MIKE GRACIA

Explorer I was put into orbit around the earth on this day in 1958. It
was the first U.S. earth satellite.

From left: William Picketing, James Van Allen, and German scientist Wernher von Braun hold a model of Explorer 1.

On this day in 2001, a Scottish court in the Netherlands convicted
one Libyan )above) and acquitted a second in the bombing of Pan
Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that occurred in 1988.

On this day in 1945, Private Eddie Slovik became the only U.S.
soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.

Norman Kingsley Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007)

Norman Mailer was a novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film-maker,
actor, and political activist. His novel The Naked and the Dead, published
in 1948 brought him fame. His best-known work is widely considered to
be The Executioner’s Song (1979) winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction
and Armies of the Night won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction and the
National Book Award.

Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828)

Austrian composer was extremely prolific during his lifetime, which was only
31 years. His work consists of over 600 secular vocal works, seven complete
symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large amount of
chamber and piano music. Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers
of the late Classical and early Romantic eras and is one of the most frequently
performed composers of the early 19th century.

Franz Schubert at the piano by Rudolf Klingsbögl.

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1848, James W. Marshall (below) discovered a gold
nugget at Sutter’s Mill in northern California. The discovery led to
the gold rush of ’49.

Sir Winston Churchill died at the age of 90 on this day in 1965.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill
(November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965)

Churchill was a British statesman, army officer and writer,
who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from
1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

The bust of Winston Churchill is said to be a replica of one given
to 1960s leader Lyndon B Johnson and first appeared in the Oval
Office during former George W Bush’s administration. However it
was replaced by a bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr
during Barack Obama’s presidency.

The bust of  Churchill (far left) was returned to the White House’s
Oval at President Donald Trump’s request just hours after Trump
was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.

On this day in 1989, Ted Bundy, the confessed serial killer, was put
to death in Florida‘s electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-
year-old Kimberly Leach.

Theodore Robert Bundy (born Theodore Robert Cowell)
(November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989)

Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to serve on the Supreme
Court of the United States.

High School yearbook photo.

John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982)

Actor, Saturday Night Live cast member, and Blues Brothers
comedian John Belushi posthumously received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, on April 1, 2004. Three of the four
movies he starred in were with Dan Akroyd; the exception is
the 1978 cult comedy film Animal House. John was an All-
American football player and wanted to become a coach. He
was the brother of actor Jim Belushi.

Food Fight !!!

John Belushi in National Lampoon’s Animal House 1978.

TIM MAGUIRE

During the French Revolution on this day in 1793, King Louis XVI
was executed on the guillotine. He had been condemned for
treason.

Soviet leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died on this day in 1924. Joseph
Stalin began a purge of his rivals for the leadership of the Soviet
Union.

        On this day in 1950.

President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft
evaders on this day on 1977.

The French Concorde SST aircraft began regular commercial service
for Air France and British Airways on this day in 1976.

On this day in 1942, Count Basie and His Orchestra recorded "One O’Clock Jump."

William James "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984)

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 2006.

Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy
for the Democratic presidential nomination on this day in 1960.

On this day in 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.

Japanese troops celebrating the fall of Manila.

On this day in 1935, Bruno Richard Hauptmann went on trial for
the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindbergh’s baby. Hauptmann was
found guilty and executed.

On this day in 1983, the musical "Annie" closed on Broadway at the
Uris Theatre after 2,377 performances.

ED DANAHUE

Saddam Hussein was executed on this day in 2006.

About 600 people died on this day in 1903 when fire broke out at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, IL.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed on this
day in 1922. Vladimir Lenin (above) proclaimed the establishment.

The United Auto Workers union staged its first sit-down strike, at the Fisher Body Plant in Flint, MI. on this day in 1936.

On this day in 1948, the musical "Kiss Me Kate" opened at the New Century Theatre in New York City. Cole Porter composed the music
for the classic play that ran for 1,077 performances.

Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, and Julie Wilson.

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

Singer, guitarist, songwriter and music producer Bo Diddley  who played a
key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many
artists, including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones with his 
use of African rhythms and a signature beat.