1945 – Brooklyn, New York: Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers was deeply concerned that there were no black players in major league baseball. He knew baseball needed to change, but he knew it would be challenging to break the color barrier. Rickey was...
Early 1837 – New York City: For several years Samuel Morse had hoped to paint four historical murals for the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Not only would the project be the pinnacle of his successful career, but it would also pay him $10,000. When Morse finally...
March 11, 1812 – Serampore, India: The fire started in the print shop in the late afternoon and the staff was only able to save a few financial records. The shop was a total loss. The fire destroyed many Indian Bible translations, dictionaries in several Indian...
1970 – Key Biscayne Beach, Florida: On most Friday afternoons just before dark, old Ed showed up at the pier with a big bucket of shrimp. Soon he was joined by hundreds of circling seagulls. The birds had learned to anticipate his visits. As Ed tossed the shrimp, he...
July 15, 1912 – Summer Olympics – Stockholm, Sweden: Someone stole 24-year-old Jim Thorpe’s track shoes after he had completed three of the 10 decathlon events. A frantic search followed without success. U.S. Olympic track coach, Glen Warner, happened to find a...
June 1999 – Las Vegas, Nevada: After a long day at work, 19-year-old Amy Purdy thought she was coming down with the flu. Less than 24 hours later, she was in the hospital in septic shock and on life support. The diagnosis was a rare form of bacterial meningitis with a...
