October 19, 2015
Looking Back Can Give a Clearer View Ahead

It seems like the more you know, the less you truly know...or maybe the more things change the more they stay the same.  Either way you look at it, don't forget to look back now and then.  You might just be surprised by what's back there (and learn a little something along the way!) 

Looking back at this day in history, how many of these memorable happenings do you recall? Were you there and if so, do you remember the moment that you learned the news?   What will be the momentous occasions that generations to come from now will hold as truly unforgettable?

On this day in:

-1947: The notorious Hollywood Red Scare kicked into high gear.  Chaired by Congressman Parnell Thomas, the subsequent hearings focused on identifying political subversives among Hollywood actors and actresses, writers and directors.  The "Hollywood Ten", as this first group of men were known, resisted, complaining that the hearings held were illegal and violated 1st Amendment Rights. they were sentenced to one year in jail, a fine that was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

-1774: Congress created the Continental Association that launched a complete ban on all trade between America and Great Britain of goods, wares or merchandise.

-1990: Three members of the rap group, 2 Live Crew, were acquitted of obscenity charges. The three had faced a year in prison each for performing their songs, which were considered to be obscene.

1944: Two liquid gas tanks exploded in Cleveland, Ohio, killing 130 people there.

2011: Moammar Gadhafi, the longest serving leader in Africa and the Arab world, was captured and killed by rebel forces. The eccentric 69-year old dictator was accused of numerous human rights crimes.

1977: Three members of the southern rock band, Lynrd Skynrd, died in a plane crash on a flight from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines all died that day. The plane had originally been chartered by the band Aerosmith, who, because of concerns over the flight crew, passed it up.

1803:  The United States senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase, a treaty with France, that allowed the U.S. to effectively double its size.

1818:  The United States and Britain established the 49th parallel as the boundary between Canada and the United States.

1968: Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis.

1964:  Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, died in New York at the age of 90.