SANDY KOZEL

The United States Senate ratified a treaty that included the
Louisiana Territories from France for $15 million on this day
in 1803. The transfer was completed with formal ceremonies
in New Orleans.

Hoisting of American Colors over Louisiana. Painting depicting
first raising of the USA flag with the Louisiana Purchase, in main
plaza (now Jackson Square), New Orleans.

South Carolina became the first state to secede from the American
Union on this day in 1860.

Members of the South Carolina Secession Convention unanimously
vote to secede from the American Union..

On this day in 1989, General Noriega, Panama’s former dictator,
was overthrown by a United States invasion force invited by the
new civilian government. The project was known as Operation
Just Cause.

US soldiers secure a position outside the embassy in Panama City.

On this day in 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as
wedded couples of the opposite sex.

The Frank Capra film "It’s A Wonderful Life" had a preview showing
for charity at New York City’s Globe Theatre on this day in 1946, a
day before its "official" world premiere. James Stewart and Donna
Reed star in the film.

On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached on two charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by the U.S. House of Representatives.

General George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to
Valley Forge, PA, to camp for the winter on this day in 1777.

‘The Prayer at Valley Forge’ by Arnold Friberg.

Charles Dickens’ novel "A Christmas Carol" was first published in England on this day in 1843.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870)  

Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific on this day in 1972, ending
the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.

On this day in 1957, "The Music Man" opened on Broadway.

Robert Preston Meservey  (June 8, 1918 – March 21, 1987)

SANDY KOZEL

Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death in Jerusalem by an Israeli court on this  day in 1961. He had been
tried on charges for organizing the deportation of Jews to
concentration camps.

A single-engine plane carrying U.S. Army Major Glenn Miller (above) disappeared in thick fog over the English Channel during a flight to
Paris.

A US Army-Air Force C-64 Norseman Aircraft similar to the one
carrying Glenn Miller.  

On this day in 1791, the first ten amendments to the Constitution,
known as the Bill of Rights, went into effect following ratification
by the state of Virginia.

On this day in 1890, Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other
tribe members were killed in Grand River, SD, during an incident
with Indian police working for the U.S. government.

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney died in Los Angeles on this day in 1966.

The movie "Gone With the Wind," produced by David O. Selznick
based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, premiered at Loew’s
Grand Theater in Atlanta on this day in 1939. The epic film starred  
Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.

Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.

SANDY KOZEL

U.S. forces captured ousted dictator Saddam Hussein on this
day in 2003.

Authorities in Poland imposed martial law on this day in 1981 in an 
attempt to crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. Martial law 
ended formally in 1983.

In America on this day in 1862, an estimated 11,000 Northern
troops were killed or wounded when Union forces were defeated
by the Confederates under the command of General Robert E.
Lee, at the Battle of  Fredericksburg.

The Korean war campaign for the Chosin Reservoir began on
this day in 1950.

Richard Wayne Van Dyke is 92 years old today.

Van Dyke of The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS from 1961 – 1966
and Diagnosis: Murder on CBS from 1993 – 2001. He won a SAG
Life Achievement Award in 2012 and a Disney Legend Award in
1998. He starred in the 1964 classic Mary Poppins and was also
cast in the film’s sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, which is slated
for a 2018 release.

During the late 1940s, Van Dyke was a radio DJ in Danville, IL.
and served as a radio announcer in the United States Army Air
Corps during World War II and later transferred to the Special
Services as an entertainer. 

Diane Kepley

On this day in 1991, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was released after nearly seven years in captivity in Lebanon.

President George H.W. Bush ordered American troops to lead a
mercy mission to Somalia on this day in 1992.

Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces
Tavern in New York on this day in 1783.

Zappa is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse rock
musicians of his era. He worked as an independent artist for most of his career
and remains a major influence on musicians and composers. His honors include
an induction into the 1995 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the 1997 Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000, he was ranked number 36 on VH1‘s 100
Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at
number 71 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and in 2011 at
number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".