CAMILLE BOHANNON

It was on this day in 1994.

Elian Gonzalez was reunited with his father on this day in 2000. He
had to be taken from his Miami, FL. relatives by U.S. agents in a
predawn raid (below).

Elián González turned 24 on December 6.

At noon on this day in 1889, the Oklahoma land rush officially began
as thousands of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land.

The first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans on
this day in 1970.

John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is 81 years old today.

Actor Jack Nicholson is known for playing dark, psychopathic characters
such as Jack Torrance in The Shining (1977) and Frank Costello in The
Departed (2008). He won Academy Awards for Best Actor for his roles in 
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and As Good As it Gets (1997) 
and for Best Supporting Actor in Terms of Endearment (1983). He also
received praise for his roles in Chinatown (1974) and About Schmidt 
(2002) and for portraying the Joker in 1989’s Batman. 

MIKE GRACIA

President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in Warm Spring, GA. on this
day in 1945. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 63. Harry
S. Truman (below) became president.

Truman (left) being sworn as the 33rd president of the United
States.

Fort Sumter was shelled by Confederacy, starting America’s Civil
War on this day in 1861.

Soviet Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin became first man to orbit the Earth
on this day in 1961.

On this day in 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from
Cape Canaveral, FL, on its first test flight. It orbits Earth 37 times
before landing.

Commander John W. Young, left, and Pilot Robert L. Crippen.

David Letterman retired as host of “The Late Show” on May 20,
2015.

David Michael Letterman is 71 years old today.

David Letterman became a late night TV host during the 1982 debut of
NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, and later hosted The Late Show 
with David Letterman. In 2014, he announced that he would retire from
The Late Show in 2015. He once worked as a weatherman for AM radio
station WNTS and anchored on Indianapolis television station WLWI.

MIKE GRACIA

A discotheque in Berlin was bombed by Libyan terrorists on this day
in 1986. The U.S. attacked Libya with warplanes in retaliation on April
15, 1986.

Ground crew prepares a 48th Tactical Fighter Wing F-111F aircraft
for an air strike on Libya.

Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964) 

It was on this day in 1964.

Douglas General MacArthur Address a Joint session of the U.S.
Congress on April 19, 1951 in Washington D. C.

It was on this day in 1976.

Hughes was an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot,
film director, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the
most financially successful individuals in the world.

Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976)

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915)

Booker T. Washington was a educator, author, orator, and advisor to
presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington
was the dominant leader in the African-American community. He was
from the last generation of black American leaders born into slavery
and became the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants.

Booker T. Washington giving a lecture in Carnegie Hall, 1906. 

On this day in 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers)
became the all-time NBA regular season scoring leader when he
broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 31,419 career points.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.) will be 71
April 16.

Katie Couric became a CBS news anchor on this day in 2006.

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last speech
just 24 hours before he was assassinated. He spoke on… "I’ve Been
To The Mountaintop”.

On this day in 1936, Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for
the kidnapping and death of the son of famous aviator Charles
Lindbergh and his wife Anne.

Bruno Richard Hauptmann
(November 26, 1899 – April 3, 1936)

The Charles Lindbergh family.

President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan to revive war-torn Europe on this day in 1948. It was $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.

On this day in 1882, the outlaw Jesse James was shot in the
back and killed by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward. There
was later controversy over whether it was actually Jesse
James that had been killed.

Robert Newton Ford (January 31, 1862 – June 8, 1892)

The first Pony Express riders left St. Joseph, MO for Sacramento,
CA. on this day in 1860. The trip across country took about 10
days. The Pony Express only lasted about a year and a half.

Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) He was born
in Omaha, Nebraska.

Marlon Brando portrayed powerful characters such as Don Vito in The
Godfather (1972), Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), and Colonel
Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979). His performances in A Streetcar Named
Desire (1951) earned him additional acclaim.

MIKE GRACIA

On this day in 2001, former president of Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special
forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.

On this day in 1945, American forces invaded Okinawa during WW II.

Nazi Germany begins persecution of Jews by boycotting Jewish businesses on this day in 1933.

Nazis affix a sign to Jewish store urging shoppers not to patronize
it.

On this day in 1984, Marvin Gaye, the Grammy-winning
singer who topped the soul charts with such classics as
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” was shot twice in the
chest and killed by his minister father. The Rev. Marvin
Gaye Sr. picked up a handgun during a family dispute
over an “insurance matter”. The singers death was one
day short of his 45th birthday.

Marvin Gaye SR. being escorted in handcuffs.

Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.)  (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)

Jessica Dawn Lynch is a former U.S. Army soldier who was serving as a unit
supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces during the Battle of Nasiriyah. Lynch was seriously injured. Her subsequent recovery by U.S. Special Operations Forces on April
1, 2003 received considerable media coverage; it was the first successful
rescue of an American prisoner of war since World War II and the first ever
of a woman.

The above photo is from combat video footage of Jessica Lynch
on a stretcher during her rescue in Iraq.

Jessica Lynch will be 35 on April 26.