1902: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is published, a story about a dangerous riverboat journey into the heart of the Congo in search of a missing white fur trader.

Today: A television show called Survivor airs for the first time, pitting teams of contestants against each other in perilous, jungle-like conditions for one million dollars in prize money.

1908: Jack Johnson defeats Tommy Burns in fourteen rounds to become the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

Today: Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, fights Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of Joe Frazier, in the boxing ring. After a seven-round slugfest, Ali is declared the winner.

1965: Lyndon Baines Johnson passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to protect the right to vote of all citizens "without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. . . ."

Today: Thousands of liberal voters in Dade County, Florida, cry foul to the...