Four-time Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Olivia Newton-John
gained fame in Grease (1978) and released the double platinum album
Physical. She has sold over 100 million records and has released over 10
Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles. She formed an all-girl group, Sol Four,
with three of her classmates during her teens.
Ed Donahue
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan left Spain on this day in 1519 to
find a route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Magellan was killed during
the trip, but one of his ships eventually made the journey.
On this day in 1958, Martin Luther King, Jr. was signing books at a store in
Harlem when a woman stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener. The
sharp instrument went through his sternum and came close.
King during his hospital stay.
Holocaust survivor and Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal died on this
day in 2005. He was 96.
Wiesenthal’s grave marker in Israel.
It was on this day in 1973.
On this day in 1973, singer Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash on his way
to Sherman, TX, for a concert. Maury Muehleisen and four others were also
killed.
Sophia Loren (Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone)
is 83 today.
Italian actress Sophia Loren won an Academy Award for Best
Actress for her role as Cesira in the 1962 film Two Women. She
voiced the character Mama Topolino in the 2011 Disney feature
Cars 2. Before fame, she was a finalist for a beauty pageant in
Naples at the age of fourteen.
1974
April 6, 1962
CAMILLE BOHANNON
The Battle of Antietam took place during the American Civil War on this day in
1862. More than 23,000 men were killed, wounded, or missing. The Rebel
advance was ended with heavy losses to both armies.
The Constitution of the United States of America was signed by delegates at
the Constitutional Convention on this day in 1787.
Hiram King "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953)
Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers
and songwriters of the 20th century. Williams recorded 35 singles, five
released posthumously, that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country
& Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one, three posthumously.
Hank Williams on the fiddle with Big Bill Lister on guitar
"M*A*S*H" premiered on CBS-TV on this day in 1972.
The series ended on February 28, 1983, with the finale,
showcased as a television film, titled "Goodbye, Farewell
and Amen", becoming the most-watched and highest-rated
single television episode in U.S. television history at the time.
ED DANAHUE
On this day in 2001.
On this day in 1943 during World War II, Benito Mussolini (center)
was taken by German paratroopers from the Italian government
that was holding him.
On this day in 1953, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy married
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier.
South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died at the age
of 30 on this day in 1977. The student leader died while in police
custody which triggered an international outcry.
Mourners surround Biko’s coffin in his home in the black township
of Ginsberg, South Africa.
John R. Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003)
DIANE KEPLEY
On this day in 1957, nine black students attempt to attend
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The situation
turned potentially violent and President Eisenhower sent in
the national Guard to escort the students to school.
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
only two years.
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."
Statue depicting Governor Felipe de Neve, in Los Angeles Plaza.
On this day in 1888, George Eastman registered the name "Kodak"
and patented his roll-film camera (below). The camera took 100 exposures per roll.
The original Kodak camera, introduced by George Eastman.
George Eastman (July 12, 1854 – March 14, 1932)
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 67 on February 10.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is 36 today.
Beyoncé is a 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 22
Grammy Awards for songs such as "Single Ladies," "Drunk in Love"
and "Crazy in Love." She won her first school talent show with her
rendition of "Imagine" by John Lennon.
