CAMILLE BOHANNON

Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain with three ships on this day
in 1492. The voyage led him to what is now known as the Americas.

On this day in 1914, Germany declared war on France. The next day World War I began when Britain declared war on Germany.

Alger Hiss (above) was a government official who was accused
of being a Soviet spy on this day in 1948. His case became one 
of the defining – and still highly controversial – episodes of the
Cold War.

Whittaker Chambers is seated on the left in the above photo.

On this day in 1981, U.S. traffic controllers with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), went on strike. They were
fired just as President Ronald Reagan had warned.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded on this day
in 1949.

Singer Tony Bennett (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) is 92 today.

Tony Bennett is known for his renditions of show tunes, jazz, and popular
songs like "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and "Rags to Riches."

He dropped out of school to work as a copy boy in order to help support
his family. He was a painting and music student at New York’s School of
Industrial Art.

MIKE GRACIA

On this day in 2001, former president of Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special
forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.

On this day in 1945, American forces invaded Okinawa during WW II.

Nazi Germany begins persecution of Jews by boycotting Jewish businesses on this day in 1933.

Nazis affix a sign to Jewish store urging shoppers not to patronize
it.

On this day in 1984, Marvin Gaye, the Grammy-winning
singer who topped the soul charts with such classics as
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” was shot twice in the
chest and killed by his minister father. The Rev. Marvin
Gaye Sr. picked up a handgun during a family dispute
over an “insurance matter”. The singers death was one
day short of his 45th birthday.

Marvin Gaye SR. being escorted in handcuffs.

Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.)  (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)

Jessica Dawn Lynch is a former U.S. Army soldier who was serving as a unit
supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces during the Battle of Nasiriyah. Lynch was seriously injured. Her subsequent recovery by U.S. Special Operations Forces on April
1, 2003 received considerable media coverage; it was the first successful
rescue of an American prisoner of war since World War II and the first ever
of a woman.

The above photo is from combat video footage of Jessica Lynch
on a stretcher during her rescue in Iraq.

Jessica Lynch will be 35 on April 26.

Vic Damone (June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018)

(Fox News) – Legendary crooner Vic Damone passed away
on Sunday at the age of 89. He was born Vito Rocco Farinola
in Brooklyn, New York.

Damone entered the talent search on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent
Scouts and won in April 1947. This led to his becoming a regular
on Godfrey’s show. He met Milton Berle at the studio and Berle
got him work at two night clubs. By mid-1947, Damone had
signed a contract with Mercury Records. (WIKIPEDIA)

Francis Albert Sinatra  (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998)

Singer, actor, and producer Frank Sinatra was one of the most popular
and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-
selling music artists of all time, selling more than 150 million records
worldwide. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants, Sinatra
began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James
and Tommy Dorsey.

Lonnie Melvin "Mel" Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017)

(Fox News) – Country music singer Mel Tillis, whose six-decade career included
hits such as “I Ain’t Never” and “Coca Cola Cowboy,” died today (Sunday).   

His publicist said Tillis passed away at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala,
Fla. He was previously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry. Former President Barack Obama
awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts in 2012 (below).

Mel Tillis was among eight recipients
of President Obama’s National Medal
of the Arts in 2012.