Under federal troop escort, the Little Rock Nine were escorted back into Central High School for their first full day of classes.
Under escort from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, nine black students entered an all-white High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to prevent its federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent 1,000 army troops to Little Rock to enforce the court order.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivering a special broadcast on the Little Rock situation.
An international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, found 22 top Nazi leaders guilty of war crimes on this day in 1946.
The Berlin Airlift came to an end on this day in 1949. The airlift had taken 2.3 million tons of food into the western sector despite the Soviet blockade.
On this day in 1962, James Meredith, a black US military veteran, succeeded in registering at the University of Mississippi. It was his fourth attempt to register. President Kennedy (below) had to call in the army to get him admitted.
Meredith, center with briefcase, is escorted to the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. marshals.
August 18, 1963: James Meredith graduates from Ole Miss.
It was on this day in 1955.
James Dean was driving his brand-new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when he was involved in a head-on collision.
On this day in 1957, the Arkansas National Guard was ordered by Governor Orval Faubus to keep nine black students from going into Little Rock’s Central High School.
Orval Eugene Faubus(January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994)
The Ford Motor Company began selling the Edsel on this day in 1957. The car was so unpopular that it was taken off the market two years later.
Los Angeles, CA, was founded by Spanish settlers on this day in 1781. The original name was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula," which translates as "The Town of the Queen of Angels."
View of a statue depicting the Governor Felipe de Neve, in Los Angeles Plaza.
George Eastman registered the name "Kodak" and patented his roll-film camera on this day in 1888. The camera took 100 photos per roll.
On this day in 1972, swimmer Mark Spitz captured his seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay event at Munich, Germany. Spitz was the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.
Mark Andrew Spitz turned 68 in February.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is 37 years young today.
Former member of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child who also became a widely successful solo artist. She has won a total of 2 2 Grammy Awards for songs such as "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," "Drunk in Love" and "Crazy in Love."She won her first school talent show with her rendition of "Imagine" by John Lennon.
On this day in 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington erupts, causing a massive avalanche and killing 57 people on this day in 1980. Ash from the volcanic eruption fell as far away as Minnesota. Seismic activity at Mount St. Helens, which is 96 miles south of Seattle, began on March 16.
USGS geologist Don Swanson (in red) and his colleague, Jim Moore, view a car filled with ash deposits from the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
On this day in 1896, the U.S. Supreme court upheld the "separate but equal" policy in the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision. The ruling was overturned 58 years later with Brown vs. Board of Education.
Pope Saint John Paul II(Karol Józef Wojtyła) (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005)
Pope John Paul was the second longest-serving pope in history who was the leader of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. He was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century who worked to bring Jews, Christians, and Muslims together. He was canonized as a Saint in April of 2014.
Frank Russell Capra (Francesco Rosario Capra) (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991)
Capra became one of America’s most influential directors during the 1930s, winning three Oscars from his six nominations as Best Director, along with three other Oscar wins from nine nominations in other categories. Among his leading films were It Happened One Night (1934), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939); Capra was nominated as Best Director and as producer for Academy Award for Best Picture on all three films, winning both awards on the first two.
1946
On this day in 2003, "Les Miserables" closed after 6,680 shows and 16 years on Broadway.
