On This Day: January 16

On This Day January 16

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1908 – Theater actress and singer Ethel Merman, best remembered for her rendition of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (d. 1984)

1935 – Indianapolis 500 champion A.J. Foyt 

1943 – Grammy and Country Music Award-winning singer Ronnie Milsap (“Pure Love,” “There’s No Getting Over Me,” “Smoky Mountain Rain”)

1948 – Director-screenwriter-producer and composer John Carpenter, best known for the classic horror film “Halloween”

1950 – Actress-dancer Debbie Allen (“Fame,” “West Side Story,” “Sweet Charity”)

1959 – Grammy-winning musician Sade, born Helen Folasade Adu (“Smooth Operator,” “The Sweetest Taboo”)

1974 – Supermodel Kate Moss

1979 – R&B singer and actress Aaliyah, born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, whose career was cut short by a plane crash in The Bahamas (d. 2001)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1919 – The 18th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes.” Known as Prohibition, the alcohol ban takes effect one year and one day later — on January 17, 1920 — and remains the law of the land until 1933 when it is repealed.

1942 – Actress Carole Lombard, famous for her roles in such screwball comedies as “My Man Godfrey” and “To Be or Not to Be,” and for her marriage to actor Clark Gable, is killed in a plane crash outside Las Vegas at the age of 33. 

1979 – The Shah of Iran is forced to flee his country amid violent protests against his regime. Later that year, he settles in the U.S.

1991 – The Persian Gulf War begins as the United Nations deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait expires at midnight. The Pentagon prepares to launch offensive operations to forcibly eject Iraq from its five-month occupation of its oil-rich neighbor. 

1997 – Comedian and TV star Bill Cosby’s 27-year-old son Ennis is murdered while fixing a flat tire along a Los Angeles freeway. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1938 – Acclaimed clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (a.k.a. “The King of Swing”) makes history when he takes the stage at New York’s Carnegie Hall. It not only marks the first time jazz is played in the hallowed music venue, but the first time a racially integrated ensemble performs.

1965 – The Supremes have a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Come See About Me.”

1971 – George Harrison marks his fourth and final week at No. 1 on the pop chart with “My Sweet Lord.”

1979 – Cher’s divorce from Gregg Allman is finalized.

1988 – Twenty-four years after The Beatles first rule the singles chart, “Got My Mind Set On You” by George Harrison is No. 1. The track was originally recorded by R&B singer James Ray in 1962.

1988 – After huge success as half of the pop duo Wham! during the early to mid-80s, George Michael claims the top spot on the Billboard album chart with his debut solo album, “Faith.” The production packs several major hits, including the title track, “Father Figure,” “One More Try” and “Monkey.”

1993 – “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston, is in the middle of a 14-week domination of the Billboard singles chart.

1999 – Brandy’s “Have You Ever?” tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for two weeks. 

2004 – King of Pop, Michael Jackson, pleads not guilty to child molestation charges, as fans, reporters and TV crews from around the world swarm outside the California courthouse. The judge admonishes Jackson for arriving late.

READ MORE
On this Day: May 12

On this Day May 12

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1820 – Nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale (d. 1910)

1907 – Oscar-winning actress Katharine Hepburn (“The African Queen,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “On Golden Pond”) (d. 2003)

1925 – Baseball Hall of Fame player-coach-manager Yogi Berra (d. 2015)

1928 – Grammy and Oscar-winning composer-pianist Burt Bacharach (“The Look of Love,” “This Guy’s in Love with You,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “On My Own”)

1936 – Late-night TV talk show host Tom Snyder (“The Tomorrow Show,” “The Late Late Show”) (d. 2007)

1937 – Stand-up comedian and actor George Carlin (d. 2008)

1950 – Actor Gabriel Byrne (“Miller’s Crossing,” “The Usual Suspects,” “End of Days,” “In Treatment”)

1959 – Golden Globe-winning actor Ving Rhames (“Dave,” “Mission: Impossible” film series, “Pulp Fiction,” “Con Air,” “Don King: Only in America”)

1962 – ‘Brat Pack’ actor Emilio Estevez (“Repo Man,” “The Breakfast Club,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Stakeout,” “Young Guns,” “The Mighty Ducks”)

1978 – Actor Jason Biggs (“As The World Turns,” the “American Pie” movie series, “Orange is the New Black,” “Amateur Night”)

1981 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor and producer Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Mr. Robot,” “Night at the Museum”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1847 – Way before the Fitbit, William Clayton creates a device to measure distance with his invention of the odometer. Its original use was to record how far horse-drawn wagons traveled during America’s pioneer days.

1903 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president captured on film during a trip to San Francisco. Cameraman H.J. Miles chronicles Roosevelt as his carriage travels down Market Street during a parade in his honor. The short silent movie, titled “The President’s Carriage,” is later played on nickelodeons in arcades across America.

1932 – The body of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh’s 20-month-old baby is found more than two months after his kidnapping from the family’s New Jersey home.

1957 – Legendary auto racer A.J. Foyt is 22 years old when he scores his first professional victory in a U.S. Automobile Club midget car race in Kansas City, Missouri.

1970 – The U.S. Senate confirms President Richard Nixon’s nomination of Federal Circuit Judge Harry Blackmun to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – The Everly Brothers begin a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “All I Have To Do Is Dream.”

1963 – Bob Dylan walks off the set of “The Ed Sullivan Show” after a CBS executive tells him he cannot perform his song “Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues” because it mocks segregation and the military.

1964 – Barbra Streisand wins a Grammy for Best Female Vocalist for “The Barbra Streisand Album,” which is named Album of the Year.

1979 – “Reunited,” by Peaches & Herb, is in the middle of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The track also tops the R&B singles chart for four weeks and goes on to sell more than two million copies.

1984 – Lionel Richie begins two weeks on top of the pop chart with “Hello,” off his “Can’t Slow Down” album.

1990 – Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” completes a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2001 – Janet Jackson is in the middle of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “All for You.”

READ MORE