Massive Oil Spill Begins In Gulf Of Mexico

On this day in 2012, an explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, kills 11 people and triggers the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The rig had been in the final phases of drilling an exploratory well for […]

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“The Catcher In The Rye” Author J.D. Salinger Dies

On this day in 2010, J.D. Salinger, author of “The Catcher in the Rye,” the classic American novel about a disillusioned teenager, dies of natural causes at age 91 at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire. Prior to his death, the best-selling writer spent some 50 years shunning the spotlight and living reclusively on a […]

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Conan O’Brien Makes Final Appearance As “Tonight Show” Host

On this day in 2010, comedian Conan O’Brien hosts his final episode of “The Tonight Show,” following an announcement by NBC earlier in the month that Jay Leno would return as the host of the long-running, late-night program. The decision to replace O’Brien was met with protests by his fans and became a public-relations debacle […]

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Massive Earthquake Strikes Haiti

On this day in 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The quake, which was the strongest to strike the region in more than 200 years, left over 200,000 people dead and some 895,000 Haitians homeless. The earthquake hit southern Haiti at 4:53 p.m. local time. The nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, […]

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Miep Gies, Who Hid Anne Frank, Dies At 100

On this day in 2010, Miep Gies, the last survivor of a small group of people who helped hide a Jewish girl, Anne Frank, and her family from the Nazis during World War II, dies at age 100 in the Netherlands. After the Franks were discovered in 1944 and sent to concentration camps, Gies rescued […]

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“Angela’s Ashes” Author Frank McCourt Dies

On this day in 2009, Frank McCourt, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning, runaway best-seller “Angela’s Ashes,” a 1996 memoir about his impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, dies at age 78 in Manhattan from metastatic melanoma. McCourt wrote “Angela’s Ashes,” his first book, when he was in his mid-60s, after teaching in New York City’s […]

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“King Of Pop” Michael Jackson Dies At Age 50

On this day in 2009, Michael Jackson, one of the most commercially successful entertainers in history, dies at the age of 50 at his home in Los Angeles, California, after suffering from cardiac arrest caused by a fatal combination of drugs given to him by his personal doctor. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August […]

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GM Announces Plans To Phase Out Pontiac

On this day in 2009, the struggling American auto giant General Motors (GM) says it plans to discontinue production of its more than 80-year-old Pontiac brand. Pontiac’s origins date back to the Oakland Motor Car, which was founded in 1907 in Pontiac, Michigan, by Edward Murphy, a horse-drawn carriage manufacturer. In 1909, Oakland became part […]

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Chrysler And Autoworkers’ Union Agree To A Deal

On this day in 2009, Chrysler and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reach a tentative deal that meets government requirements for the struggling auto manufacturer to receive more federal funding. As part of the deal, the UAW agreed to let Chrysler reduce the amount of money it would pay toward healthcare costs of its […]

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Fifty-Year-Old Mark Martin Wins NASCAR Race

On this day in 2009, driver Mark Martin wins the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Speedway in Avondale, Arizona, and becomes the first 50-year-old to claim victory at a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Sprint Cup race since Morgan Shepherd did so at a race in Atlanta in 1993. […]

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