A short eight years later, President Kennedy's challenge to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth was accomplished. On July 20, 1969 the Lunar Command Module, known as the Eagle, landed successfully on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. The crew of Apollo 11 consisted of Neil Armstrong, Mission Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot.
Listen to the famous "The Eagle has landed."
Hear Neil Armstrong say "One small step
for Man, one giant leap for Mankind."
President Richard Nixon telephone call to Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin who are on the surface of the moon at the Sea of Tranquility
1887
Emile Berliner (first phonograph/gramophone recording)
1888
Thomas Alva Edison Speaking To Mr. Blaine
1905
Take a trip through downtown San Francisco,
California before the 1906 earthquake that
devastated the city. This 14-minute silent film
provides a front seat on a trolley car. There
are no street markings to designate lanes;
horse and buggies cross paths with street cars,
motorized vehicles, pedestrians, and even a
bicyclist.
Note: The film does "roll" occasionally but is still interesting.
1920
Westinghouse's KDKA announces radio's first Presidential election returns between Republican candidate, Warren G. Harding (and vice-presidential candidate Calvin Coolidge) and Democrat candidate James M. Cox whose running mate was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
June 11, 1927
President Calvin Coolidge bestows the Distinguished Flying Cross to Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh and a few comments from Col. Lindbergh.
May 6, 1937
The audio and video for the German airship Hindenburg has been moved to its own page located here.
October 28, 1940
Orson Welles and H.G. Wells meet for the first time on radio station KTSA, San Antonio, and discuss Welles' 1938 adaptation of Well's book, War of the Worlds. Orson Welles "plugs" his upcoming 1941 movie Citizen Kane, in which he utters the soon to be famous line, "rosebud", and already famous for playing the part of Lamont Cranston in the radio show, The Shadow. H.G. Wells is the famous of author of numerous books, including The Invisible Man.
1944
Public Service Announcement from the United States Employment Service seeking woman to replace the men that have entered military service. This P.S.A. encourages Americans to break every war production record to keep arms flowing to the Front - "Woman must work as men must fight".
1944
Public Service Announcement warning of the danger of discussing war secrets. This P.S.A. aired during a broadcast of Mollé Mystery Theater June 20, 1944 and urged Americans not to divulge secrets, like troop movements, in order to "keep our boys alive".
February 1944
Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California radio
advertisement from the Suspense radio program.
July 28, 1945
Mutual Radio news report and witness accounts of a B-25 bomber crashing into the Empire State Building.
1945
U.S. Government encourages home canning during the war years in this radio public service announcement.
April 27, 1947
Babe Ruth made a brief speech during "Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth died on August 16, 1948 of throat cancer.
May 15, 1947
Cresta Blanca Sherry radio advertisement
April 1948
Mollé Heavier Brushless Shaving Cream radio advertisement
March 31, 1950
RCA Victor vinyl 45 records radio advertisement from the Screen Director's Playhouse episode "Dark Mirror" describing the virtues of 45 records: small size, easy storage, easy to use, and sound better with no distortion. An RCA record player can be bought for "as little as $12.95" (that's $108.33 in 2006 dollars) and 45 records start at just 46 cents ($3.85 in 2006 dollars) each.
From the same episode of the Screen Director's Playhouse, RCA Victor promoted its new television, the RCA Victor model TC167 16" Console TV. This TV had many good features including a 16-inch screen, a built-in antenna, audio jack for phonograph, and "aristocratic" cabinet. The TV could be yours for only $399.95 ($3,336.10 in 2006 dollars.
Click here for a short history of television
and some TV's milestones.
1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower
presidential campaign television commercial
October 4, 1957
Sputnik, weighing 183 pounds,
was launched by the Soviet Union
and was the first artificial object
launched into space by Man. The
launch of Sputnik initiated the Space
Race between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A.
and led to the creation of America's
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) in October 1958.
Audio and photograph from NASA.
July 21, 1961
President John F. Kennedy signs an authorization bill for NASA.
On this page you will find audio and video clips from important historical events including Orson Welles meeting H.G. Wells and Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium. There are audio clips of Public Service Announcements that aired during World War II and other significant recordings. Enjoy!
The files are listed in chronological order.
Babe Ruth photograph courtesy of PDImages.com
The 28-minute documentary, Flight of Apollo 11, chronicles the mission. You'll see the launch, see the astronauts' activities on the moon, and listen to historic radio communications between the crew and controllers at NASA. The film also shows the crew being recovered by the U.S.S. Hornet, President Nixon speaking of this amazing accomplishment, and much more. If you can get past some of the MTV-like editing, the show is worth watching.
If you're interested in knowing more about the Apollo Missions, The Project Apollo Archive has a great number of multimedia files and photographs to enjoy. Don't forget to check-out NASA's web site commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.
Click the image to launch Windows Media Player in a new window.
Click on The Flight of Apollo 11 image above to watch the 28-minute video.
Babe Ruth
photograph courtesy of pdimages.com
Please note: The audio and video on this page require Windows Media Player. The player will launch in a new window and the media may take a few moments to load.
