ED DANAHUE

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

The 19 year old from France began making a name for himself in
the American Revolution on this day in 1777.

Thomas Jefferson commissioned this portrait of
Marquis de Lafayette. (Portrait by Joseph Boze).

Sens. Thomas Eagleton (left) and George McGovern celebrate their candidacy for vice president and president, respectively, at the Democratic National Convention in 1972.

Eighteen days after Eagleton was picked to run with McGovern, Eagleton
arrived in Washington to hold a press conference on this day in 1972.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I will not divide the Democratic Party," Eagleton announced. "Therefore, tomorrow morning I will write to the chairman of
the Democratic Party withdrawing my candidacy." His mental health was
the main issue.

The election was held 99 days later. Richard Nixon would defeat George
McGovern in a landslide — the widest margin of victory in the popular
vote in presidential history.

Novelist Joanne Rowling,writing under the pen names J. K. Rowling
and Robert Galbraith, is 53 years young today.

English 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 DANAHUE

It was on this day in 1975.

On this day in 1965, U.S. President Johnson (center) signed into law Social Security Act that established Medicare and Medicaid. It went
into effect the following year. Former President Harry S. Truman
is seated on the right. 

A photo of Truman’s application form.

Black Tom pier shortly after the explosion.

The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an
act of sabotage by German agents to destroy American-made munitions that
were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I.

The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on
this day in 1945. The ship had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. Only 316 out
of 1,196 men aboard survived the attack.

An artists illustration of the attack on The USS Indianapolis.

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947)

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and a business
magnate, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the
sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique
of mass production.

Henry Ford with a Model T in Buffalo, New York, in 1921.

Actor Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is 71 years old today.

Bodybuilder, actor, and politician who served as the governor of California
from 2003 to 2011. His best known films include Conan the Barbarian (1982) 
Predator (1987) The Terminator series (beginning in 1984) and Total Recall
(1990). In 1996 he portrayed Howard Langston in the holiday comedy film 
Jingle All the Way.

                
                   1994

    
    
    
    
    

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia.

Actress Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award for her leading role in the
2009 film The Blind Side. She has also played starring roles in films Speed 
(1994),Gravity (2013), The Proposal (2009), Miss Congeniality (2000), Crash 
(2005) and The Heat (2013).

SANDY KOZEL

On this day in 1948, U.S. President Truman signed executive orders
that prohibited discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment.

Fidel Castro began his revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba on
this day in 1953. Castro eventually ousted Batista six years later.

Former Cuban political leader and communist revolutionary, Fidel
Castro (center).

It was on this day in 1952.

Eva María Duarte de Perón (May 7, 1919 – July 26, 1952)

Eva Perón was the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón (1895–1974) and
First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death from cancer in 1952. She
was 33.

Evita and Juan Perón in 1947.

George Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 – November 2, 1950) 

Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political
activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics
extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote
more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man
and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1912) and Saint Joan
(1923).

Sir Michael Philip Jagger is 75 today.

Mick Jagger is one of the most influential figures in the history of rock
and roll as frontman of the Rolling Stones, he was inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame with the Stones in 1989. He met future Rolling
Stones guitarist Keith Richards in primary school.

Mick Jagger with The Rolling Stones.

ED DONAHUE

It was on this day in 1967.

Ulysses S. Grant (Hiram Ulysses Grant)
(April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885)

Former president Ulysses S. Grant working on his memoirs just
weeks before he died. After a year-long struggle with cancer,
surrounded by his family, Grant died at 8 o’clock in the morning
in the Mount McGregor cottage on July 23, 1885, at the age of 63.

Commanding General Grant, 1866 portrait.

Britain’s Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster
Abbey in London on this day in 1986. They divorced in 1996.

On this day in 1984, Miss America, Vanessa Williams, turned in her
crown after it had been learned that nude photos of her appeared 
in "Penthouse" magazine. She was the first to resign the title.

Vanessa Lynn Williams turned 55 March 18.

Golfer Tiger Woods wins career Grand Slam on this day in 2000.