On This Day….

Hello.

Welcome to your day. We are glad you are here.

If you are heading out into the woods, good luck! If you are planning the menu for the upcoming Thanksgiving feast, cheers! If you are simply trying to stay on top of the to-do list, hey-we hear ya. No matter what you are doing on this Saturday morning we are glad you are here.

This is the time of week that we intentionally slow things down bit with our “scroll down memory lane.” It’s a quick look back at events that happened on these days in history before we head out to make new history today.

So, grab your favorite sippin’ drink and let’s scroll!

On this day:

In 1859, Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in “On The Origin Of Species.”

In 1947, the “Hollywood Ten,” a group of writers, producers and directors, was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry.

In 1954, the first presidential aircraft was christened, Air Force One.

In 1963, accused John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby in Dallas, Texas. The entire event took place on national television as Oswald was being transferred from one Dallas jail to another.

In 1971, a hijacker identified as Dan Cooper parachuted from a Northwest Airlines 727 over Washington state with 200-thousand dollars in ransom. The man commonly referred to as D-B Cooper has not been heard from since.

In 1971, Rahway State Prision in New Jersey broke out in a prison rebellion.

In 1979, the U.S. admitted thousands of troops in Vietnam had been exposed to the toxic chemical Agent Orange.

In 1991, KISS drummer Eric Carr died at the age of 41.

In 1991, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury died at the age of 45.

In 1993, the Brady Bill was passed by Congress. Named after James Brady who was shot during an attempted assassination on President Ronald Reagan, the measure established a five-day waiting period for handgun sales.

In 1998, in an Internet acquisition deal estimated at ten-billion-dollars, America Online announced it was buying Netscape Communications.

In 2003, a jury in Virginia Beach, Virginia sentenced John Allen Muhammad to death for the murder of one of ten victims of the Washington, DC-area sniper shootings of October 2002. The same jury convicted Muhammad a week earlier.

In 2005, Pat Morita, the actor who rose to fame as Mr. Miyagi in the “Karate Kid” movies and as Arnold on TV’s “Happy Days,” died at the age of 73. Morita was sent to a Japanese-American internment camp during World War Two.

In 2009, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted their first state dinner at the White House. The event honored Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but was later shadowed in controversy when it was revealed that a northern Virginia couple had gained access to the event without an invitation. The Secret Service immediately launched an investigation to determine how Tareq and Michaele Salahi got past security and into the event when they were not on the official guest list.

In 2013, an agreement reached in Geneva between world powers and Iran moved to temporarily freeze Tehran’s nuclear program. In return Iran would get limited sanctions relief and not have any new sanctions imposed on them for six months.

In 2015, Bindi Irwin won the 21st season of “Dancing with the Stars.” The 17-year-old daughter of the late Steve Irwin became the youngest contestant to ever win the competition.

In 2015, President Obama met with French President Francois Hollande in DC. The White House said President Obama showed solidarity and support for the French people after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris less on November 13th, 2015.

In 2015, Chicago police released dash cam video showing African-American teen Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by a white police officer in a McDonald’s parking lot.

In 2017, Over 300 people died in an Egyptian mosque attack. The assault in the northern Sinai also injured over 100 others and is thought to be the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history.

In 2018, the sinking of a cruise ship on Lake Victoria in Uganda killed at least 29 people.

In 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 30-thousand for the first time.

That brings us here to this day. So, whatever plans you have for your own weekend here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history books.