1989 – German citizens begin demolishing Berlin Wall
1989 – College student (it’s me) raced to Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines, Iowa to stand in the electronics section at a mall store so that I could watch the fall of the Berlin Wall
2012 – Barack Obama elected as 44th President of the United States
1483 – Birth of Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation
2010 – Disney composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas) receives 2442nd star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame
1241 – Pope Celestine IV passes away
1969 – Sesame Street premieres
1908 – First Gideon Bible placed in hotel room
1889 – Birth of Claude Rains, famous for playing Chief of Police in Casablanca
1940 – Walt Disney’s first day as FBI informer
1801 – Dueling is outlawed by the state of Kentucky
1871 – Birth of Winston Churchill, but not the Winston Churchill you’re thinking of
1964 – Birth of Kenny Rogers, but not the Kenny Rogers you’re thinking of
1969 – Birth of Ellen Pompeo, yes the one you’re thinking of
1958 – The Hope Diamond is donated to New York’s Smithsonian Institution
1990 – Home Alone movie premieres at the box office
1766 – Charter signed for Queen’s College / Rutger’s University
1998 – Premiere of Star Trek: Insurrection
2014 – London Premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
1963 – Actress Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) marries novelist William Goyen who is 15 years her senior
2007 – Author Norman Mailer dies
1954 – Unveiling of the Marine Corps War Memorial depicting the raising of the flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima
1/13/2012 – Cruise ship Costa Concordia wrecks off the coast of Italy
3/13/2009 – “Saw – the Ride” roller coaster opens at the Thorpe Park amusement center in England
4/13/2004 – Famous chef Julia Child dies at the age of 91
10/13/1989 – Dow Jones Industrial stocks take the 2nd greatest plummet as of that time
6/13/1986 – Twins Mary Kate & Ashley Olson are born
10/13/1972 – A plane crash sets off an epic tale of survival & rescue, eventually retold in the book and movie “Alive”
2/13/1976 – Figure skater Dorothy Hammill wins gold at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria
9/13/1940 – Five German bombs destroy the chapel at Buckingham Palace
6/13/1930 – England’s first nudist colony officially opens
7/13/1923 – California land developer Harry Chandler unveils “HOLLYWOODLAND” sign
1/13/1894 – America’s first patent for an accordion is filed
7/13/1832 – American explorer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft discovers the source of the Mississippi River
11/13/1789 – Benjamin Franklin writes his famous line “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
