1. 1963: The JFK assassination
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Photo: nydailynews
It was on this date in 1963 that the shot heard round the world went off killing President John F Kennedy in Dallas Texas. President Kennedy was with his wife, Jacqueline in the back of a Lincoln convertible along with numerous other high-ranking officials in a motorcade that was scheduled to travel roughly 10 miles through the city of Dallas. But just as the President’s car passed the Texas School Bool Depository in Dealy Square, a total of three shots rang out, two of wich striking the President just after 12:30pm. Roughly 30 minutes later Kennedy passed away while at the Parkland Hospital at the young age of 46. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was three cars behind JFK at the time of the shooting so he was there to make quick work of taking over the presidency. At approximately 2:40pm, just two hours after the shooting, Johnson was sworn in as the next President of the United States in front 30 witnesses, including the first lady who still wore the bloodstained clothes from her husband’s horrific murder. At the same time, law enforcement officials arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, a former US Marine, who was spotted leaving the Depository right after the shooting. However, he was never convicted because two days later a local restaurant owner by the name Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald as he was being transferred to the county jail.
2. 1988: B-2 Stealth Bomber displayed to the public
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It was on this date in 1988 that the U.S. Government debuted its latest addition to the seemingly endless arsenal of the American Military when the B-2 Spirit was released to the public. Built by the Northrop Corporation, which later came to be known as Northrop Grumman, for roughly a decade under intense secrecy, the B-2 Spirit which commonly is referred to as the Stealth Bomber was unlike any other plane on earth at the time. The research and development alone for the project reportedly cost Uncle Sam a staggering $50 billion, and the cost for each plane afterward was said to be $1 billion. The main function of the B-2 was its stealth capabilities. Even though it had a wingspan of nearly 150 feet, it would only show up on the radar as if it was a bird, and that’s if it showed up at all. It managed to evade pretty much any form of detection used at the time including sound detectors and even infrared. At the time it was released to the public, the B-2 hadn’t even made its first test flight yet, but there was still an order placed to produce 132 of those bad boys, that’s $132 billion worth or airplanes! However when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 that order was significantly reduced to 21.
3. 1986: Mike Tyson on his first heavyweight title
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Mike Tyson punched his way into the record books on this date in 1986 when he knocked out 33-year-old Trevor Berbick after just 5 minutes and 35 seconds. This made “Iron Mike” the youngest heavyweight title holder in history due to the fact that he was just 20 years old at the time. Before the fight, Tyson came up with a pretty simple gameplan. He told reporters after the fight “I wanted to throw every punch with bad intentions”. Berbick was determined to not let the youngster come in and intimidate him, he even went as far as to tell himself that he could take the best that Tyson had to offer. Although sadly he was mistaken, Tyson landed a left hook that dropped the older gentleman to the mat. Berbick did get up, but only to be knocked back down again. When Berbick got up again his legs were so wobbly that he actually fell again. It was at that time the Referee Mills Lane stepped in and called it. Lane later told reporters that while technically Berbick was standing, it would’ve been criminal to let him continue in that condition. Over the next four years Tyson was unstoppable, defeating anyone that stood before him, quite handily if I might add. That is until 1990 when Buster Douglass pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Boxing history.