SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1992, rioting began after a jury decision to acquit four
Los Angeles policemen (below) in the Rodney King beating trial. A
total of 54 people were killed in 3 days.

Rodney King, central figure in L.A. riots.

On this day in 1945, the Nazi death camp, Dachau, was liberated and
on the same day in a bunker in Berlin, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun
(below) were married. 
    
    
    
   

President Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of secretly made White House tape recordings related to the Watergate scandal.

Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is 64 years old today. He was born in
Brooklyn, New York.

Stand-up comedian, producer, actor, and writer Jerry Seinfeld co-created
and starred in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which became one of the most
popular television comedies of all time, winning ten Emmy Awards during
its run which began in 1989 and aired for nine seasons. In 2012, he began
the internet comedy series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, where he
chats with other comedians. 

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974)

One of the jazz worlds most influential figures. He led his famed orchestra
from 1923 until his death. He called his music American Music, not jazz. He
helped compose more than 1,000 original pieces, many of which became
standards. Ellington was called Duke by his friends growing up because
his suave sophistication reminded them of a nobleman.

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1917, the U.S. Congress approved a declaration of war
on Germany and entered World War I on the Allied side.

Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson claimed to be the
first men to reach the North Pole on this day in 1909.

The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece on this
day in 1896.

Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) the country
singer was born in Oildale, California.

Tammy Wynette (Virginia Wynette Pugh) (May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998)

After years of medical problems which resulted in^[ numerous hospitalizations, roughly 15 major operations and an addiction to pain medication, country
singer Tammy Wynette died on April 6, 1998 at the age of 55 while sleeping
on her couch. Wynette’s doctor from Pennsylvania said she died of a blood
clot in her lung. Despite her persistent illnesses, she continued to perform
until shortly before her death and had other performances scheduled.

Wynette was called the "First Lady of Country Music", and her best-known
song, "Stand by Your Man", is one of the best-selling hit singles by a woman
in the history of country music. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she
charted 20 number-one songs. Along with Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton,
Tammy is credited with having defined the role of women in country music
during the 1970s.

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led
by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (center) began a march from Selma
to Montgomery, AL.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arrives in Montgomery, Alabama.

On this day in 1960, about 70 people were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police fired upon demonstrators.

On this day in 1989, Randall Dale Adams was released from a
Texas prison after his conviction was overturned. The 1988 
documentary film "The Thin Blue Line" challenged evidence
of Adams’ conviction for killing a police officer.

Composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born on this day in 1685.

Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is
known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos 
and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew
Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he
has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1965, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (above) became the
first man to spacewalk when he left the Voskhod II space capsule
while in orbit around the Earth. He was outside the spacecraft for
about 20 minutes.

On this day in 1922, Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced to six years
in prison for civil disobedience in India. He served only 2 years of the sentence.

Adolf Hitler (left) and Benito Mussolini (center) held a meeting at the Brenner Pass on this day in 1940. The Italian dictator agreed to join
in Germany’s war against France and Britain during the meeting.

Terri Schiavo before she collapsed in her home from heart failure.

Terri Schindler-Schiavo (above) spent 13 years in a coma, attached
to a feeding tube and unable to communicate. She was taken off the
tube on this day in 2005.

John Edmund Andrew Phillips (August 30, 1935 – March 18, 2001)

Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the vocal group
The Mamas & the Papas. He died of heart failure in Los Angeles at the age
of 65, just days after completing a recording sessions for a new album.

Antoine "Fats" Domino, Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017)

Fats Domino, the amiable rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose steady, pounding piano
and easy baritone helped change popular music while honoring the traditions
of the Crescent City, died Tuesday, the 24th.

Mark Bone, chief investigator with the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, coroner’s
office, said Domino died of natural causes at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.