Camille Bohannon

It was on this day in 1977.

David Richard Berkowitz (Richard David Falco) turned
64 June 1.

On this day in 1969.

Charles Milles Manson (Charles Milles Maddox)
will be 83 November 12.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio on this day in 1921.

On this day in 1988, President Reagan signed a measure that
provided $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans who were
interned by the U.S. government during World War II.

On this day in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was chartered by
the U.S. Congress. The "Nation’s Attic" was made possible by
$500,000 given by scientist Joseph Smithson (below).

James Smithson (1765 – June 27, 1829)

Smithson was an English chemist and mineralogist 
who became the patron of the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D.C. despite having never visited the 
United States.

"Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter. It
became such a classic during World War II that Max Beckmann
adopted the title for a painting in 1946 that is now at University
of Michigan Museum of Art (below).

Begin the Beguine painting by Max Beckmann.

Artie Shaw (Arthur Jacob Arshawsky)
(May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004)

One of the four pairs of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the
1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — It will take more than three clicks of the heels to restore
the ruby slippers that whisked Dorothy back to Kansas at the end of “The
Wizard of Oz.”

The slippers, which for more than 30 years have been one of the most beloved
items at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, were crafted
almost 80 years ago by the MGM Studios prop department. Like most movie
props, they weren’t built to last. Now, the frayed shoes aren’t even ruby-
colored anymore — they’re more like a dull auburn.

The Smithsonian has asked the public to help save the slippers, launching
a Kick starter campaign to raise $300,000. In addition to restoring the shoes’
color, the money will go toward a technologically advanced display case that
will preserve them for future generations.

The Smithsonian’s museums are federally funded, but the institution frequently
solicits private and corporate contributions for major projects that its budget
doesn’t cover.