The 61-foot-tall bronze memorial to Confederate Gen. Robert
E. Lee prior to removal in September.

(AP) – Crews working to remove the pedestal where a statue of
Gen. Lee towered over Richmond for more than a century believe
they’ve found a time capsule that was buried there in 1887.

The massive bronze equestrian statue of Lee, erected in 1890, was
taken down in September, more than a year after Governor Ralph
Northam ordered its removal after protests over racism and police
brutality erupted across the country following the police killing of
George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from
the people of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor
after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces
packed in more than 200 cases. The copper and iron statue, which was reassembled and dedicated the following year in a ceremony presided over
by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the world as an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

Intended to commemorate the American Revolution and a century of
friendship between the U.S. and France, the statue was designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (who modeled it after his own mother),
with assistance from engineer Gustave Eiffel, who later developed the iconic
tower in Paris bearing his name. The statue was initially scheduled to be
finished by 1876, the 100th anniversary of America’s Declaration of
Independence; however, fundraising efforts, which included auctions, a
lottery and boxing matches, took longer than anticipated, both in Europe
and the U.S., where the statue’s pedestal was to be financed and constructed.

The statue alone cost the French an estimated $250,000 (more than $5.5 million
in today’s money).

SANDY KOZEL

NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts
on this day in 1959.

CARLATA BRADLEY

Jefferson Davis died in New Orleans on this day in 1889. He was
the first and only president of the Confederate States of America
and the highest ranking confederate leader of the South.

On this day in 1957, America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into
orbit failed when the Vanguard TV-3 launch vehicle lost thrust after
lift-off and exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, FL. The
launch was in response to the Soviet Union’s orbiting of Sputnik l.