MIKE GRACIA

President Clinton with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office.

The first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip,
landed in what became known as Sydney on this day in 1788. The
group had first settled at Botany Bay eight days before. This day is
celebrated as Australia Day.

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

Douglas MacArthur was an Army five-star general and Field
Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the
United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent
role in the Pacific theater during World War II.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky is 57 years old today.

Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian born former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played twenty seasons in the National Hockey League
(NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has
been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players,
and the league itself.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Phantom of the Opera" opened
at Broadway’s Majestic Theater on this day in 1988.

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1968, three Apollo 8 astronauts, James A. Lovell,
William Anders and Frank Borman, reached the moon. They
orbited the moon 10 times before coming back to Earth. Seven
months later man first landed on the moon.

From left: astronauts  William A. Anders, James A. Lovell Jr. and
Frank Borman.

Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social
club in Pulaski, TN, called the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) on this day in
1865 and still exists today.

Canadian born Reginald A. Fessenden (above) became the first
person to broadcast a human voice and music program over
radio, from Brant Rock, MA.

On this day in 1871, In Cairo, Egypt, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera "Aida"
had its world premiere at the Khedivial Opera House.

Giuseppe Verdi conducting.

TIM MAGUIRE

UN War Crimes panel tries Slobodan Melosevic for genocide in
Bosnia.

He suffered disfigurement as a result of the poisoning, but he has
since made made a full physical recovery (below).
 

The first edition of "Life" magazine was hit the newsstands on
this day in 1936. The cover depicted the Fort Peck Dam in
Montana.

Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967)

Luce was a  magazine magnate who was called “the most
influential private citizen in America of his day".

On this day in 1903, Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso made
his U.S. debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in "Rigoletto."  He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses
of Europe and America, appearing in a wide variety of roles from
the Italian and French repertoires that ranged from the lyric to
the dramatic.         
     

Enrico Caruso (February 25, 1873 – August 2, 1921)

TIM MAGUIRE
    

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted Watling Island in the Bahamas
on this day in 1492. He believed that he had found Asia while attempting to
find a Western ocean route to India. The same day he claimed the land for
Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain.

On this day in 2000

Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev reportedly pounded a shoe on
his desk in protest against a speech critical of Soviet policy at a
U.N. General Assembly on this day in 1960.

On this day in 2002, three bombings shatter the peace in the town of
Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The blasts, the work of militant Islamist terrorists, left 202 people dead and more than 200 others
injured, many with severe burns.

Luciano Pavarotti (October 12, 1935 – September 6, 2007) 

Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti was best known for his performances with
Spanish singers Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Together, they were given
the name The Three Tenors. He debuted as an opera singer in La bohème as
Rodolfo in 1961. Pavarotti was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in
2001. He fought a long, tough battle against pancreatic cancer which eventually
took his life at age 71.

The Three Tenors.

.

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.
(December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997)

TIM MAGUIRE

It was on this day in 1973.

China’s Manchu dynasty was overthrown by revolutionaries under
Sun Yat-sen on this day in 1911.

    
A plane carrying Palestinian terrorists who hijacked the cruise liner
Achille Lauro was ‘captured’ over Malta forced to land on this day
in 1985.

Movie Legend George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)

1938

1941

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi
(October 10, 1813 – January 27, 1901) 

Verdi became one of the pre-eminent opera composers in
history. His 26 operas remain extremely popular today.