On This Day October 22

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On This Day September 26

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On This Day September 25

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1897 – Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner (“‘The Sound and the Fury,” “As I Lay Dying”) (d. 1962)

1929 – Emmy-winning TV journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news broadcast and who appeared as a host of numerous TV programs, including “Today,” “The ABC Evening News,” “20/20” and “The View” (d. 2022)

1944 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Douglas (“The Streets of San Francisco,” “The China Syndrome,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Wall Street,” “The War of the Roses,” “Falling Down,” “The American President,” “Wonder Boys,” “Last Vegas”)

1947 – Supermodel-actress Cheryl Tiegs, remembered for adorning covers of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue” and for her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster, which became an iconic image of 1970s pop culture

1951 – Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies

1952 – Actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident (“Superman,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Deathtrap,” “The Remains of the Day”) (d. 2004)

1961 – Actress Heather Locklear (“TJ Hooker,” “Melrose Place,” “Spin City”)

1968 – Grammy-winning actor-rapper Will Smith (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” “Ali,” “I, Robot,” “I Am Legend,” “Hancock,” “After Earth,” “Suicide Squad,” “King Richard”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Entrapment,” “Traffic,” “Chicago,” “Oceans Twelve,” “The Terminal”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1957 – Nine Black students (the “Little Rock Nine”) enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas escorted by the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to block federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order.

1959 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kicks off two days of meetings with President Dwight Eisenhower at Camp David. The two men reach general agreement on several issues, but a spy plane incident in May 1960 crushes any hopes for further improvement in U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy gives his “Sword of Damocles” speech before the United Nations General Assembly. He outlines the threat nuclear weapons had on the world, and challenges the Soviet Union to a “peace race…until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.” 

1963 – The first in a series of 1960s teen beach movies is launched when “Beach Party,” starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, opens in U.S. theaters. 

1978 – Tragedy erupts in the skies over San Diego as a small Cessna aircraft being used for flying lessons collides with a Pacific Southwest Airlines 727 (PSA Flight 182). The accident kills 153 people, including seven on the ground, and 22 homes where the burning jet fell are damaged or destroyed. 

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in as the first female associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. 

1997 – NBC’s prime time medical drama “ER,” which supercharged George Clooney’s acting career, opens its fourth season with live performances — first for East coast viewers and a second time for its West coast audience. The episode, entitled “Ambush,” draws a record 42.7 million viewers, becoming the series’ highest rating ever. “ER” aired for a total of 15 seasons, making it the longest-running primetime medical drama.

On This Day September 4

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On this Day August 20

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On this Day August 8

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Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1960 – Summer swimwear is the theme as “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” by Brian Hyland, checks in as the hottest single.

1966 – The Beatles release their seventh studio album, “Revolver,” in the U.S. three days after its U.K. release. The album contains “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Good Day Sunshine” and other classics.

1969 – The Beatles’ iconic “Abbey Road” album cover is photographed by Iain Macmillan outside the namesake studio in London, with the Fab Four marching single file through the crosswalk. Macmillan had 10 minutes to complete the shoot and snapped six photos of The Beatles crossing in either direction.

1981 – Rick Springfield begins his second and final week with “Jessie’s Girl” as the No. 1 single.

1987 – U2 claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” off “The Joshua Tree” album. The track holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

1992 – “This Used to Be My Playground,” by Madonna, lands on top of the pop chart for a week. The track is from the movie “A League of Their Own,” starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna, and directed by Penny Marshall. It picks up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas dominate the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.”

2017 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter-guitarist Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle on My Mind,” “Galveston,” “Rhinestone Cowboy”) dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 81.