SANDY KOZEL

Central Pacific and Union Pacific Rail Roads meet in Promontory, UT. 
on this day in 1869. A golden spike was driven in the rail during the      
celebration of the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S.

The Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany on this
day in 1933. The books targeted for burning were those viewed as
being subversive or representing ideologies opposed to Nazism.

On this day in 1941, Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s deputy, parachuted
into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission.

Allied military and locals pose with the remains of Rudolph Hess’ Messerschmitt ME-110 after it crash-landed near the Scottish
village of Eaglesham.

Nelson Mandela made history by becoming the first black president
of South Africa after more than three centuries of white rule. He was sworn in to office on this day in 1994.

Convicted of 33 murders, John Wayne Gacy Jr. was sentenced to
death on March 13, 1980, for 12 of those killings. He spent 14 years
on death row before he was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on this day in 1994.  

Gacy during a TV interview in 1992.

Bono (Paul David Hewson) is 58 today. Born in Dublin, Ireland.

Bono is best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of rock band U2
which earned over 20 Grammy Awards and has sold of 150 million records.

SANDY KOZEL

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for sale an
oral birth-control pill for the first time on this day in 1960.

Chairman Newton N. Minow testifies before a Senate subcommittee.

Americans Richard Byrd (left) and Floyd Bennett (right) became the
first men to fly an airplane over the North Pole on this day in 1926.

Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012)

Media personality Mike Wallace was a journalist, and game show
host. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during
his seven decade career. He was one of the original correspondents
for CBS‘ 60 Minutes, which debuted in 1968. Wallace retired as a
regular full-time correspondent in 2006, but appeared occasionally
on the television series until 2008.

William Martin Joel is 69 years old today. He was born
in The Bronx, New York City.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and pianist Billy
Joel gained fame for his song "Piano Man" and became the
third best-selling solo artist in the United States.

From 1973 to 2013, he wrote 33 top forty hits, including "Just
the Way You Are," which hit #3 in 1977.

He learned boxing to defend himself from bullies, and won 22
bouts in the amateur Golden Gloves circuit. He played the
piano at bars to help support his mother while in high school.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, which took place in
Mexico on May 5, 1862. The battle was part of the Franco-Mexican War,
which began as a result of new Mexican President Benito Juarez defaulting
on the country’s loans from European governments. Britain, France and
Spain sent troops to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and
Spain eventually withdrew, but France continued its advance, hoping to
carve out a territory of Mexico for itself. France sent 6,000 troops to attack
the small town of Puebla de Los Angeles in east central Mexico. Juarez
responded by sending 2,000 men. Though they were outnumbered, the
Mexican army was victorious over the French. However, it would be
another five years before the French would withdraw from Mexico
completely. The first record of a Cinco de Mayo celebration appeared in
an article in a newspaper in Columbia, Calif. three days after the Battle
of Puebla. Big parties commemorating the Mexican military victory took
place.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a
15 minute suborbital flight on this day in 1961.

Napoléon Bonaparte (August 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821)

Napoleon was a French statesman and military leader who rose to
prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful
campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was Emperor
of the French from 1804 until 1814.

Death of Napoleon the Great, French engraving from 1828.

Napoleon on his death bed. It is said       
he died of stomach cancer.

Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides.

Karl Marx  (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883)

Karl Marx was a renowned German political theorist,
philosopher, and economist. He penned both Das
Kapital and The Communist Manifesto. He attended
both the University of Bonn and the University of
Berlin.

A bust of Karl Marx at the garden of the Karl
Marx House museum in Trier, Germany.

Robert Gerard Sands (March 9, 1954 – May 5, 1981)

Bobby Sands (member of the provisional IRA – Irish
Republican Army: died following a hunger strike on
this day in 1981.

Music Hall was dedicated in New York City on this day in 1891. It was later renamed Carnegie Hall.

A ticket from the opening-night concert.

    
    
    
Gene Vincent recorded "Be-Bop-A Lula" at Owen Bradley’s
studio in Nashville, TN. The song was released in June 1956
and immediately sold well. It was successful on three singles
charts: it peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard pop music chart,
No. 8 on the R&B chart, and also made the top ten on the C&W
Best Seller chart peaking at No. 5.