CAMILLE BOHANNON

Madonna Louise Ciccone is 60 years young today.

Pop icon and diva Madonna was one of the most prominent faces in
music during the 1980’s. She has sold over 300 million albums across
the world. Her best known songs include "Like A Virgin," "Papa Don’t
Preach," and "4 Minutes."  

She grew up in an Italian-American household and was a straight A
student, as well as a cheerleader, in high school. After earning a degree
from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, she
moved to New York City to pursue dance.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

It was announced by President Truman on this day in 1945, Japan
had surrendered unconditionally. The surrender ended World War II.

Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the 
their  Instrument of Surrender on board USS Missouri as General
Richard K. Sutherland watches, September 2, 1945.

It was on this day in 2003.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into
law on this day in 1935. The act created unemployment insurance
and pension plans for the elderly.

On this day in 1969, British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to
intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman
Catholics.

Lech Walesa

Stephen Glenn Martin is 73 years old today. Born in Waco, Texas.

Comedian, actor and musician Steve Martin is best known films include 
The Jerk (1979), Father of the Bride (1991), Roxanne (1987), Three Amigos
(1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 
(1987). He hosted the Academy Awards in 2001, 2003 and 2010 and he has
hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live on a number of occasions. 

While he has played banjo since an early age, and included music in his
comedy routines from the beginning of his professional career, he has
increasingly dedicated his career to music since the 2000s, acting less
and spending much of his professional life playing banjo, recording,
and touring with various bluegrass acts, including Earl Scruggs.

Actor George Stevens Hamilton, born in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hamilton won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a BAFTA
Award. He has received one additional BAFTA nomination and two
additional Golden Globe nominations. George Hamilton began his film
career in 1952.

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1974, President Richard Nixon announced that he
would resign the following day.

The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a $45 million train
robbery committed on this day in 1963 at Bridego Railway.

Arrests soon followed the robbery. Here three men are taken to a
police van at Linslade Court House, Buckinghamshire, after being remanded in custody in late August 1963.

Gang member Bruce Reynolds, pictured here circa 1963 on 
the left with his wife Frances, Barbara Daly and brother-in-
law John Daly. Daly was arrested but released due to lack
of evidence.

It was on this day in 1942.

Actor Dustin Lee Hoffman is 81 today. He was born in 
Los Angeles, California.

Dustin Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor in
1980 for Kramer vs. Kramer, and in 1989 for Rain Man. He
also played leading roles in the films Midnight Cowboy
(1969) and Tootsie (1982). Hoffman had his breakthrough
role as Benjamin Braddock in the 1967 classic film The
Graduate.

1995

    1976

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.