12 – Time Rewind

On This Day April 12

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On This Day March 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1922 – Beat Generation poet and novelist Jack Kerouac (d. 1969)

1940 – Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Al Jarreau (“We’re in This Love Together,” “Moonlighting” TV theme) (d. 2017)

1946 – Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning singer-actress Liza Minnelli (“Cabaret,” “Lucky Lady,” “New York, New York,” “Arthur”)

1947 – Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney

1948 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor (“Fire and Rain,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Shower the People”)

History Highlights

1912 – Juliette Gordon Low gathers 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, to share what she had learned abroad about a new outdoor and educational program for youth. She names the group the “Girl Guides” with a mission to embrace, together, their individuality, strength and intellect, and the Girl Scout Movement is born. Today, that group is known as the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

1933 – One week after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation by radio from the White House in the first of his Sunday evening “fireside chats.” With nearly all U.S. banks temporarily closed in response to mass withdrawals by a panicked public, Roosevelt calms fears and outlines his plan to restore confidence in the banking system.

1947 – President Harry S. Truman establishes the “Truman Doctrine” to aid in the containment of Communism.

1989 – Computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee submits his first proposal for an “information management system” that leads to development of the “World Wide Web” and ultimately revolutionizes global communication and human interaction.

1993 – One day after her Senate confirmation, Janet Reno is sworn in as the first female U.S. Attorney General.

Musical Milestones

1955 – Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker dies of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 34. Cause of death is determined to be lobar pneumonia and the devastating effects of long-term substance abuse.

1966 – “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” by Cher, premieres on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first solo Top 5 hit. It ultimately reaches No. 2.

1969 – The Temptations become the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award — Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance for “Cloud Nine, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – “Anything For You,” the first of three No. 1 hits for Gloria Estefan, debuts on the singles charts.

1988 – Rick Astley kicks off two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It is the first of Astley’s two career chart-toppers.

1994 – “The Sign,” by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for four weeks.

2007 – Amy Winehouse makes her American television debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” performing “Rehab.” The song goes on to win three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

On This Day February 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1809 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president (d. 1865)

1809 – Scientist Charles Darwin, who laid the foundations for the theory of evolution in his book, “The Origin of Species” (d. 1882)

1915 – Radio announcer-turned-actor and singer Lorne Greene, best know as Ben Cartwright in the TV western “Bonanza,” and Commander Adama in the sci-fi TV series “Battlestar Galactica” (d. 1987)

1923 – Director-producer Franco Zeffirelli, known for his Shakespeare film adaptations, including “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Romeo and Juliet” (d. 2019)

1934 – Five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships from 1957 to 1969

1938 – Best-selling author Judy Blume, known for her children’s books and young-adult novels, including “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”

1952 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and former Doobies Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald

1956 – Actor, comedian and former talk show host Arsenio Hall

1968 – Actor Josh Brolin (“The Goonies,” “No Country For Old Men,” “W,” “Milk,” “Men in Black 3,” “Hail, Caesar!”, “Deadpool 2”, “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Once Upon A Deadpool”, “Avengers: Endgame”, )

1980 – Actress Christina Ricci (“The Addams Family,” “Casper,” “The Ice Storm,” “The Opposite of Sex,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Monster,” “Pan Am”)

History Highlights

1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. It is America’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization.

1976 – Oscar-nominated actor Sal Mineo (“Rebel Without a Cause,” “Giant,” “Exodus,” “The Longest Day”) is stabbed to death outside his West Hollywood apartment at the age of 37. It takes authorities more than two years to arrest Lionel Williams, who is convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison.

1986 – After spending eight years in Soviet prisons and labor camps, human rights activist Anatoly (Natan) Scharansky is released. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan brokered the amnesty deal at a summit meeting three months earlier.

1999 – The five-week impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton comes to an end, with the Senate voting to acquit Clinton on both articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice.

2002 – Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. The trial drags on for four years until Milosevic is found dead of a heart attack in his prison cell at the age of 64.

2008 – Struggling auto giant General Motors (GM) attempts to cut costs by offering buyouts to all 74,000 of its U.S. hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

2008 – Hollywood’s longest work stoppage since 1988 ends when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) overwhelmingly vote to go back to work following a 100-day walkout. The strike crippled the production of countless TV shows and cost the California economy more than $2 billion. It also gave rise to more reality TV programming that required little or no scripting.

Musical Milestones

1955 – “Sincerely,” by the McGuire Sisters, tops the singles chart and stays there for 10 weeks.

1966 – Petula Clark marks her second and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “My Love.”

1972 – “Let’s Stay Together,” by Al Green, kicks off a week as the No. 1 single. In 2010, the Library of Congress adds it to the National Recording Registry, which collects recordings deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

1977 – Barbra Streisand begins six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with the soundtrack to “A Star Is Born.” The track “Evergreen,” which becomes a No. 1 hit, garners a Best Original Song Oscar for Streisand and composer Paul Williams, as well as Grammys for Song of the Year and Female Pop Vocal Performance.

1983 – Men At Work’s “Down Under” climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second time, marking its fourth and final week as a chart-topper. The track is among two No. 1 hits off the Aussie band’s “Business As Usual” album.

1994 – “The Power of Love” by Céline Dion begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2012 – Adele wins all six Grammy Award categories for which she was nominated. The British singer captures Song of the Year for “Rolling In the Deep” and receives Grammys for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Someone Like You” and Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for “21.”

On This Day January 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1876 – Author Jack London (“The Call of the Wild,” “White Fang”) (d. 1916)

1944 – Retired World Heavyweight Boxing champion Joe Frazier (d. 2011)

1951 – Conservative talk show host and Radio Hall of Famer Rush Limbaugh (d. 2021)

1951 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Kirstie Alley (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Cheers,” “Shoot to Kill,” “Look Who’s Talking”) (d. 2022)

1954 – Radio shock jock and former “America’s Got Talent” judge Howard Stern

History Highlights

1904 – Driving his “999” Arrow Racer, automotive pioneer Henry Ford sets a land speed record of 91.37 miles per hours on the frozen surface of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair.

1926 – The two-man comedy series “Sam ‘n’ Henry” debuts on Chicago radio station WGN. Two years later, after changing its name to “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” the show becomes one of the most popular radio programs in American history.

1932 – Hattie Wyatt Caraway, an Arkansas Democrat, becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1966 – The “Batman” television series debuts on ABC, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Episodes feature acclaimed guest stars playing the various villains that battle Batman for supremacy over Gotham City.

1969 – In the most celebrated performance of his prolific career, quarterback Joe Namath leads the New York Jets to a stunning 16-7 victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami.

1971 – The groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” premieres on CBS, about a working-class Queens, New York family grappling with various social issues. It stars Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, Jean Stapleton as his wife, Edith, Sally Struthers as their daughter, Gloria, and Rob Reiner as their son-in-law, Michael (“Meathead”). The show was the brainchild of acclaimed writer-producer Norman Lear.

1981 – A three-hour television movie serves as ABC’s pilot for the prime-time soap opera “Dynasty,” starring John Forsythe as oil tycoon Blake Carrington, Linda Evans as his wife, Crystal, and Joan Collins as Alexis, Carrington’s scheming ex-wife and business rival.

2010 – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The quake — the strongest to strike the region in more than 200 years — leaves about 250,000 people dead and some 895,000 Haitians homeless.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Go Away Little Girl,” by Steve Lawrence, begins two weeks on top of the singles chart.

1974 – Jim Croce starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.”

1974 – The Steve Miller Band has the No. 1 single in the U.S. with “The Joker,” off the album of the same name.

1980 – “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” by Rupert Holmes, is the most popular single in the U.S.

1985 – “Like a Virgin,” by Madonna, is in the middle of six-weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1991 – Madonna rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Justify My Love.”

2002 – “How You Remind Me,” by Nickelback, begins its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2003 – Maurice Gibb of the celebrated musical trio, the Bee Gees, dies of a heart attack at the age of 53 after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery at a Miami hospital.

2013 – The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury until his 1991 death sells at auction for £74,000 to a Russian businessman.

On This Day December 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1893 – Actor Edward G. Robinson, known for playing mobsters and other tough guys (“Little Caesar,” “Double Indemnity,” “The Woman in the Window,” “Scarlet Street,” “Key Largo”) (d. 1973)

1915 – Legendary Grammy and Oscar-winning entertainer Frank Sinatra, born Francis Albert Sinatra, and affectionately called “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “The Chairman of the Board” (d. 1998)

1923 – Bob Barker, who hosted the popular TV game show “The Price is Right” from 1972 to 2007 and was an outspoken animal rights activist (d. 2023)

1924 – Former New York City Mayor and “The People’s Court” Judge Ed Koch (d. 2013)

1938 – Pop singer Connie Francis, born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (Who’s Sorry Now?”, “Stupid Cupid”)

1940 – Grammy-winning singer Dionne Warwick (“Don’t Make Me Over,” “Walk On By,” “Alfie,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”)

1949 – Actor Bill Nighy (“The Men’s Room,” “Love Actually,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “The Girl in the Café,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”)

1952 – Actress and Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby

1970 – Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly (“Requiem for a Dream,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “The House of Sand and Fog,” “Hulk”)

History Highlights

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi successfully sends the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean.

1917 – In Omaha, Nebraska, Irish priest, Father Edward J. Flanagan, opens the doors to Boys Town, a home for troubled and neglected children that continues to provide this service today.

1967 – “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a groundbreaking movie about an interracial romantic relationship, starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier, opens in theaters. It is the ninth movie to pair Hepburn with Tracy, who died less than three weeks after filming ended.

1972 – The world turns upside down for cruise ship passengers when the epic disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure” opens, featuring a veritable Hollywood ‘Who’s Who’ of a cast, including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Roddy Mcdowall, Carol Lynley and Jack Albertson.

1980 – American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5.1 million at auction for a notebook containing writings by artist-inventor Leonardo da Vinci. The manuscript, written around 1508, is among over two dozen books da Vinci produced during his lifetime.

1989 – The so-called “Queen of Mean,” hotel operator and real estate developer Leona Helmsley, who once quipped that “only the little people pay taxes,” receives a four-year prison sentence, 750 hours of community service and a $7.1 million fine for tax fraud.

2000 – General Motors (GM) announces that it will begin to phase out its Oldsmobile line of cars, the oldest automotive brand in the United States. The last Olds rolls off an assembly line about four years later.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Bobby Vinton stands alone on top of the Billboard singles survey with “Mr. Lonely,” his second No. 1 of the year.

1970 – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles kick off two weeks atop the singles chart with “The Tears Of A Clown,” the group’s 26th Top 40 hit and first No. 1.

1987 – “Faith,” by George Michael, begins a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. It goes on to become the biggest-selling single of 1988.

1992 – Whitney Houston has the No. 1 single with “I Will Always Love You,” which remains a chart-topper for 14 weeks and becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song was written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973. This version was part of the soundtrack to “The Bodyguard,” a 1992 movie co-starring Houston and Kevin Costner.

2003 – Prince Charles bestows knighthood status upon Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger at Buckingham Palace. Jagger’s 92-year-old father, Joe, and daughters Elizabeth and Karis are on hand for the prestigious event.

2007 – R&B legend Ike Turner, credited by many music historians with making the first rock ‘n roll record in 1951, dies of a cocaine overdose at the age of 76. Turner was the former husband of superstar Tina Turner. The couple enjoyed a string of late 60s-early 70s hits, including “Proud Mary” and “River Deep Mountain High.”

On This Day November 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1943 – Actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (“The Princess Bride,” “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles”)

1945 – Legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young (“Old Man,” “Harvest Moon,” “Heart of Gold”)

1961 – Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci

1967 – Former World Heavyweight boxing champion Michael Moorer

1980 – Actor-musician Ryan Gosling (“The Notebook,” “Half Nelson,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Lost River,” The Big Short”)

1982 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Anne Hathaway (“The Princess Diaries,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Becoming Jane,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Les Misérables,” “Interstellar,” “The Intern”)

History Highlights

1946 – America’s first drive-up teller window opens at the Exchange National Bank of Chicago. It features 10 bulletproof windows, with money and paperwork exchanged through sliding drawers.

1954 – Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts its doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since its 1892 opening. About 40 percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island to relatives that sought a better life and the “American Dream.” Located in New York Harbor, Ellis Island reopens in 1990 as a museum and national park.

1965 – Brothers Bill and Bob Summers set a world land speed record (409.277 miles per hour) at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in their hemi-powered hot rod, Goldenrod.

1979 – President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to oil imports from Iran after Americans are taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

1982 – Yuri Andropov assumes leadership of the Soviet Union, succeeding Leonid Brezhnev, who died two days earlier.

Musical Milestones

1966 – “Poor Side of Town” puts Johnny Rivers on the rich side of the singles chart – the No. 1 spot.

1977 – Debby Boone dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “You Light Up My Life,” which remains a No. 1 single for 10 weeks.

1980 – Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1983 – Lionel Richie starts a four-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “All Night Long (All Night).” The track also makes its way to the top of the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.

1988 – The Escape Club reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Wild, Wild West,” becoming the first British musical act with a No. 1 in the U.S. while never charting in the U.K.

1994 – “I’ll Make Love to You,” by Boyz II Men, is in its 12th week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for another two weeks.

2001 – The three living former Beatles meet for the last time at George Harrison’s New York City hotel for lunch. Harrison would die of cancer two weeks later at the age of 58.

On This Day October 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Playwright, novelist and actress Alice Childress (d. 1994)

1932 – Comedian-activist Dick Gregory (d. 2017)

1935 – R&B singer Sam “Soul Man” Moore of the duo Sam & Dave

1935 – Internationally renowned operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti (d. 2007)

1947 – Journalist-TV anchor Chris Wallace

1962 – Trumpeter-composer Chris Botti

1968 – Actor Hugh Jackman, best known for playing Wolverine in the “X-Men” movie series

1992 – Actor Josh Hutcherson (“Zathura,” “Little Manhattan,” “RV,” “Bridge to Terabithia,” “The Hunger Games”)

History Highlights

1492 – Explorer Christopher Columbus discovers the New World as his fleet comes ashore in what is now known as The Bahamas.

1810 – Bavarian Crown Prince Regent Ludwig, later King Ludwig I of Bavaria, marries Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The Bavarian royalty invite residents of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. This becomes an annual tradition that gives rise to Oktoberfest, which is now celebrated around the world.

1940 – Beloved cowboy actor Tom Mix is killed when he loses control of his 1937 Cord 812 phaeton and crashes near Florence, Arizona.

1960 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev creates a spectacle by pounding his shoe on a desk at a United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest the comments of a Philippines delegate.

1964 – Three Soviet cosmonauts blast off aboard the Voshkod-1 spacecraft and orbit Earth, becoming the first multi-person crew in space and the first to fly without spacesuits.

2000 – Two suicide bombers associated with the al-Qaeda terrorist network ram their motorboat full of explosives into the side of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole off Yemen. The attack kills 17 crew members, injures 39 others and leaves a gaping hole in the ship’s hull.

2007 – Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to increase public knowledge about man-made climate change.

Musical Milestones

1955 – Chrysler introduces the first car phonograph — the Highway Hi-Fi — which sits below the dashboard and plays 16 rpm records for up to 45 minutes. Despite claims that records would never skip while driving, they did and Chrysler dropped the $200 option two years later.

1963 – “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs is the No. 1 single and remains there for five weeks.

1971 – Rockabilly pioneer Gene Vincent — the talent behind the 1956 smash “Be-Bop-a-Lula” and who appeared in the movie “The Girl Can’t Help It” with Jayne Mansfield — dies at age 36 of complications from an ulcer.

1974 – Olivia Newton-John wraps up two weeks on top of the pop chart with “I Honestly Love You.”

1979 – Fleetwood Mac release their 12th studio album, “Tusk,” which spawns two Top 10 singles: the title track and “Sara.”

1985 – Ready For The World claims the top spot on the singles chart with “Oh Sheila.”

1991 – “Emotions,” by Mariah Carey, begins three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1997 – Country and pop music singer-songwriter and actor John Denver is killed when his experimental plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. He was 53.

2002 – “A Moment Like This,” by Kelly Clarkson, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day September 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – U.S. Olympic track and field legend Jesse Owens, known as “The Buckeye Bullet” (d. 1980)

1931 – Country music singer George Jones (d. 2013)

1940 – Actress Linda Gray, who played Sue Ellen Ewing in the TV series “Dallas”

1943 – Singer-songwriter Maria Muldaur, best known for her 1974 smash “Midnight at the Oasis”

1944 – Grammy-winning soul singer-songwriter and producer Barry White (d. 2003)

1951 – Actor Joe Pantoliano (“Risky Business,” “The Matrix,” “The Sopranos”)

1973 – Actor Paul Walker, best remembered for his role in “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise (d. 2013)

1980 – Retired NBA/Houston Rockets star center and Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming

1981 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning singer-actress Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls,” “Sex and the City,” “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Winnie Mandela”)

History Highlights

1940 – Four teenagers stumble upon prehistoric cave paintings while following their dog into a cavern near Montignac, France. The site, consisting primarily of animal renderings, is known as the Lascaux grotto.

1953 – In what is considered the “social event of the season,” Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts marries Washington Times-Herald photographer Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. Kennedy is elected the 35th president of the United States seven years later.

1974 – Violence erupts in the streets of Boston on the first day of school over court-ordered busing intended to integrate the public schools. One student describes the experience as resembling “a war zone.”

1977 – Anti-Apartheid leader Steven Biko dies from head trauma suffered during a police beating days earlier.

1978 – The sitcom “Taxi,” starring Judd Hirsch and Danny DeVito, premieres on ABC.

1992 – Best known for his role as the murderous Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho,” actor Anthony Perkins dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at age 60.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Animals rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “The House of the Rising Sun,” which also makes it to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.

1966 – With a blend of comedy and music, “The Monkees” TV show debuts on NBC and runs for nearly two years.

1970 – “War,” by Edwin Starr, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1981 – The Diana Ross-Lionel Richie duet “Endless Love” is midway through a nine-week run as the No. 1 single.

1987 – Michael Jackson kicks off his Bad World Tour by playing the first of three sold-out shows in Tokyo, Japan. By the end of the tour, the King of Pop had performed for more than four million fans during 123 concerts in 15 countries.

1998 – Aerosmith’s single, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” from the movie “Armageddon,” tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week.

2003 – The “Man in Black,” country music legend Johnny Cash, dies in Nashville of complications from diabetes at the age of 71. Cash was one of country music’s biggest stars throughout the ’50s and ’60s, scoring more than 100 hit singles.

On this Day August 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1881 – Legendary movie director Cecile B. DeMille (“Cleopatra,” “The Ten Commandments”) (d. 1959)

1910 – Emmy-winning actress Jane Wyatt, best known as housewife and mother Margaret Anderson on the comedy series “Father Knows Best” and as Spock’s human mother in “Star Trek” (d. 2006)

1931 – Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and bestselling author William Goldman (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “All the President’s Men”) (d. 2018)

1939 – Golden Globe-winning actor George Hamilton (“Crime and Punishment U.S.A.,” “Light in the Piazza,” “Evel Knievel,” “Love at First Bite,” “Zorro, The Gay Blade,” “The Godfather Part III”)

1949 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter-guitarist Mark Knopfler, best known as frontman for the rock band Dire Straits

1954 – Grammy-winning jazz guitarist Pat Metheny

1956 – Actor Bruce Greenwood (“Racing Stripes,” “Thirteen Days,” “Eight Below,” “Star Trek,” “Good Kill”)

1965 – Actor Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under,” “Parenthood”)

1971 – Tennis champion Pete Sampras

1975 – Actor-director Casey Affleck (“Oceans” trilogy, “Gerry,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Out of the Furnace,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”)

History Highlights

30 B.C. – Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, takes her life following the defeat of her forces against Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome.

1851 – Business tycoon Isaac Merritt Singer patents the sewing machine.

1939 – “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland and featuring words and music by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and Harold Arlen, makes its world premiere at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

1963 – The first 1964 Ford Thunderbird rolls off a Detroit assembly line.

1977 – Space Shuttle Enterprise passes a critical test as it separates from the top of a 747 for its first free flight and makes a smooth landing in the Mojave Desert.

1981 – IBM takes the wraps off the first personal computer (the IBM 5150) with a price tag starting at $1,565. That includes the system unit, a keyboard and color/graphics capability. It costs more for options including a display, a printer, two diskette drives, extra memory, a game adapter and application packages — including one for text processing.

1990 – Digging on a cliff near Faith, South Dakota, paleontologist Susan Hendrickson unearths three huge bones that turn out to be part of the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever discovered — a 67 million-year-old specimen dubbed Sue, after its discoverer.

2014 – Lauren Bacall, the smoky-voiced movie legend who taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle in “To Have and Have Not,” dies at the age of 89. Bacall made more than 40 films during a 70-year career, including “The Big Sleep,” “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”

Musical Milestones

1960 – The Silver Beatles become The Beatles, and on this day, the newly renamed band hires Pete Best as drummer. Two years later, he is fired and replaced by Ringo Starr.

1964 – The Beatles’ first film, “A Hard Day’s Night,” opens in 500 U.S. theaters to rave reviews.

1966 – The Beatles’ final U.S. tour begins with two performances at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. During a pre-show press conference, reporters challenge John Lennon to explain his recent boast that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.

1967 – The Doors close out three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Light My Fire.” About a month later, the band performs the song before a national audience on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

1978 – “Three Times a Lady,” by the Commodores featuring Lionel Richie, is the No. 1 single.

1985 – Japanese singer-actor Kyu Sakamoto is killed at the age of 43 in the crash of a Japan Airlines jetliner outside Tokyo. Sakamoto was the first Asian recording artist to have a No. 1 hit in the U.S.: “Sukiyaki” in June of 1963, which sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

1995 – TLC is in the midst of a seven-week domination of the singles chart with “Waterfalls.”

2000 – “Incomplete,” by Sisqó, begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2009 – Legendary guitarist Les Paul dies of pneumonia at age 94. Paul designed one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and was “instrumental” in the development of rock ‘n roll. He also pioneered other recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing.

On this Day July 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1817 – Author-poet Henry David Thoreau (d. 1862)

1895 – Songwriter Oscar Hammerstein II (d. 1960)

1908 – Comedian-actor Milton Berle, known to millions as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television” during TV’s Golden Age (d. 2002)

1934 – Internationally acclaimed pianist Van Cliburn (d. 2013)

1937 – Comedian-actor Bill Cosby (“I Spy,” “Fat Albert,” “The Cosby Show”), who is serving prison time following his 2018 conviction on sexual assault charges

1943 – Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie, born Christine Anne Perfect

1948 – Fitness guru and motivational speaker Richard Simmons

1951 – Actress Cheryl Ladd, born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor, best known for playing Kris Munroe in TV’s “Charlie’s Angels”

1978 – Actor Topher Grace (“That ‘70s Show,” “In Good Company,” “Spider-Man 3,” “Interstellar”)

1978 – Actress Michelle Rodriguez (“Girlfight,” “Blue Crush,” “Lost,” “Avatar,” “The Fast and the Furious” movie series, “Battle: Los Angeles”)

History Highlights

1933 – Architect, engineer and philosopher Buckminster Fuller produces the first of three prototypes of the three-wheeled, multi-directional, rear-engine Dymaxion. The aerodynamic concept car could transport up to 11 passengers, got 30 miles to the gallon and reached a top speed of 90 miles per hour. However, a rollover accident during Dymaxion’s debut at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago kills the driver, injures three passengers and scares off investors, ensuring that the vehicle never goes to market.

1960 – Way before the advent of the iPad, Xbox and PlayStation, Etch A Sketch is introduced to consumers by the Ohio Art Company. The distinctive red plastic drawing toy with two white knobs has since sold over 175 million units worldwide and was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York in 1998.

1976 – The TV game show “Family Feud” premieres with host Richard Dawson. It is currently hosted by Steve Harvey.

1982 – After 60 years of production, the last Checker taxi cab rolls off a Kalamazoo, Michigan assembly line.

1984 – Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale becomes the first major-party candidate to choose a woman as a running mate when he announces his choice of Geraldine Ferraro.

1990 – The quirky series “Northern Exposure,” starring Rob Morrow as a New York doctor transplanted to a tiny town in Alaska, premieres on CBS.

1991 – John Singleton makes his directorial debut with the release of “Boyz N the Hood,” a drama about life in South Central Los Angeles. The movie stars two future Oscar winners — Cuba Gooding Jr. and Regina King — and two Oscar nominees who are Hollywood legends: Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.

Musical Milestones

1969 – “In the Year 2525,” by one-hit-wonder Zager & Evans, is No. 1 on the singles chart and holds there for six weeks.

1970 – “Evening at Pops” premieres on PBS with conductor Arthur Fiedler leading the Boston Pops Orchestra. Composer-conductor John Williams takes the baton following Fiedler’s death in 1979.

1979 – Singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, best known for her 1975 No. 1 hit “Loving You,” dies of cancer at the age of 31. Riperton’s daughter is comedian-actress and “SNL” alum Miya Rudolph.

1980 – “Coming Up,” by Paul McCartney, begins its third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. McCartney plays all the instruments on the track and shares vocal harmonies with wife Linda McCartney.

1986 – “Holding Back the Years,” by British band Simply Red, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week.

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You,” by Puff Daddy (a.k.a. Sean Combs) featuring Faith Evans and 112, is in the midst of an 11-week domination of the pop chart.

2003 – “Crazy in Love,” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, begins eight weeks as a No. 1 single. The track, off the “Dangerously in Love” album, goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.