEL

The United States Senate ratified a treaty that included the
Louisiana Territories from France for $15 million on this day
in 1803. The transfer was completed with formal ceremonies
in New Orleans.

Hoisting of American Colors over Louisiana. Painting depicting
first raising of the USA flag with the Louisiana Purchase, in main
plaza (now Jackson Square), New Orleans.

South Carolina became the first state to secede from the American
Union on this day in 1860.

Members of the South Carolina Secession Convention unanimously
vote to secede from the American Union..

On this day in 1989, General Noriega, Panama’s former dictator,
was overthrown by a United States invasion force invited by the
new civilian government. The project was known as Operation
Just Cause.

US soldiers secure a position outside the embassy in Panama City.

On this day in 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as
wedded couples of the opposite sex.

The Frank Capra film "It’s A Wonderful Life" had a preview showing
for charity at New York City’s Globe Theatre on this day in 1946, a
day before its "official" world premiere. James Stewart and Donna
Reed star in the film.

SANDY KOZEL

U.S. forces captured ousted dictator Saddam Hussein on this
day in 2003.

Authorities in Poland imposed martial law on this day in 1981 in an 
attempt to crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. Martial law 
ended formally in 1983.

In America on this day in 1862, an estimated 11,000 Northern
troops were killed or wounded when Union forces were defeated
by the Confederates under the command of General Robert E.
Lee, at the Battle of  Fredericksburg.

The Korean war campaign for the Chosin Reservoir began on
this day in 1950.

Richard Wayne Van Dyke is 92 years old today.

Van Dyke of The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS from 1961 – 1966
and Diagnosis: Murder on CBS from 1993 – 2001. He won a SAG
Life Achievement Award in 2012 and a Disney Legend Award in
1998. He starred in the 1964 classic Mary Poppins and was also
cast in the film’s sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, which is slated
for a 2018 release.

During the late 1940s, Van Dyke was a radio DJ in Danville, IL.
and served as a radio announcer in the United States Army Air
Corps during World War II and later transferred to the Special
Services as an entertainer. 

JOHN BELMONT

In Oslo, Norway on this day in 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
received the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the youngest person
to receive the award.

Women were granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory
on this day in 1869.

The first domestic passenger jet flight took place in the U.S. on this
day in 1958 when 111 passengers flew from New York to Miami on
a National Airlines Boeing 707.

Soul singer Otis Redding, at age 26, was killed on this day in 1967 
when his tour plane crashed into a Wisconsin lake. The members
of Redding’s tour band, the "Bar-Kays," were also killed.

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte died on this day in 2006.

Pinochet was a Chilean general, politician and the dictator of Chile
between 1973 and 1990; he remained the Commander-in-Chief of the 
Chilean Army until 1998. He was also president of the Government
Junta of Chile between 1973 and 1981. He died of congestive heart
failure and pulmonary edema.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1945, 24 Nazi leaders went before an international war crimes tribunal (below) in Nuremberg, Germany.

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968)

Robert Kennedy was a U.S. Senator from New York and Attorney General under
his brother John‘s administration who was assassinated in 1968 while he was
running for president. He spearheaded many of the civil rights initiatives that the
Kennedy Administration put forward.

Shortly before his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve as an apprentice
seaman and later graduated from Harvard College and the University of Virginia
School of Law.

Britain’s Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh in Westminster Abbey on this day in 1947.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip today.

Spain’s Dictator Francisco Franco died on this day in 1975. He
had been suffering from a number of health problems over the
years, including Parkinson’s disease. He was 82.

Francisco I. Madero led a revolution that broke out in Mexico on this
day in 1910.

The musical CABARET opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst
Theatre on this day in 1966.

Joel Grey, center, and the original 1966 Broadway cast of "Cabaret."

TIM MAGUIRE

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor on this day in1886 by
U.S. President Cleveland. The statue weighs 225 tons and is 152 feet tall. It was originally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World."

Benito Mussolini took control of the Italian government and introduced fascism
to Italy on this day in 1922.

On this day in 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the U.S. that he
had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.

Microsoft co-founder William Henry Gates III is 62 years old today.

Bill Gates has helped Microsoft become one of the most successful companies in
history. Forbes ranked him the wealthiest person in the world from 1995 to 2009.

He reportedly hacked into his high school’s computer system to make sure there
would be more girls in his classes than boys.

Julia Fiona Roberts is 50 years young today.

Julie Roberts rose to fame as the star of Pretty Woman (1990) 
and won an Oscar for her role in Erin Brockovich in 2000. She
wanted to be a veterinarian, but she ended up signing with Click
Modeling Agency in New York.