On this day in 1938, Orson Welles’ "The War of the Worlds" aired on CBS radio. The belief that the realistic radio dramatization was a live news event about a Martian invasion caused panic among listeners.
Welles takes questions from reporters at a press conference the day after the broadcast, on October 31, 1938. He told them that no one connected with the broadcast had any idea it would cause panic.
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)
On October 10, 1973, after months of maintaining his innocence, Agnew pleaded no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion and resigned from office. He was replaced by House Minority Leader Gerald Ford (below).
Gerald Ford (center) was sworn in as Vice President Ford.
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)
Wells is best remembered for the legendary 1938 radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds’’, and in film, Citizen Kane (1941), consistently ranked as one of the greatest films ever made.
Soviet hard-liners announced that President Mikhail Gorbachev had been removed from power on this day in 1991. Gorbachev returned to power two days later.
Adolf Hitler was approved for sole executive power in Germany as Fuehrer on this day in 1934.
Francis Gary Powers (far right) an American U-2 pilot, was convicted of espionage in Moscow on this day in 1960.
(History) – On this day in 1973, “American Graffiti,” a nostalgic coming-of- age tale set in 1962 on the streets and steeped in the car-centric culture of suburban California, was released in theaters across the U.S. The movie went on to become a sleeper hit.
“American Graffiti”was the second full-length feature film directed by George Lucas (below) who would later become best known for the blockbuster hit “Star Wars” (1977) and its sequels.
The armistice agreement that ended the Korean War was signed at Panmunjon, Korea on this day in 1953.
The U.S. Congress asked for impeachment procedures against President Richard Nixonon this day in 1974.
It was on this day in 1996.
The blast site is seen during the investigation immediately following the bombing.
On this day in 1980, the deposed shah of Iran, Muhammad Riza Pahlavi, died of cancer in a hospital near Cairo, Egypt.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi(October 26, 1919 – July 27, 1980)
Bob Hope (Leslie Townes Hope) (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003)
Bob Hope, was an English-American stand-up comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 54 feature films with Hope as star, including a series of seven "Road" musical comedy movies with Bing Crosby as Hope’s top-billed partner.
In addition to hosting the Academy Awards show 19 times, more than any other host, he appeared in many stage productions and television roles, and was the author of 14 books. Hope retired in 1997, and died at the age of 100 in 2003, at his home in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Bob Hope performs for servicemen at Munda Airstrip, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, in 1944.
Bob Hope in the guest chair on the Tonight Show with host Johnny Carson.
