The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a
sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. The newspaper
Inverness Courier relates an account of a local couple who
claim to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging
on the surface.” The story of the “monster” (a moniker chosen
by the Courier editor) becomes a media phenomenon, with
London newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and
a circus offering a 20,000 pound sterling reward for capture of
the beast.

SANDY KOZEL

The movie King Kong opened in New York City on March 2, 1933,
to rave reviews, and has since been ranked by Rotten Tomatoes 
as the greatest horror film of all time and the fifty-sixth greatest
film of all time. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically
and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and
selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Robert William Armstrong (November 20, 1890 – April 20, 1973)
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004)

The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes
local news on May 2, 1933. The newspaper Inverness Courier relates an
account of a local couple who claim to have seen “an enormous animal
rolling and plunging on the surface.” The story of the “monster” (a moniker
chosen by the Courier editor) becomes a media phenomenon, with London newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and a circus offering a
20,000 pound sterling reward for capture of the beast.

After the April 1933 sighting was reported in the newspaper on May 2,
interest steadily grew, especially after another couple claimed to have
seen the animal on land.

Amateur investigators have for decades kept an almost constant vigil,
and in the 1960s several British universities launched sonar expeditions
to the lake. Nothing conclusive was found, but in each expedition the
sonar operators detected some type of large, moving underwater
objects.

A plesiosaur and mosasaur.  An illustration from a 1908 "Outing
magazine" article.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 1862, the Confederates defeated Union forces at the second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, VA.

Stonewall Jackson, Confederate General.

It was on this day in 1967. He would be the first black court justice.

Thurgood Marshall  (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993)

The space shuttle Challenger was launched on this day in 1983 with Guion S. Bluford Jr. aboard. He was the first African American to
travel in space when the shuttle embarked on its third mission.

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. will be 76 on November 22.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Godwin)
(August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851)

British author Mary Shelley is best known for her Gothic novel
Frankenstein. Her less famous works include novels such as
Valperga, Perkin Warbeck, and The Last Man.

Baseballs Ty Cobb made his major league batting
debut with the Detroit Tigers on this day in 1905.

Tyrus Raymond Cobb
(December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961)
Nicknamed: The Georgia Peach

The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster was born when a
sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. The Scottish newspaper
Inverness Courier relates an account of a local couple who claim to
have seen "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface”
of Loch Ness, a large freshwater lake near Inverness, Scotland.

Revelations in 1994 that the famous 1934 photo (above) was a
complete hoax has only slightly dampened the enthusiasm of
tourists and investigators for the legendary beast of Loch Ness.