February 5,1956- Betty Ann Ong was born in San Francisco, California to Harry Ong Sr. and Yee-gum Ong. If you do not know who she is she was a flight attendant on board American Airlines flight 11 when it was hijacked on September 11, 2001. Ong began her flight attendant career in 1987, and with time, hard work, and dedication she was promoted to head flight attendant. At the time of her tragic death she lived in Andover, Massachusetts. Ong assigned herself to Flight 11 so she could return to Los Angeles and go on vacation with her sister. During the hijacking, she made a call to American Airlines operations/ Raleigh reservations center, she alerted the supervisor that the aircraft had been hijacked along with fellow flight attendant Amy Sweeney. In San Francisco the mayor declared September 21`st Betty Ong Day.
January 4, 1957- Collier`s Weekly was discontinued. Collier`s was founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and it`s first issue was published in 1888. Collier has been credited for pionerring "investigating journalism", the magazine established a reputation in social reform. After various attempts to sue the magazine ended in failure, the Collier`s shut down. Collier`s is known for having top cartoonist on their staff, their "short short stories", novels, etc. In 2012 Collier returned and is published bimonthly under the lead of John T. Elduff.
March 30, 1958- The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was formed. Alvin Ailey and a group of African-American modern dancers performed for the first time as a group. They performed at New York`s 92`nd Street, the company then traveled on what Ailey calls "the station wagon tours" in a vehicle driven by long time friend Mickey Bord. Alvin Ailey is a legendary choreographer/dancer who has made an impact on the dance world. Many famous trained dancers come from his theater, (i.e. Savion Glover, Karen Calloway-Williams, etc.)
February 16,1959- Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was elected prime minister of Cuba. In 1953 Castro led an attack on Cuban army barracks hoping to launch a revolt against the government ruled by dictator Fulgencio Batista. The attack failed and he was arrested and imprisoned, later released with other political prisoners. He and his brother Raul formed a small rebel group and hid in the eastern mountains of Cuba were they trained their group to fight. They met other anti-Batista groups and advanced westward in late 1958. On January 1, 1959 the rebel forces succeeded and Batista fled the country.
November 8, 1960- John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest president elected into office at the age of 43 years old. The election was a tight race between Nixon and Kennedy, he won by a very small margin. The campaign was hard-fought and for the first time the presidents competed in televised debates. Many experts believe that Kennedy`s charming and enticing performance during the 4 debates are what made him win. Nixon took every opportunity given to characterize JFK as too young and inexperienced to be president (even though Nixon was only a few years older than Kennedy). Nixon`s claims seemed to validate in the beginning of the Kennedy term by the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion ( http://www.history.com/topics/bay-of-pigs-invasion ), etc.