TIM MAGUIRE

The Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore-hauling ship, and its crew of 29
vanished during a storm in Lake Superior on this day in 1975.

Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev died of a heart attack at age 75
on this day in 1982. He was suceeded by Yuri V. Andropov.

Henry M. Stanley, journalist and explorer, found David Livingstone
on this day in 1871. Livingston was a missing Scottish missionary
in central Africa. Stanley delivered his famous greeting: "Dr.
Livingstone, I presume?"

On this day in 1969, "Sesame Street" made its debut on PBS.

Sesame Street is a long-running educational children’s television series that
combines live action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced
by Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop)
and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett.

MIKE GRACIA

Communist East Germany opened its borders on this day in
1989, allowing its citizens to travel freely to West Germany.

On this day in 1938, Nazi troops and sympathizers destroyed and
looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, burned 267 synagogues, killed 91
Jews, and rounded up over 25,000 Jewish men in an event that
became known as Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass."

The great Northeast blackout occurred on this day in 1965, as
several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power
failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.

Dylan Marlais Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953)

Thomas came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though
he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income
with reading tours and radio broadcasts.

At the post-mortem, the pathologist found three causes of death – pneumonia,
brain swelling and a fatty liver. Despite his heavy drinking his liver showed no
sign of cirrhosis. He was only 39.

Arthur William Matthew "Art" Carney
(November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003)

Actor in film, stage, television and radio, Art Carney is best known
for playing sewer worker Ed Norton opposite Jackie Gleason‘s Ralph
Kramden in the CBS television sitcom The Honeymooners from 1955
to 1956. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in
Harry and Tonto (1974). Carney died in his sleep of natural causes
on November 9, 2003, 5 days after his 85th birthday, near his home
in Westbrook, Connecticut.

Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, and Audey Meadows

Art Carney as a department store Santa Clause in the
1960 Twilight Zone episode "Night of the Meek".  

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1869, Abraham Lincoln won a four-way race as the sixteenth president of the United States.

John Philip Sousa (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932)

John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor, known
primarily for military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of
march composition, he is known as "The March King"

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 25, 1840 – November 6, 1893)  

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, was a Russian composer of the romantic
period, some of whose works are among the most popular music
in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer
whose music made a lasting impression internationally.

Monument to the Russian classical composer Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky outside the Conservatory in Moscow, Russia.

Mike Nichols with his mother.

Mike Nichols (Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky)
(November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014)

Film and theatre director, producer, actor and comedian Mike Nichols was
noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and an aptitude for
getting the best out of actors regardless of their acting experience. He
began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe,
The Compass Players.

TIM MAGUIRE

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor on this day in1886 by
U.S. President Cleveland. The statue weighs 225 tons and is 152 feet tall. It was originally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World."

Benito Mussolini took control of the Italian government and introduced fascism
to Italy on this day in 1922.

On this day in 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the U.S. that he
had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.

Microsoft co-founder William Henry Gates III is 62 years old today.

Bill Gates has helped Microsoft become one of the most successful companies in
history. Forbes ranked him the wealthiest person in the world from 1995 to 2009.

He reportedly hacked into his high school’s computer system to make sure there
would be more girls in his classes than boys.

Julia Fiona Roberts is 50 years young today.

Julie Roberts rose to fame as the star of Pretty Woman (1990) 
and won an Oscar for her role in Erin Brockovich in 2000. She
wanted to be a veterinarian, but she ended up signing with Click
Modeling Agency in New York. 

Walt Disney Productions (later The Walt Disney Company) has produced an
anthology television series under several different titles since 1954.

The original version of the series premiered on ABC on Wednesday, October
27, 1954. The show was broadcast weekly on one of the Big Three television
networks until 1990, a 36-year span with only a two-year hiatus from 1984 until
1985. The series was broadcast on Sunday for 25 of those years. From 1991
until 1997, the series aired infrequently and had only two hosts, Walt Disney
and Disney Chairman Michael Eisner. It is the second longest running prime-
time program on American television, behind rival film anthology, the Hallmark
Hall of Fame.

Film trade headline for January 11, 1954.

Walt Disney behind the camera.