ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 2003, President George W. Bush announced the end
of major combat in Iraq.

Francis Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet
Union on this day in 1969. Powers was taken prisoner.

Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977)

The Empire State Building in New York was dedicated and opened
on this day in 1931. At 102 stories tall, it was the tallest building        
in the world at the time.

The movie "Citizen Kane," directed and starring Orson Welles,
premiered in New York on this day in 1941. It was Welles’s first
feature film and was nominated for Academy Awards in nine
categories, it won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Welles. The film is
Considered  by many critics, filmmakers, and fans to be the
greatest film of all time.       


    
    
    
   

Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married on this day in 1967
and were together until 1973.

ROSS SIMPSON

Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide on this day in 1945,
one day after their wedding. One week later Germany surrendered
unconditionally.

A Russian soldier is standing amid the rubble in Adolf Hitler’s
command bunker where he and wife Eva Braun were alleged
to have committed suicide.

Communists North Vietnamese troops entered the Independence
Palace of South Vietnam in Saigon on this day in 1975. Eleven
Marines lifted off of the U.S. Embassy were the last soldiers to
evacuate.

George Washington’s inauguration as first President of America took
place at Federal Hall in New York City on this day in 1789. It became
the first U.S. national holiday.

Federal Hall as it looks today.

On this day in 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana
Territory from France for $15 million.

Depiction of the official signing of the Louisiana Purchase.

Willie Hugh Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas in 1933. He’s now 85.

Country singer, activist, poet, songwriter, actor, and author Willie Nelson
helped create Farm Aid. He has written many country hits, including
“ On the Road Again”,"Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Hello Walls."

Airman Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson’s guitar Trigger (Martin N-20 classical)

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1992, rioting began after a jury decision to acquit four
Los Angeles policemen (below) in the Rodney King beating trial. A
total of 54 people were killed in 3 days.

Rodney King, central figure in L.A. riots.

On this day in 1945, the Nazi death camp, Dachau, was liberated and
on the same day in a bunker in Berlin, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun
(below) were married. 
    
    
    
   

President Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of secretly made White House tape recordings related to the Watergate scandal.

Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is 64 years old today. He was born in
Brooklyn, New York.

Stand-up comedian, producer, actor, and writer Jerry Seinfeld co-created
and starred in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which became one of the most
popular television comedies of all time, winning ten Emmy Awards during
its run which began in 1989 and aired for nine seasons. In 2012, he began
the internet comedy series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, where he
chats with other comedians. 

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974)

One of the jazz worlds most influential figures. He led his famed orchestra
from 1923 until his death. He called his music American Music, not jazz. He
helped compose more than 1,000 original pieces, many of which became
standards. Ellington was called Duke by his friends growing up because
his suave sophistication reminded them of a nobleman.

SANDY KOZEL

Ulysses Simpson Grant (Hiram Ulysses Grant)

Grant was born on this day in 1822. He was the 18th U.S. President,
Lt. General in command of all Union armies during the U.S. Civil
War, nickname: Hero of Appomattox.

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines on this day in 1521.

On this day in 1805, a force led by U.S. Marines captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli. The Marines’ Hymn is a tribute to the Warriors who stormed the fortress, raised the American flag,
and gave us "the shores of Tripoli."

On this day in 1947, "Babe Ruth Day" was celebrated at Yankee
Stadium. The Babe, above, whispered his gratitude to the crowd
of over 58,000 cheering fans.  

SANDY KOZEL

It was on this day in 1980.

Irish nationalist launched the Easter Rebellion against British
occupation forces on this day in 1916. They were overtaken
several days later.

During World War I on this day in 1915, the Ottoman Turkish Empire began the mass deportation of Armenians.

A group of men excavates the remains of victims of the Armenian genocide.

Mark Rudd (center) a leader of the student protest at Columbia
University in New York,

On this day in 1968, student militants occupied Hamilton Hall, the main
classroom building, and took a dean hostage for 24 hours. They stormed
into the office of the university’s president, ransacked files and smoked
his cigars. Over the next few days, hundreds of students would seize a
total of five campus buildings.

The protests were part of a year of global tumult that included Vietnam’s
Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F.
Kennedy and mass demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention
in Chicago.

Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand is 50 years young today.

Singing icon Barbara Streisand has sold over 245 million records
and won 10 Grammy Awards, including an Album of the Year Award
for The Barbra Streisand Album in 1963. She has also had success
as an actress, receiving an Academy Award for Best Actress for her
role in the 1968 musical film Funny Girl.