SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1776, Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed
the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ.

Map of Delaware River area depicting route George Washington
and his Army made during the crossing. (click to enlarge)

On this day in 1991, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.

On this day in 1989, ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu
and his wife, Elena, were executed following a popular uprising.

"Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of
St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria (above) on this day in 1818.

Josephus Franciscus Mohr (December 11, 1792 – December 4, 1848)

ROSS SIMPSON

The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (" ‘Twas
the night before Christmas…") was first published on this day in
1823.

Clement Clarke Moore

Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese
war leaders were executed in Tokyo on this day in 1948. They
had been found guilty of crimes against humanity.
        

Joseph Smith’s first vision.

The crew of the U.S. Navy ship, Pueblo, was released by North Korea
on this day in 1968. The Captain of the Pueblo, Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, and 82 of his crew were held for 11 months after the ship
was seized by North Korea because of suspected spying by the U.S.

Cmdr. Lloyd M. Bucher, skipper of the USS Pueblo (2nd from right)
says goodbye to Gen. Charles H. Bonesteel III, commander in chief
of the United Nations Command in Korea, as Pueblo crew members applaud at Kimpo Air Base, South Korea.         
  
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
     

On this day in 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, around-
the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air
Force Base in California.

TIM MAGUIRE

America’s Great Depression began with the crash of the Wall Street stock
market on this day in 1929.

On this day in 2004, Osama bin Laden (above) addressed the people of the
United States on Al-Jazeera television, excepting responsibility for the
September 11 attacks. Al-Jazeera did not say how it had obtained the tape.

Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal Crisis on this
day in 1956.

Leon Czolgosz (above) the assassin of U.S. President McKinley, was
electrocuted on this day in 1901.

A rendering of President William McKinley (white shirt) being shot by 
anarchist Leon Czolgosz during the Pan-American Exposition in
Buffalo, New York on September 21, 1901.

On this day in 1998, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off with John Glenn
on board. Glenn was 77 years old. In 1962 he became the first American to
orbit the Earth.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1859, Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on Harper’s Ferry, VA
(now located in West Virginia).

During the French Revolution on this day in 1793, Queen Marie Antoinette (below) was beheaded after being convicted of treason.

Poland’s Karol Josef Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II
on this day in 1978.

On Friday, October 16, 1998, police from Britain’s Scotland
Yard entered a room in a small, private hospital in London
and arrested former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet
Ugarte who was recovering from back surgery.

On this day in 1987, rescuers freed Jessica McClure from the abandoned
well that she had fallen into in Midland, TX. She was trapped for 58 hours.

Jessica McClure Morales turned 31 in March.

James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997)

Michener was the author of more than 40 books, most of which were
fictional, family sagas. His first book was adapted as the popular
Broadway musical South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein.

Michener’s typewriter at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

TIM MAGUIRE

Hermann Goering, a Nazi war criminal and founder of the Gestapo, poisoned himself just hours before his scheduled execution on this day in 1946.

On this day in 1917, Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy,
is executed for espionage by a French firing squad at Vincennes outside
of Paris.

The CBS-TV sitcom "I Love Lucy" premiered on this day in
1951. It starred Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and
William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran
from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957.