George McLaughlin (born 1866)

In 1866, in the year that George McLaughlin was born, on February 13th, the first robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang - a daylight bank robbery - occurred in Liberty, Missouri. Jesse's presence has been disputed but most historians agree that he was there.

In 1888, on January 12th, the 'Schoolhouse Blizzard' blanketed Dakota Territory. Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas were hit, leaving 235 dead. Many of those who perished were children on their way home from school. The day was relatively warm when it began and the blizzard hit unexpectedly, catching most by surprise.

In 1909, the New York Times published the first movie review. It was a report on D.W. Griffith's movie "Pippa Passes" also called "The Song of Conscience", a silent film. The review said that this work was moving away from "lurid material that attracted the wrath of censors and concerned citizens and toward more respectable ends. The movie was the story of a young female factory worker, on her day off, wandering and singing - thus changing the hearts of those around her towards good.

In 1946, on July 4th, the Philippines gained independence from the United States. In 1964, Independence Day in the Philippines was moved from July 4th to June 12th at the insistence of nationalists and historians.

In 1998, on December 19th, the movie Titanic - based on the 1912 sinking of the ship and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet - was released. Winning 11 Oscars, it was the first film to gross over a billion dollars and eventually grossed over $2 billion.