MIKE GRACIA

On this day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation
Proclamation. Attempting to stitch together a nation mired in
a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln made a last-ditch, but
carefully calculated, decision regarding the institution of
slavery in America. The Proclamation ordered the freedom
of all slaves in ten states.

An African American man reading a newspaper with headline "Presidential Proclamation/Slavery".

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1859, Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal
arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA (now located in West Virginia). He was
hoping to instigate a wider slave rebellion.

"John Brown’s Fort" at Harpers Ferry.

John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859)

On this day in 1987, Rescuers freed Jessica McClure from the
abandoned well that she had fallen into in Midland, TX. She
was trapped for 58 hours.

Jessica McClure Morales turned 32 on March 26.

Boris Yeltsin (right) with Mikhail Gorbachev after the failure of the
August 21, 1991 coup.

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev returns to Moscow from the
Crimea on August 22, 1991 after a hardline coup failed.

It was on this day in 1940.

Nat Turner, a former slave, led a violent insurrection in Virginia on
this day in 1831. He was later executed.

Hawaii became the 50th state on this day in 1959. President Dwight
D. Eisenhower (second from left) also issued the order for the 50
star flag.

After signing Executive Order adding 50th star to US flag, for Hawaii, President Eisenhower (third from left) holds up the new flag.

Kenneth Ray Rogers is 80 years old today. He was born in Houston,
TX.

Country icon Kenny Rogers has sold more than 100 million albums over
the course of his career. His 1970s albums The Gambler and Kenny went
5x platinum and 3x platinum, respectively. In 2013, he was inducted into
the Country Music Hall of Fame.

ED DANAHUE

On this day in 1858, in a speech in Springfield, IL, U.S.
Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said the slavery
issue had to be resolved. He declared, "A house
divided against itself cannot stand."

On this day in 1963, 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova went into orbit aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft for three days. She was the first
female space traveler.

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova turned 81 on March 6.

In Soweto on this day in 1976, thousands of school children revolted against the South African government’s plan to enforce Afrikaans as
the language for instruction in black schools

An 18-year old South African school boy is seen carrying a dying
13-year old Hector Pieterson.

On this day in 1961, Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union
while in Paris, traveling with the Leningrad Kirov Ballet.

Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (March 17, 1938 – January 6, 1993)

Nureyev entered a hospital in Paris, France on November 20, 1992 and
remained there until his death from AIDS complications at age 54.