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Edison's Miracle of Light

Aired October 23, 1995 | 53 min

"The Wizard of Menlo Park," Inventor Thomas Edison, built the first practical light bulb and revolutionized the world.

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In 1906, the murder of Stanford White, New York architect and man-about-town, by Harry Thaw, heir to a Pittsburgh railroad fortune, was reported "to the ends of the civilized globe"; much of the focus, however, was on Evelyn Nesbit, the beautiful showgirl in the center of the love triangle. It was a sensational murder story that had everything: money, power, class, love, rage, lust and revenge.

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Battle of the Bulge

Aired November 9, 1994

It was the biggest and bloodiest single battle American soldiers ever fought — one in which nearly 80,000 Americans were killed, maimed, or captured. Packed with extraordinary newsreel and Army footage, Battle of the Bulge captures the action on the battle's frontlines and the strategy behind the scenes.

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FDR

Aired May 12, 2008 | 4 hrs

Engendering both admiration and scorn, FDR exerted unflinching leadership during the most tumultuous period in U.S. history since the Civil War and was the most vital figure in the nation during his 13 years in the White House.

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D-Day

Aired May 25, 1994

Not since 1688 had an invading army crossed the English Channel, but now it was happening — Operation Overlord, D-Day, the all-out attack on Hitler's fortress Europe. D-Day was the turning point. It was day one of the final drive to complete Allied victory.

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American Experience | America and the Holocaust

Aired April 6, 1994

Complex social and political factors shaped America's response to the Holocaust, from "Kristallnacht" in 1938 through the liberation of the death camps in 1945. For a short time, the US had an opportunity to open its doors, but instead erected a "paper wall," a bureaucratic maze that prevented all but a few Jewish refugees from entering the country. It was not until 1944, that a small band of Treasury Department employees forced the government to respond.

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Malcolm X: Make it Plain

Aired January 26, 1994

If any man expressed the anger, struggle and insistence of black people for freedom in the sixties, it was Malcolm X. In Omaha, he was Malcolm Little; later he became "Detroit Red," a small time street hustler. From prison emerged another Malcolm, the fiery, eloquent spokesman for the Nation of Islam. After a trip to Mecca, there was a last transformation — a new willingness to accept white allies. Who killed him and why has never been fully explained.

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The Hurricane of '38

Aired November 17, 1993

Before radar had been invented a devastating hurricane hit America, surprising residents of the East Coast and killing more than 600 people.

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Eisenhower

Aired November 10, 1993

Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of America's least understood presidents. Part of the award-winning collection The Presidents.

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Amelia Earhart

Aired May 7, 2019 | 53 min

The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, Earhart disappeared in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the world by airplane.

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The Donner Party

Aired October 28, 1992 | 90 min

Three years before the Gold Rush, 87 pioneers took a shortcut westward to California, only to get caught in the snows of the Sierra Nevada. The emigrants' fateful journey culminated in death and cannibalism.

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The Kennedys

Aired September 20, 1992

A saga of ambition, wealth, family loyalty and personal tragedy. From Joseph Kennedy's rise on Wall Street, through John, Robert and Edward's successes and scandals, the family has left a storied political legacy.

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