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 track at
the celebration of the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S.

            
                The identical twin of  the Last Spike.

The Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany on
this day in 1933.

Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa’s first black president
on this day in 1994.

Bono (Paul David Hewson) is 57 years old today.

Bono is the front man of U2, known for such hits as "Sunday
Bloody Sunday" and "Beautiful Day." The band has earned
over 20 Grammy Awards and has sold over 150 million
records. He is also a well-known philanthropist who has
championed causes in his native Ireland, in Africa, and all
over the world.

He spent his childhood singing. Growing up on O’Connell
Street in a suburb of Dublin, he earned his nickname "Bono"
from the phrase "Bono Vox of O’Connell Street," which means
"good voice of O’Connell Street."  He was named the Time
Person of the Year in 2005, along with Bill and Melinda Gates.

The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, on Saturday, April 18, 1942,
was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other
locations on the island of Honshu during World War II, the first air strike to strike
the Japanese Home Islands. It demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to
American air attack, served as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and provided an important boost to
American morale. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James
"Jimmy" Doolittle (below) of the United States Army Air Forces.

Mission commander Jimmy Doolittle (left front) with members
of his Tokyo Raiders. 

Jimmy Doolittle in his North American B-25B

On May 19, 1942, President Roosevelt bestows Congressional
Medal of Honor on Brigadier General James Doolittle for the
successful raid on Tokyo.

James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle
(December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993)

SANDY KOZEL

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last speech just 24 hours
before he was assassinated.

It was on this day in 1936 when Bruno Richard Hauptmann was
executed. 

Aviator Charles Lindbergh’s 20-month-old son, Charles Lindbergh, Jr.

On this day in 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan, into law.

Marlon Brando (1940) military school photo.

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004)

MIKE GRACIA

It was on this day in 2005.

President Woodrow Wilson on this day in 1917.

Hans Christian Andersen ( April 2, 1805 – August 4, 1875)

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1981.

Signing the Alaska purchase on this day in 1867. Seward is seated
at center.

On this day in 1986.

1942

Eric Patrick Clapton is 72 years old today.

Clapton got the nickname Slowhand because he played the guitar with such
ferocity that his strings would break and as he replaced them onstage, the
audience would slowly clap their hands.

Eric Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the "100
Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson’s "Top 50 Guitarists
of All Time". He was also named number five in Time magazine’s list of
"The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.