Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles
("Pete") Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean after
eight days in space at 7:56 a.m., EST.

The last total solar eclipse occurred on February 26, 1979.

      

This morning, the Moon’s shadow will be racing across the surface
of  the earth first touching land just north of Newport, Oregon at
about 10:15 a.m. PDT. After today, this type of event won’t happen
again until Oct. 14, 2023, according to the National Aeronautics and  
Space Administration (NASA).

Clay tablets found at ancient archaeological sites show that the Babylonians not only recorded eclipses—the earliest known
Babylonian record is of the eclipse that took place on May 3,
1375 BCE—but were also fairly accurate in predicting them. They
were the first people to use the Saros Cycle to predict eclipses.          
  
        
        
     
      
      
      
      
      
     

Camille Bohannon

U.S. military forces attacked a terrorist camp in Afghanistan and a chemical plant in Sudan. Both targets were chosen for cruise
missile strikes due to their connection with Osama bin Laden.

On this day in 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact
nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the "Prague
Spring" liberalization.

NASA’S Voyager 2 was launched by the United States on this day
in 1977. The spacecraft was carrying a 12 inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of
music and sounds of nature.

Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008)

Singer and songwriter Isaac Hayes co-founded the soul music label
Stax Records alongside David Porter in the 1960s. He and Porter
wrote the popular 1967 song "Soul Man" for the duo Sam & Dave.

Hayes also earned recognition for his Academy Award-winning original
song "Theme from Shaft" for the 1971 film Shaft.

He began singing at his local church at age five and eventually taught
himself how to play the piano, organ, flute, and saxophone.

Robert Anthony Plant is 69 years old today.

Iconic rock star Robert Plant gained fame as the vocalist and songwriter
of the classic rock band Led Zeppelin, known for such hits as "Stairway
to Heaven" and "When the Levee Breaks." He was named the #1 Lead
Singer of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2011. He was once
in training to become an accountant before becoming involved in
the blues scene.

ED DONAHUE

The space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon’s
surface on this day in 1964.

It was on this day in 1777.

Sens. Thomas Eagleton (left) and George McGovern were chosen as their
parties candidates for vice president and president, respectively, at the
Democratic National Convention in 1972. Due to health issues and other
personal problems, Eagleton withdrew as McGovern’s running mate on
this day in 1972.

J.K. Rowling (Joanne Rowling) is 52 years young today.

English-born author J.K. Rowling wrote the bestselling Harry Potter fantasy
books. Her first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
(1997), was followed by six equally popular installments, all of which were
made into feature films. She began writing as a child, creating stories about
a rabbit family for her younger sister’s enjoyment. 

ED DONAHUE

On this day in 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously
ruled that President Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed
White House tape recordings to the Watergate special
prosecutor Leon Jaworski.

Vice President Nixon (far right) and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
(wearing hat) speak as the press looks on in part of what came to be known as the Kitchen Debate.

Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the
valley of the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah on this day in
1847. 

Brigham Young
(June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877)

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco
(July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830)

 
Simon Bolivar,known as El Libertador, was a Venezuelan military and political
leader who played a leading role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama as sovereign states, independent of
Spanish rule.

The Apollo 11 astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific
Ocean on this day in 1969.

The Apollo 11 crew stand next to their spacecraft on the deck of
the recovery ship U.S.S. Hornet.