1962

Today in History 07/05 (Algeria Independence)

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A man celebrates the proclamation of independence on July 5, 1962, in Algiers, Algeria (© Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)(1962) Former North African colony casts off French rule
Much bloodshed bookends the occupation of Algeria, and the former colony is now independent after 132 years. The largest country in Africa was a valued territory for France, but growing unrest from a mostly Muslim populace leads to uprisings and a seven-year war for independence.
Algeria, officially the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres, Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes. Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999.
Founded: 1962
Population: 40.61 million (2016)
GDP: $173.95 billion USD (2017)
Area: 919,595 sq miles
Calling code: 213
Capital: Algiers

Six chefs
The six historical Leaders of the FLN: Rabah Bitat, Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, Didouche Mourad, Mohammed Boudiaf, Krim Belkacem and Larbi Ben M’Hidi.
wiki/Algeria
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(1962) Former North African colony casts off French rule.
Also on this day,

1946 | A two-piece swimsuit makes an explosive debut in Paris
Louis Réard’s abbreviated two-piece swimwear design debuts in a fashion show held at Paris’ Molitor Pool. Réard names his creation, cut from 30 square inches of fabric, after the recent nuclear bomb tests on Bikini Atoll, explaining, “like the bomb, the bikini is small and devastating.”
1975 | Arthur Ashe is first African American men’s Wimbledon champ
Arthur Ashe grew up in Richmond, Virginia, as a skinny kid whose father forbade him to play football, but ‘Bones’ took easily to tennis and began practicing with a racket at age 7. Ashe’s dedication to the sport culminates with the first Wimbledon men’s singles win by an African American.
1989 | Iran-Contra Affair’s controversial colonel is sentenced
Two years after his polarizing presence at the Iran-Contra hearings, retired US Lt. Colonel Oliver North is sentenced on three felony counts, one of which is for obstruction. His three-year suspended prison sentence and $150,000 fine will be overturned a year later with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Today in History 02/20/18

Astronaut John Glenn boards the Friendship 7 capsule for the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission on Feb 20, 1962 (© NASA/Space Frontiers/Getty Images)(1962) First American orbits the earth
The Friendship 7 spacecraft and its pilot, Major John Glenn, make three orbits around the Earth and travel 65,763 nautical miles in just under five hours. Glenn’s flight, called the Mercury-Atlas 6, comes just months after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s successful orbit of Earth on April 12, 1961.
Mercury-Atlas 6 was the third human spaceflight for the U.S. and part of Project Mercury. Conducted by NASA on February 20, 1962, the mission was piloted by astronaut John Glenn, who performed three orbits of the Earth, making him the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Mission start: Feb 20, 1962
Mission end: Feb 20, 1962
Astronaut: John Glenn
Space program: Project Mercury

Launch of Friendship 7 - GPN-2000-000686
Launch of Friendship 7, the first American manned orbital space flight. Astronaut John Glenn aboard, the Mercury-Atlas rocket is launched from Pad 14.
wiki/Mercury-Atlas_6
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Today in History 11/06/17

A sign in Johannesburg, South Africa, circa 1956, reading 'Caution Beware Of Natives' (© Ejor/Getty Images)(1962) United Nations condemns South Africa over apartheid
The UN passes a resolution calling on members to cut ties with South Africa to force the nation to end its racial segregation of black Africans. Change will be slow: The country will not repeal its last apartheid laws until 1991.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 was passed on 6 November 1962 in response to the racist policies of apartheid established by the South African Government.

The resolution also established the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid. The committee was originally boycotted by the Western nations, because of their disagreement with the aspects of the resolution calling for the boycott of South Africa. Even so, the committee found allies in the West, such as the British-based Anti-Apartheid Movement, through which it could work and lay the ground roots for the eventual acceptance by the Western powers of the need to impose economic sanctions on South Africa to pressure for political changes.


wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_1761
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Today in History 10/14/17

Captain Charles E. Yeager in October 1947 standing next to the Bell X-1 supersonic research aircraft, which Yeager named the 'Glamorous Glennis' after his wife (© Underwood Archives/Getty Images)(1947) Yeager’s got the right stuff to fly at Mach 1
Former WWII fighter pilot Chuck Yeager flies an experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane at a supersonic speed that some experts believe will rip apart any aircraft. Yeager pushes it to Mach 1.07, faster than the speed of sound, and afterwards lands safely in the California desert.
Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager is a former United States Air Force general officer and record-setting test pilot. In 1947, he became the first pilot confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.
Born: Feb 13, 1923 (age 94) · Myra, WV
Net worth: $1.50 million USD (2016)
Spouse: Victoria Scott D’Angelo (m. 2003) · Glennis Yeager (m. 1945 – 1990)
Children: Michael Yeager (Son) · Don Yeager (Son) · Susan Yeager (Daughter) · Sharon Yeager Flick (Daughter)
Education: Air War College
Awards: Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985) · Purple Heart · Distinguished Flying Cross · Silver Star · Legion of Merit · Bronze Star Medal · Air Force Distinguished Service Medal · Congressional Silver Medal
Highlights
  • 1942: After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942 he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of flight officer (the World War II USAAF equivalent to warrant officer) and became a P-51 fighter pilot.

  • 1945: On February 26, 1945, Yeager married Glennis Dickhouse, and the couple had four children.

  • 1947: In 1947, he became the first pilot confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.

  • 1947: As the first human to officially break the sound barrier, on October 14, 1947, he flew the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m).

  • 1953: The Ridley/Yeager USAF team achieved Mach 2.44 on December 12, 1953.

  • 1997: On October 14, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew a new Glamorous Glennis III, an F-15D Eagle, past Mach 1.

Chuck Yeager
Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager
wiki/Chuck_Yeager
US President John F. Kennedy makes a national television speech on October 22, 1962, announcing a naval blockade of Cuba until Soviet missiles are removed (© AP)(1962) Missiles in Cuba bring the world to the brink
The Cold War burns hot as a US spy plane documents the first photographic evidence of Soviet nuclear warheads stockpiled in San Cristobal, Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. What follows will be weeks of crisis negotiations between the US and USSR that bring the world perilously close to a nuclear exchange.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis, the Caribbean Crisis, or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
Start date: Oct 16, 1962
End date: Oct 28, 1962
1962 Cuba Missiles
Map created by American intelligence showing Surface-to-Air Missile activity in Cuba, 5 September 1962

wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis
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Today in History 06/11/17

Country singer Hank Williams poses for a portrait circa 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee (© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)(1949) Hank Williams makes his rapturous Grand Ole Opry debut
‘Lovesick Blues’ is a huge hit and is Hank Williams’ ticket to country music’s Mecca, the Grand Ole Opry, where Hank and his Drifting Cowboys wow the crowd and play a record six encores. Williams’ meteoritic rise will flame out when he dies, due in part to alcohol abuse, at the age of 29.

Hiram King “Hank” Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American country music singer-songwriter and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one (three posthumously).

Born in Mount Olive, Butler County, Alabama, Williams moved to Georgiana, where he met Rufus Payne, who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money. Payne had a major influence on Williams’ later musical style, along with Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb. During this time, Williams informally changed his name to Hank, believing it to be a better name for country music. He moved to Montgomery, where he began his music career in 1937, when producers at radio station WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. He formed as backup the Drifting Cowboys band, which was managed by his mother, and dropped out of school to devote his time to his career.

When several of his band members were conscripted into military service during World War II, Williams had trouble with their replacements, and WSFA terminated his contract because of his alcohol abuse. Williams eventually married Audrey Sheppard, who was his manager for nearly a decade. After recording “Never Again” and “Honky Tonkin'” with Sterling Records, he signed a contract with MGM Records. In 1947 he released “Move It on Over”, which became a hit, and also joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program. One year later, he released a cover of “Lovesick Blues”

recorded at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, which carried him into the mainstream of music. After an initial rejection, Williams joined the Grand Ole Opry. He was unable to read or notate music to any significant degree. Among the hits he wrote were “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Hey, Good Lookin'”, and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”.

In 1952, he divorced Sheppard and was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcohol abuse. On January 1, 1953, he suffered heart failure while traveling to perform at a concert in West Virginia, and died as a result. His death came in the wake of many years of back pain, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse which lead to his poor health and death. Despite his short life, Williams is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century, especially country music. The songs he wrote and recorded have been covered by numerous artists and have been hits in various genres. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame, such as the Country Music Hall of Fame (1961), the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1970), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987).


wiki/Hank_Williams
Spectators flee the searing flames of a smashed Mercedes racing car after an accident at the Le Mans, France, race that killed more than 80 people, June 11, 1955 (© AP)(1955) Europe’s prestigious Le Mans car race turns deadly
In the worst accident in the history of motorsports, the collision between a Mercedes-Benz and an Austin-Healy in France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans catapults one car onto an embankment where it breaks apart, sending debris hurtling into the crowd, killing 83 and injuring upwards of 100.
The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in Le Mans, France on 11 June 1955, when a major crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd. Eighty-three spectators and French driver Pierre Bouillin, who raced under the name Pierre Levegh, were killed and nearly 180 more sustained injuries in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history which led Mercedes-Benz to retire from motor racing until 1989.
wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster
Aerial view of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, shown June 12, 1962, the day three prisoners escaped (© AP)(1962) Inmates escape from ‘The Rock’ and disappear into the bay
The infamous Alcatraz Island penitentiary has been thought escape-proof, but The Rock loses three of its inmates today as they pose dummy heads in their bunks, crawl through spoon-dug holes, scale the prison fence, and shove off into San Francisco Bay on rafts made with prison raincoats.
The June 1962 Alcatraz escape may have been the only successful escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in that facility’s history. Late on the night of June 11 or early morning of June 12, inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris tucked papier-mâché heads resembling their own likenesses into their beds, broke out of the main prison building via an unused utility corridor, and departed Alcatraz Island aboard an improvised inflatable raft to an uncertain fate.
Date: Jun 11, 1962

wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape
(From left) Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara & Alan Ruck publicity portrait for 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' (© Paramount/Getty Images)(1986) ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ released
John Hughes’ comedy about a high school student’s elaborate plan to skip school hits theaters. It will become a box office success and produce quotes and catch phrases that will permeate pop culture for years to come. It’s over. Go home. Go.
Ferris Bueller is a clever and tricky fast talker, a legend in his own time. He decides to call out sick from school, feigning illness, to embark on a wild adventure involving his girlfriend, Sloane Peterson, his best friend Cameron Frye, and a Ferrari. From Wrigley Field to the Art Institute of Chicago to a Polish Pride parade, Bueller and friends intend on making the most of their day off. However, Ferris’ sister and the school dean, Ed Rooney, suspect that Ferris is simply pretending to be ill. Both Rooney and Ferris’ sister Jeanie are hot on Ferris’ trail and are determined to catch him and his friends in the act of class-cutting.
Release date: Jun 11, 1986 (United States)
Director: John Hughes
Gross revenue: $70.10 million USD
Estimated budget: $6 million USD
Featured songs: Love Missile F1-11 · BAD · Twist and Shout · Danke Schoen · Taking the Day Off · I’m Afraid · Oh Yeah · The Edge of Forever · Main Title · Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (instrumental) · Jeannie · Rebel Blockade Runner · March of the Swivelheads · Beat City · Radio People
Screenwriter: John Hughes

wiki/Ferris_Bueller’s_Day_Off
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