Pvt. Eddie Slovik became the first American soldier since
the Civil War to be court-martialed and executed by firing
squad for desertion—and the only one who suffered such
a fate during World War II.

Pvt. Eddie Slovik was a draftee. Originally classified 4-F
because of a prison record (grand theft auto), he was
reclassified 1-A when draft standards were lowered to
meet growing personnel needs.

In January 1944, he was trained to be a rifleman, which
was not to his liking, as he hated guns.

In August of the same year, Slovik was shipped to France
to fight with the 28th Infantry Division.

Eddie and Antoinette Slovik.

1974

ED DANAHUE

Bo Diddley (Ellas Otha Bates)
(December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008)

Bo Diddley played a key role in the transition from
the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists,
including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and the Beatles.      
 

His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a
simple  five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone
of hip hop, rock, and pop music.     

.

TIM MAGUIRE

I Love Lucy is a television sitcom that originally aired on
CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total
of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons.

The series starred Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and her husband
Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) (above) along with Vivian Vance and William Frawley.

On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shaking
hands at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York,
when a 28-year-old anarchist named Leon Czolgosz approached
him and fired two shots into his chest. The president rose slightly
on his toes before collapsing forward, saying “be careful how you
tell my wife.”

SANDY KOZEL

John Joseph "Jack" Geoghan (left ) (June 4, 1935 – August 23, 2003)
was an American serial child rapist and Catholic priest assigned to parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts. He was reassigned to several parish posts involving interaction with
children, even after receiving treatment for pedophilia.

Geoghan was convicted of sexual abuse, laicized, and sentenced in
2002 to nine to ten years in Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center,
a maximum security prison.

Less than a year later, he was murdered there by Joseph Druce 
(above right) an inmate serving a life sentence.