On this Day: July 25

On this Day July 25

Musical Milestones

1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric and fans go ballistic at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Folk music purists are outraged when Dylan swaps his acoustic guitar for an electric one.

1970 – Carpenters kick off four weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “(They Long to Be) Close to You.”

1975 – “A Chorus Line” premieres, becoming the longest running Broadway show.

1981 – Stevie Nicks has her first solo chart success when “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” reaches No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Tom Petty, who assists on vocals.

1987 – Heart enters its third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Alone.”

History Highlights

1898 – More than 16,000 U.S. troops invade Puerto Rico asserting that they are liberating the inhabitants from Spanish colonial rule, which had recently granted the island’s government limited autonomy. The island, as well as Cuba and the Philippines, were spoils of the Spanish-American War, which ended the following month.

1943 – Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy, is voted out of power by his own Grand Council and arrested upon leaving a meeting with King Vittorio Emanuele, who tells Il Duce that the war is lost.

1953 – Big changes take place for New York City commuters as the subway token is introduced, and the cost of riding the underground rises from a dime to 15 cents.

1956 – The Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog off the coast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, and sinks the next day, killing 51.

1984 – Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to walk in space.

Celebrity Birthdays

1894 – Oscar-winning actor Walter Brennan (“The King of Jazz,” “Come and Get It,” “Kentucky,” “The Westerner”)

1907 – Actor Jack Gilford (“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Cabaret,” “Save The Tiger,” “Cocoon”) (d. 1990)

1923- Actress Estelle Getty, best known for playing Sophia in the TV sitcom “The Golden Girls” (d. 2008)

1955 – Supermodel-actress (and Mrs. David Bowie) Iman

1965 – Actress-writer-producer Illeana Douglas (“Grace of My Heart,” “To Die For,” “Ghost World”)

1967 – Golden Globe-winning actor Matt LeBlanc, best known for playing Joey in the hit NBC sitcom “Friends”

1978 – World’s first test-tube baby, Louise Joy Brown

Own a Piece of This Day

SHOP HERE:

Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties

Elijah Wald

Apple Music

Stevie Nicks has her first solo chart success when “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” reaches No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Tom Petty, who assists on vocals.

Subway Adventure Guide: New York City: To the End of the Line

Kyle Knoke

Alive on the Andrea Doria!: The Greatest Sea Rescue in History

Pierette Simpson

The Golden Girls: The Ultimate Viewing Guide

Harry Huryk

Episodes: Seasons 1 & 2

Starring Matt LeBlanc and Tamsin Greig

Tagged: 25, A Chorus Line, Benito Mussolini, Bob Dylan, Broadway, Carpenters, commuters, cosmonaut, Estelle Getty, heart, Il Duce, Iman, Italy, Jack Gilford, July, Louise Joy Brown, Matt LeBlanc, MS Stockholm, Nantucket Island, New York City, Oscar, Puerto Rico, Soviet, space, Spanish-American War, SS Andrea Doria, Stevie Nicks, subway, Svetlana Savitskaya, test-tube baby, Tom Petty, Walter Brennan