On this Day: July 24 – Time Rewind

On this Day July 24

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

Celebrity Birthdays

1802 – French author Alexandre Dumas (“The Three Musketeers,” “The Count of Monte Cristo”) (d. 1870)

1897 – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (d. 1937)

1936 – Comedian-actress Ruth Buzzi, who starred in the TV comedy-variety show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”

1949 – Actor-comedian Michael Richards, best known as Kramer in TV sitcom “Seinfeld”

1951 – Actress Lynda Carter, who played TV’s “Wonder Woman”

1968 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress-singer Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies,” “The West Wing,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Wicked”)

1969 – Hip-hop/R&B star and actress Jennifer Lopez

1982 – Oscar-winning actress Anna Paquin (“The Piano,” “X-Men,” “True Blood”)

History Highlights

History Highlights

1948 – The Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian debuts in the cartoon “Haredevil Hare.”

1950 – The 62-foot-tall Bumper 8 is the first rocket to be launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral — known then as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The craft represented a marriage of the German V-2 ballistic missile and the U.S. Army Wac Corporal research rocket.

1969 – Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean following the crew’s historic moon landing.

1978 – New York Yankees manager Billy Martin resigns in what becomes an ongoing love/hate relationship with team owner George Steinbrenner. The move comes less than 24 hours after Martin lambasted All-Star Reggie Jackson and Steinbrenner while speaking to reporters at Chicago’s O’Hare airport where the Yankees were waiting to board a flight to Kansas City. “The two men deserve each other,” Martin told reporters. “One’s a born liar, the other’s convicted.”

1980 – Actor-comedian Peter Sellers, best known for his portrayal of Inspector Clouseau in the “Pink Panther” movie series as well as his ability to play multiple roles in a single film (“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”), dies of a heart attack at the age of 54.

1983 – With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium with two outs, the Kansas City Royals’ George Brett hits a two-run homer to give his team the lead. However, Yankees manager Billy Martin, who noticed a large amount of pine tar on Brett’s bat, requests that the umpires inspect his bat. The umpires rule that the amount on the bat exceeded the allowable amount, they nullify Brett’s home run and call him out, enabling the Yankees to win. This becomes known as the “Pine Tar Incident,” still considered among the wildest moments in baseball.

Musical Milestones

Musical Milestones

1971 – Paul Revere & the Raiders gallop to the top of the singles chart with “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian).”

1976 – “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” by The Manhattans, is the most popular single.

1982 – Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for six weeks. It is the theme song for the movie “Rocky III,” starring Sylvester Stallone, which was released on May 28, 1982, one day before EMI Records released the single.

1993 – U2 begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard album chart with “Zooropa,” the band’s fourth No. 1. “Zooropa” goes on win to a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1994.

1993 – UB40 kicks off a seven-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their cover of the Elvis Presley smash “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You.”

1999 – The theme to the summer blockbuster “Wild, Wild West” begins one week as a No. 1 single. Will Smith, who stars in the movie, sings with background vocals by Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee.

2004 – Usher rules the pop chart with “Confessions Part II,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

2010 – “California Gurls,” by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, wraps up six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Tagged: 24, album chart, Alexandre Dumas, Amelia Earhart, Anna Paquin, Apollo 11, baseball, Billy Martin, Bumper 8, Cape Canaveral, cartoon, Dr. Strangelove, Elvis, Emmy, Florida, George Brett, George Steinbrenner, Grammy Award, Haredevil Hare, Jennifer Lopez, July, Kansas City Royals, Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, Looney Tunes, Lynda Carter, Marvin the Martian, Michael Richards, MLB, moon, New York Yankees, Oscar, Pacific Ocean, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Peter Sellers, pine tar, Pine Tar Incident, Pink Panther, rocket, Rocky III, Ruth Buzzi, Seinfeld, Snoop Dogg, space, splashdown, Survivor, Sylvester Stallone, The Manhattans, Tony, U2, UB40, Will Smith, Yankee Stadium, Yankees, Zooropa