“My family and I held no hatred for those people because we realized they were victims of their own ignorance. We had great faith that with patience, understanding, and education, that my family and I could be helpful in changing their minds and attitudes.”
~Ryan White


1820 – The Venus de Milo was discovered on the Aegean island of Milos by farmer Theodoros Kendrotas as he was taking stone from a ruined chapel.
Created sometime between 130 and 100 BC, it is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch although it was initially attributed to the master sculptor Praxiteles.
The statue is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Venus to the Romans). It stands slightly larger than life size at 6′ 8″. The arms and plinth (pedestal) were lost following its discovery.
The photo above shows the statue now (on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris) and a reconstruction based on a proposed restoration sketch from 1895, incorporating statue fragments found at the original site.


1865 – Union cavalry under the command of Major General Philip H. Sheridan and Major General George Crook, reached Appomattox Station during the night of April 7 – long before the Confederate forces – and blocked their path.
General Robert E. Lee’s army now faced Union cavalry and infantry in his front at Appomattox Court House and two Union corps three miles to the northeast.
At dawn, Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon’s corps attacked Federal cavalry, but Gordon quickly realized he could not push forward without substantial help from other Confederate forces, and there was none to be found.
Troopers of the 2nd New York Cavalry Regiment captured three unguarded Confederate trains that had been sent from Lynchburg, VA with rations and ammunition for the Army of Northern Virginia.
Union troopers with railroad experience ran the three trains east about 5 miles to the camp of the Union Army of the James.
Union cavalry, under Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer, attacked the fleeing Confederates in a running battle to the Lynchburg stage road, on which the Union forces seized an unbreakable foothold.
Lee, upon learning of this news and realizing his retreat had been halted, wrote to Union General-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and asked for a meeting to discuss his army’s surrender. He later asked for “a suspension of hostilities” pending the outcome of the surrender talks.
The story continues tomorrow…


1943 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9328.
The order was seen as a direct response to a United Mine Workers strike, in which they had demanded better pay and better job prospects. It was also seen as a warning to unions that further strikes and protests would not be tolerated.
The order froze the prices on anything in the country that could affect the cost of living (which essentially was everything).
It also prohibited any increase in wages and did not permit anyone to change their jobs unless the U.S. war effort would be aided.
The order controlled Americans to the extent that they were told how much to pay for everything they bought, where they were allowed to work, and how much they should be paid.
Despite its controversial nature, the order received little or no challenges from the courts or the American public.


1952 – President Harry S. Truman seized the steel industry to avert a nationwide strike by the United Steelworkers of America against U.S. Steel and nine other steelmakers.
Truman nationalized the American steel industry hours before the workers walked out. The steel companies sued to regain control of their facilities. In a landmark decision two months later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, that the president lacked the authority to seize the steel mills.
Once the ruling had been delivered, the mills were immediately returned to their owners. The Steelworkers went on strike a few hours later. The strike lasted 53 days, and ended on essentially the same terms the union had proposed months earlier.


1963 – At the 35th Academy Awards, Lawrence of Arabia, with ten nominations, captured seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Anne Bancroft won the Best Actress award for her performance in The Miracle Worker and Gregory Peck won Best Actor for his amazing performance in To Kill A Mockingbird.
16-year old Patty Duke won Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Miracle Worker, making her the youngest person at that time to have received an Academy Award in a competitive category.


1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
In the fourth inning of the home opener, Aaron hit home run number 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing and Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully described it as only he could.


1975 – At the 47th Academy Awards, The Godfather Part II won four of the major Oscars.
The film won Best Picture, Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), and Best Screenplay (Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo).
Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) won Best Actress, and Art Carney (Harry and Tonto), competing against acting legends Albert Finney, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, won Best Actor.


1976 – Women Against Violence Against Women called for a boycott of Warner Communications albums because of the promotional campaign for the Rolling Stones’ new album, Black And Blue.
A campaign billboard placed on Sunset Boulevard featured a half-naked, bruised and bound woman and the accompanying caption of “I’m ‘Black and Blue’ from the Rolling Stones – and I love it!”
Stones lead singer Mick Jagger was unrepentant.
“There are a lot of girls into that, they dig it, they want to be chained up and it’s a thing that’s true for both sexes. I don’t see why we can’t use it to advertise a record. It’s a valid piece of commercial art, it’s just a picture.”
The billboard came down.


1981 – Gen. Omar Bradley, the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a 5-star General, died of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 88.
During World War II, he took command of the Twelfth United States Army Group, which ultimately comprised forty-three divisions and 1.3 million men, the largest body of American soldiers ever to serve under a single field commander.
During the Korean War, he was instrumental in persuading President Harry Truman to dismiss General Douglas MacArthur in 1951 after MacArthur resisted administration attempts to scale back that war’s strategic objectives.
Following MacArthur’s dismissal, Bradley testified before Congress and said, “Frankly, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, (MacArthur’s) strategy would involve us in the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy.”


1990 – Ryan White, an AIDS patient whose battle for acceptance gained national attention, died at the age of 18.
As a hemophiliac, White became infected with HIV from a contaminated factor VIII blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live.
Although doctors said he posed no risk to other students – as AIDS is not an airborne disease – many parents and teachers rallied against his attendance due to concerns of the disease spreading through bodily fluid transfer.
Western Middle School in Russiaville faced enormous pressure from many parents and faculty to prevent White from returning to school. In the school of 360 total students, 117 parents and 50 teachers signed a petition encouraging school leaders to ban White from school. Due to the widespread fear and ignorance of AIDS, the principal and later the school board succumbed to this pressure and prohibited re-admittance.
A lengthy administrative appeal process ensued – he was allowed back in April 1986 – and news of the conflict turned Ryan into a popular celebrity and advocate for AIDS research and public education. Surprising his doctors, Ryan White lived five years longer than predicted.
He died one month before his high school graduation.
Legacy: In August 1990, four months after Ryan’s death, Congress enacted The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act (often known simply as the Ryan White CARE Act), in his honor.
The act is the United States’ largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS. It funds programs to improve availability of care for low-income, uninsured and underinsured victims of AIDS and their families.


1992 – Retired tennis legend Arthur Ashe announced that he had AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
Ashe and his wife decided to keep his illness private for the sake of their daughter, who was then two years old, but when he discovered USA Today planned to run a story about Ashe’s illness, he went public before the article was published.
He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS, working to raise awareness about the virus and advocated teaching sex education and safe sex.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on World AIDS Day, December 1, 1992, he addressed the growing need for AIDS awareness and increased research funding saying “We want to be able to look back and say to all concerned that we did what we had to do, when we had to do it, and with all the resources required.”
On February 6, 1993, Ashe died from AIDS-related pneumonia at New York Hospital at the age of 49.


2003 – Lisa Marie Presley released her debut album (To Whom It May Concern).
The album sold more than 140,000 copies during its first week of release, and reached #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The debut single, Lights Out, failed to chart in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but did reached #18 on the Adult Pop chart.
The single alluded to Presley’s loss on the death of her father and the finite period of her own life.
“Someone turned the lights out there in Memphis
That’s where my family’s buried and gone
Last time I was there I noticed a space left
Next to them there in Memphis
In the damn back lawn”


2009 – Four Somali pirates hijacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama 240 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, Somalia.
It was the first successful pirate seizure of a ship registered under the American flag since the early 19th century, although the crew was able to retake the cargo ship.
The captain, Richard Phillips, was taken captive by the raiders and held aboard a lifeboat. He was rescued four days later by Navy SEAL snipers who shot three of the pirates dead.
The hijacking inspired the 2013 film Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks.


2013 – Actress/singer Annette Funicello died from complications due to multiple sclerosis. She was 70.
She rose to prominence as one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original Mickey Mouse Club, then transitioned to a successful career as a singer with pop singles Tall Paul and Pineapple Princess.
During the mid-1960s, she starred in a series of successful “beach party” movies with teen heartthrob Frankie Avalon.


2013 – Margaret Thatcher died at the age of 87, after suffering a stroke.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, she was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office.
A Soviet journalist dubbed her “The ‘Iron Lady'”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2020 RayLemire.com / Streamingoldies.com. All Rights Reserved.