One of the biggest stories in Chicago was the crash of American Airlines
Flight 191.
American Airlines Flight 191 from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to
Los Angeles International Airport crashed moments after takeoff from the
airport. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board the DC-10 were killed,
along with two people on the ground. Until the September 11 attacks, it was
the deadliest air disaster in the history of the United States.
Camille Bohannon
Harry Randall Truman, 83, was killed in the initial blast.
Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela)
(May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959)
Valens was a pioneer in the Chicano rock movement who released the records
"La Bamba" and “Donna” in 1958. He learned to play the guitar right-handed
even though he was naturally left-handed.
On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died",
Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly
and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson.
Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
1959
William Rogers (left) and Lawrence Walsh witness signing the Civil Rights
Bill by President Eisenhower.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 served to eliminate certain loopholes left by the Civil
Rights Act of 1957. It established federal inspection of local voter registration polls
and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone’s attempt to register
to vote. It was also designed to deal with discriminatory laws and practices in the segregated South.
"Inside Pop – The Rock Revolution” was a CBS News special hosted by Leonard Bernstein. It was one of the first examples of pop music being examined as a
‘serious’ art form. The show featured many scenes shot in Los Angeles in late
1966, including interviews with Frank Zappa and Graham Nash, as well as a now legendary Brian Wilson solo performance of "Surf’s Up."
