NANCY LYONS

On October 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store
opened, in Dallas, Texas. At a time when most video stores
were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of
titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed
on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out
process.

The first store was a success and Blockbuster expanded
rapidly, eventually becoming one of the world’s largest
providers of in-home movies and game entertainment,
before eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2010.

Blockbuster was founded by David Cook, who had previously
owned a business that provided computer software services
to the oil and gas industry in Texas.

In 1987, he sold part of the business to a group of investors
that included Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management,
Inc., the world’s biggest garbage disposal company.

Founder David Cook.

As of August 2018, the last Blockbuster store is in Bend,
Oregon.

Tom Armstrong
(born 1950, Evansville, Indiana)

Félicette, a Parisian stray, became the first—and only—cat
in space. The black-and-white feline traveled 98 miles into
space for 13 minutes before her capsule safely parachuted
to Earth.

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was an singer, guitarist and
songwriter who pioneered rock and roll with distinctive songs
such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956),
"Rock and Roll Music" (1957), and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958).

Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and
developing a music style that included guitar solos along with
showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent
rock music.   

 
Charles Edward Anderson Berry
(October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017)