MIKE GRACIA

Pope John Paul II died on this day in 2005 at age 84. He was one of
the most influential leaders of the 20th and early 21st centuries, he worked tirelessly to build a moral foundation in the modern world,
while playing a crucial role in overthrowing communism and
fostering peace.

President Woodrow Wilson presented a declaration of war against Germany to the U.S. Congress on this day in 1917.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson
(December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924)

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida on this
day in 1513. The next day he went ashore.

Argentina invaded the British-owned Falkland Islands on this day in 1982. The following June Britain took the islands back.

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

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a writer of plays, travelogues, novels and poems, he is best remembered for his fairy tales,
of which no fewer than 3381 works. Andersen’s popularity is not limited
to children: his stories express themes that transcend age and nationality.

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, DC, by John W. Hinckley Jr. (below). Two
police officers and Press Secretary James Brady were also wounded. 

President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy wave from hospital
windows.

On this day in 1867, William Seward reached a deal to purchase
Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million.

William Henry Seward
(May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872)

A Treasury Check in the Amount of $7.2 Million for the Purchase of Alaska.

It was on this day in 1986.

James Francis Cagney Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986)

James Cagney 1942 Best Actor.

Eric Patrick Clapton is 73 years old today.

Eric Clapton is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He
is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a
solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream. Clapton
has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of
all time and is 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

SANDY KOZEL

A major accident occurred at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island
nuclear power plant on this day in 1979. A nuclear power reactor overheated and suffered a partial meltdown.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969)

The Spanish Civil War ended as Madrid fell to Francisco Franco
(left) on this day in 1939.

Maria Augusta von Trapp (January 26, 1905 – March 28, 1987) 

Baroness von Trapp, as she was also know as, was the stepmother 
and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers and wrote the story about
the singers in 1949. It later inspired the Broadway musical The Sound
of Music (1959) and the 1965 film of the same name.

The Trapp Family Singers, pictured in 1948, rehearse. From
left they are Baroness Maria von Trapp and her daughters,
Johanna, Eleanore, Agathe, Hedwig, Rosmary, Martina, and
Maria.

Reba Nell McEntire was born in McAlester, Oklahoma. She
is 63 years young today.

Multi-platinum singer, musician, and actress Reba McEntire
released more than three dozen #1 singles and more than a
dozen #1 albums since the 1990s, including Whoever’s in
New England. She was in the family singing group "the
Singing McEntires" as a child. Red Steagall discovered her
during her performance of the National Anthem at a Rodeo
in Oklahoma City when she was a sophomore in college.

Reba McCentire (above) as KFC’S first female Colonel Sanders.

MIKE GRACIA

Martin Luther King Jr. led a group of 25,000 to the state capital in Montgomery, AL. on this day in 1965.

King delivering a speech on the steps of the State Capitol.

In New York City on this day in 1911, 146 women were killed in fire
at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City. The owners
of the company were indicted on manslaughter charges because
some of the employees had been behind locked doors in the
factory. The owners were later acquitted and in 1914 they were
ordered to pay damages to each of the twenty-three families that
had sued.

On this day in 1997, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s 85th
birthday was celebrated by a skydiving adventure at 9500 feet over 
Yuma, Arizona.

Aretha Franklin,1960

Aretha Franklin in April 2016.

Singer Aretha Louise Franklin is 76 years young today.

In 2017, Franklin canceled a series of concerts due to health reasons. During
an outdoors Detroit show, Franklin told the audience to "keep me in your
prayers". In July 2017, Franklin reemerged, appearing to lose more weight
before a performance at the Wolf Trap in Virginia.

Sir Elton Hercules John (Reginald Kenneth Dwight) is 71 today.

Rock and roll legend Elton John has sold over 250 million albums in a
career that’s spanned over 50 years. He is best known for such hit songs
as "Rocket Man," "Tiny Dancer," "Bennie and the Jets" and "Candle in
the Wind." He began playing the piano at age three and won a junior
scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.

SANDY KOZEL

It was on this day in 1775, when American revolutionary Patrick
Henry declared, "give me liberty, or give me death!"

The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act on this day in 1933
that effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers.

On this day in 1983, President Ronald Reagan first proposed development of technology to intercept enemy missiles. The
proposal became known as the Strategic Defense Initiative
and "Star Wars."

On this day in 2001, Russia’s orbiting Mir space station plunged into
the South Pacific after its 15-years of use.

It was on this day in 1998.

James Cameron (above) won three awards for "Titanic," for
director, best picture (as producer) and film editing.