SANDY KOZEL

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit in
1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope,
but it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned both as a
vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy.

The Hubble telescope is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble
(below) and is one of NASA’s Great Observatories.

Edwin Powell Hubble
(November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953)

Flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, igniting
a two-day blaze that kills between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450
buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million
(in 1871 dollars; $3 billion in 2007 dollars) in damages.

Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in the O’Leary barn and started
the fire, but other theories hold that humans or even a comet may have been responsible for the event that left four square miles of the Windy City and its
business district in ruins.

SANDY KOZEL

Guglielmo Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi
( April 25, 1874 – July 20, 1937

Marconi was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer,
known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio
transmission, development of Marconi’s law, and a
radio telegraph system. He is credited as the inventor
of radio, and he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics
with Karl Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of their
contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy".

Actor Alfredo James Pacino is 78 years old today.     

Al Pacino had his breakthrough as mobster Michael Corleone in the
Godfather trilogy and won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his
role as Frank Slade in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman. He is also
known for his starring roles in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Heat (1995),
Scarface (1983), and Serpico (1973).

1992

On this day in 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska
after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less
than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412
square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed
by William Henry Seward, the secretary of state under the 17th
President of the United States Andrew Johnson.

William Henry Seward
(May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872)

Andrew Johnson
(December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875)

SANDY KOZEL

Guglielmo Marconi, (1st Marquis of Marconi) (April 25, 1874 – July 20, 1937) 

Marconi was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer known for his
pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission and for his
development of Marconi’s law and a radio telegraph system. He is
credited as the inventor of radio, and he shared the 1909 Nobel
Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of
their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy".

It was on this day in 1507.

On this day in 1945, U.S. and Soviet forces met at Torgau, Germany 
near the Elbe River.

The U.S. Hubble Space Telescope was placed into Earth’s orbit on
this day in 1990. It was released by the space shuttle Discovery
(below).

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996)

The Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald, won thirteen Grammy Awards and
became a legend for singing "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall"
and "I’m Making Believe." Her rendition of "Summertime" with Louis
Armstrong is considered one of the best collaborations in music
history.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in the recording studio.