ON THIS DAY in 2008, global financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. The 2011 HBO movie TOO BIG TO FAIL recounted the events that led to the the largest Chapter 11 filing in U.S. history.
Reel History
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ON THIS DAY in 1812, Napoleon’s French Grande Armée entered Moscow, causing the great Fire of Moscow as Russian citizens and troops abandoned the city. This series of events was dramatized in the 2002 European TV mini-series, NAPOLEON.
ON THIS DAY in 1475, cardinal Cesare Borgia–son of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei, and brother of Lucrezia Borgia–was born in Rome, Italy. Borgia was portrayed by Orson Welles in the 1949 film, PRINCE OF FOXES, also starring Tyrone Power.
ON THIS DAY in 1953, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier married U.S. Representative John Fitzgerald Kennedy at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The Kennedy wedding was depicted in the 1991 television mini-series, A WOMAN NAMED JACKIE, with Roma Downey and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
ON THIS DAY in 2001, terrorists flew two, hijacked jet aircraft into New York City’s World Trade Center, destroying the towers and killing over 2,750. Director Oliver Stone’s 2006 film, WORLD TRADE CENTER, documented the day’s events.
ON THIS DAY in 1934, New York Yankees right fielder Roger Maris was born. Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record by hitting 61 home runs during the 1961 season. In 2001, 61*, directed by Billy Crystal, documented the season’s events.
ON THIS DAY in 1971, a riot began at a state prison in Attica, New York, eventually resulting in the deaths of 39 prisoners. In 1980, the made-for-TV movie, ATTICA, starring George Grizzard, Morgan Freeman and Charles Durning, documented this four-day event.
ON THIS DAY in 1935, Senator Huey Long was assassinated during a session at the Louisiana capitol building. The story of Huey Long’s career inspired a novel and the 1949 dramatic film ALL THE KING’S MEN, starring Broderick Crawford.
ON THIS DAY in 1945, the Battle of Wake Island, ongoing since December of 1941, ended when Japanese forces surrendered to U.S. Marines. The 1942 film, WAKE ISLAND, with Brian Donlevy, dramatized the early days of that conflict.
ON THIS DAY in 1869, Felix Salten, author of Bambi, was born in Vienna, Austria. In 1942, Salten’s book was adapted by Walt Disney for his animated classic, BAMBI.
ON THIS DAY in 1638, Louis XIV–King of France, and the longest-reigning king in European history–was born. Roberto Rossellini’s 1966 film, THE TAKING OF POWER BY LOUIS XIV, tells the story of the “Sun King’s” rise to power.
ON THIS DAY in 1949, following a concert for civil rights by Paul Robeson at Peekskill, New York, departing concertgoers were attacked by a mob of anti-communist agitators, resulting in over 140 injuries. The 1979 biographical film, PAUL ROBESON: TRIBUTE TO AN ARTIST, documented this event.
ON THIS DAY in 1189, Richard I was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey in London. Anthony Hopkins, in his first film role, portrayed the King (also known as “Richard the Lionhearted”) in the 1968 film, THE LION IN WINTER.
ON THIS DAY in 1864, Confederate forces evacuated Atlanta, Georgia, burning the city’s supplies and structures behind them. The 1939 classic film, GONE WITH THE WIND, depicted scenes of this great conflagration.
ON THIS DAY in 1532, Lady Anne Boleyn was made England’s Marquess of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII. In 1969, Genevieve Bujold portrayed Boleyn in the film, ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS, with Richard Burton as King Henry.
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