Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, and
seized power in Cuba on this day in 1959.
On this day in 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in
the rebel states were free.
Ellis Island Immigrant Station formally opened in New York on this
day in 1892.
Hiram "Hank" Williams, Sr. (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953)
Hank Williams died of heart failure caused by a combination of alcohol, morphine and chloral hydrate at the age of 29 on this day in 1953. He
had developed serious problems with alcohol and drug addictions due
to severe back pain caused by spina bifida.