The Reno brothers, John and Simeon, staged the first train robbery in
American history, making off with $13,000 from an Ohio and Mississippi
railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana.

Of course, trains had been robbed before the Reno brothers’ holdup. But
these previous crimes had all been burglaries of stationary trains sitting
in depots or freight yards. The Reno brothers’ contribution to criminal
history was to stop a moving train in a sparsely populated region where
they could carry out their crime without risking interference from the law
or curious bystanders.

 
       Frank Reno (1837 – 1868)       John Reno (1839 – 1895)        

The Reno Gang

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1974, President Richard Nixon announced that he
would resign the following day.

The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a $45 million train
robbery committed on this day in 1963 at Bridego Railway.

Arrests soon followed the robbery. Here three men are taken to a
police van at Linslade Court House, Buckinghamshire, after being remanded in custody in late August 1963.

Gang member Bruce Reynolds, pictured here circa 1963 on 
the left with his wife Frances, Barbara Daly and brother-in-
law John Daly. Daly was arrested but released due to lack
of evidence.

It was on this day in 1942.

Actor Dustin Lee Hoffman is 81 today. He was born in 
Los Angeles, California.

Dustin Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor in
1980 for Kramer vs. Kramer, and in 1989 for Rain Man. He
also played leading roles in the films Midnight Cowboy
(1969) and Tootsie (1982). Hoffman had his breakthrough
role as Benjamin Braddock in the 1967 classic film The
Graduate.

1995

    1976

In 1977, four people were arrested at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis 
after trying to steal Elvis’ body. As a result the remains of both Elvis
Presley and his mother were reburied in Graceland’s Meditation
Garden (below) on October 2.

Presley’s gravestone at Graceland.

   
    
    
   
    Elvis Aaron Presley  (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)
    
     

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1974, President Nixon announced that he would
resign the following day.

It was on this day in 1942.

Dustin Lee Hoffman is 80 years old today.

Famous method actor Dustin Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best
Actor for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1979 and Rain Man in 1988. He had his
breakthrough role as Benjamin Braddock in the 1967 classic The Graduate.

He began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse with his roommate
and fellow actor Gene Hackman. 

1969

1982

SANDY KOZEL

Dustin Lee Hoffman is 79 years old today.

Hoffman began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse with his
roommate and fellow actor Gene Hackman. He made his debut in the
1967 film,The Tiger Makes Out.