SANDY KOZEL
On this day in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws
that had been restricting abortions during the first six months of pregnancy. The case (Roe vs. Wade) legalized abortion.
On this day in 1968, "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In", debuted on NBC
television and aired until March 12, 1973. The program was ranked
number 42 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Gary Owens, was the famous voice of “Laugh-In”.
ROSS SIMPSON
On this day in 1831, Charles Darwin (above) set out on a
voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin’s
discoveries during the voyage helped him form the basis
of his theories on evolution.
The British naval vessel HMS Beagle.
James Barrie’s play "Peter Pan" premiered in London
on this day in 1904.
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet (May 9, 1860 – June 19, 1937)
Historical newspaper report on “Peter Pan”.
Peter Pan statue by Sir George Frampton in Kensington
Gardens, London.
ROSS SIMPSON
Under the Indian Ocean, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent 500-mph
waves across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal on this day in
2004. The tsunami killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen
countries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Sumatra, Thailand and
India.
On this day in 1996, six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey
was found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her
family’s home in Boulder, CO. It was reported in September 2016
that the investigation into JonBenét’s death continues to be an
active homicide case, per Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa.
Patsy Ramsey and her husband John Ramsey, parents of JonBenet.
John Mark Karr, 41, was being charged by police for child porn in
California when out of nowhere, he confessed to killing JonBenet,
but his DNA didn’t match the DNA found on JonBenet Ramsey,
and he wasn’t charged with her death.
JOHN BELMONT
In Cape Town, South Africa on this day in 1967, a team of surgeons headed by Dr. Christian Barnard (above), performed the first human
heart transplant on Louis Washkansky. Washkansky only lived 18
days.
Louis Waskhansky after undergoing the world’s first successful heart transplant.
On this day in 1964 the Free Speech Movement on the Berkeley
campus of the University of California culminated with the arrest
of some 800 student demonstrators.
Mario Savio, leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, speaks
to assembled students on the campus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Effigy of Governor Pat Brown hanging outside an off-
campus student resident hall after the December 3rd
arrests.
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is 70 years old today.
Rock ‘n’ roll performer “Ozzy” Osbourne gained fame as the lead singer
of Black Sabbath and became known as the Prince of Darkness and the
Godfather of Heavy Metal.
ED DANAHUE
NATO launched air strikes against Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Vojvodina) on this day in 1999. The attacks marked the
first time in its 50-year history that NATO attacked a sovereign
country. The bombings were in response to Serbia’s refusal to
sign a peace treaty with ethnic Albanians who were seeking independence for the province of Kosovo.
On this day in 1989, the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of
oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound after it ran aground.
Elvis Presley was sworn in as a private in the U.S. Army on this
day in 1958.
Elvis Presley receives a haircut on his first full day
as a member of the US Army.
On this day in 1955, Tennessee Williams’ play
"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" debuted on Broadway.
Ben Gazzara (left) and Burl Ives.
Barbara Bel Geddes
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III
(March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983)
Denzel Washington and Halle Berry with their Academy Awards in
2002.
Denzel Washington and Halle Berry famously became the first black actors to
win both lead acting awards in the same year. That same night, Sidney Poitier,
the first black man to win an Oscar, received an honorary award.
