SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of
the 1876 presidential election by the U.S. Congress. Samuel J. Tilden(below) however, had won the popular vote on November 7,
1876.

Samuel Jones Tilden

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is 87 years old today.

Mikhail Gorbachev was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union,
having been General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union from 1985 until 1991.

From left: President Ronald Reagan and Mikail Gorbachev.

The motion picture King Kong had its world premiere in New
York on this day in 1933.

The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and
directed by Robert Wise, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher
Plummer premiered on this day in 1965 in  New York City. The film is an
adaptation of the 1959 stage musical of the same name, composed by
Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

MIKE GRACIA

Americans on this day in 1789, voted for the electors that would
choose George Washington to be the first United States president.

George Washington accepted the wish of the American people for
him to be their first president. No one campaigned for the office.

United States President Bill Clinton went on trial before the Senate
on this day in 1999. It was only the second time in U.S. history that
an impeached president had gone to trial. Clinton was later
acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice charges.

President Bill Clinton tells America, “I did not have sexual relations
with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. These allegations are false”.

President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Phnom Penh just after the overthrow by Vietnamese forces.

Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko.

ED DANAHUE

The U.S. Supreme Court on this day in 2000 found that the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court in the 2000 Presidential
election was unconstitutional. Vice President Al Gore conceded 
the election to Texas Gov. George W. Bush the next day.

TIM MAGUIRE

UN War Crimes panel tries Slobodan Melosevic for genocide in
Bosnia.

He suffered disfigurement as a result of the poisoning, but he has
since made made a full physical recovery (below).
 

The first edition of "Life" magazine was hit the newsstands on
this day in 1936. The cover depicted the Fort Peck Dam in
Montana.

Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967)

Luce was a  magazine magnate who was called “the most
influential private citizen in America of his day".

On this day in 1903, Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso made
his U.S. debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in "Rigoletto."  He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses
of Europe and America, appearing in a wide variety of roles from
the Italian and French repertoires that ranged from the lyric to
the dramatic.         
     

Enrico Caruso (February 25, 1873 – August 2, 1921)

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1923, Adolf Hitler (center) made his first attempt at seizing
power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as
the "Beer-Hall Putsch."

On this day in 1960, Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy was declared
the winner of the Presidential Election over Vice-President Richard
M. Nixon.

Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California on this day in
1966.

The newly elected Governor of California,
Ronald Reagan talks to the press with wife
Nancy by his side.

Blues singer-songwriter, musician, and activist Bonnie Lynn
Raitt is 68 today.

Raitt has received 10 Grammy Awards. She is listed as number 50 in Rolling
Stone‘s list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time” and number 89 on their
list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Led Zeppelin’s album "Led Zeppelin IV" was released on this day        
in 1971. The album included the song "Stairway to Heaven."