astronauts – Time Rewind

On This Day April 9

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On This Day January 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock (d. 1956)

1936 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor-director Alan Alda (“M*A*S*H,” “Same Time, Next Year,” “The Four Seasons,” “Everyone Says I Love You,” “The West Wing,” “The Aviator”)

1959 – Director Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” “The Mist”)

1968 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (“Building a Mystery,” “Angel,” “Fallen”)

1977 – Singer, actor and TV personality Joey Fatone, former member of NSYNC, one of the most popular boy bands of all time

1981 – Actor-producer Elijah Wood (“Avalon,” “The Ice Storm,” “Deep Impact,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Sin City,” “Happy Feet”)

History Highlights

1901 – Professional baseball’s American League is founded in Milwaukee with plans for a 140-game schedule, 14-man rosters and a players’ union.

1915 – The American merchant ship William P. Frye becomes the first casualty of World War I as a German cruiser opens fire and sinks the vessel. Despite apologies from the German government, the attack sparks outrage in the U.S.

1917 – Mexican maid Carmelita Torres refuses to put up with the indignity she has been made to suffer every morning since she began working across the border in the United States. Torres’ objection to the noxious chemical delousing Mexicans were required to undergo upon crossing the Northern border sparks what became known as the Bath Riots.

1922 – Ninety-eight guests are killed, 133 others are injured when the roof of Washington, D.C.’s Knickerbocker Theatre collapses under the weight of a heavy snowfall. The disaster ranks as one of Washington’s worst, and the “Knickerbocker Snowstorm,” as it is known, still holds the record for Washington’s single greatest snowfall.

1958 – The interlocking stud-and-tube plastic Lego brick is patented by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, whose father founded the Lego toy company (“Lego,” from the Danish term “leg godt,” meaning “play well”). The colorful bricks have covered playroom floors for generations. In fact, it’s estimated that Lego has since produced the equivalent of 62 bricks for every human being on the planet.

1964 – The State Department accuses the Soviet Union of shooting down an unarmed Air Force trainer jet over East Germany, killing its three occupants.

1986 – A nation watches in horror as Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) explodes 73 seconds into flight, killing teacher Christa McAuliffe — who was to have been the first civilian in space — and fellow crew members Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.

1997 – Four apartheid-era police officers, appearing before a tribunal in South Africa, admit to the 1977 killing of Stephen Biko, a leader of the South African “Black consciousness” movement.

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a seven-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer,” a song written by Neil Diamond.

1978 – “Baby Come Back,” by Player, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1984 – “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” off Yes’ “90125” album, rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a second and final week.

1985 – Forty-five of the world’s top recording artists gather in a Los Angeles studio to record “We Are the World” to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief. The song, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, reaches No. 1 on the singles chart three months later.

1995 – TLC marks the first of four weeks as Billboard singles chart-toppers with “Creep.”

2001 – Super Bowl XXXV, with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the New York Giants in Tampa, features a veritable Who’s Who of musical talent. Ray Charles sings “America The Beautiful,” the Backstreet Boys sing the national anthem and halftime performers include Aerosmith, ‘N Sync and Britney Spears.

2006 – “Grillz,” by Nelly featuring fellow rappers Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, is the No. 1 single.

2012 – “We Found Love,” by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris, marks its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

2017 – Ed Sheeran rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Shape of You.”

On This Day January 27

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Celebrity Birthdays

1756 – Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1791)

1832 – Writer Lewis Carroll (“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” “Through the Looking-Glass”) (d. 1898)

1921 – Actress Donna Reed (“It’s a Wonderful Life,” “From Here to Eternity,” “The Donna Reed Show”) (d. 1986)

1940 – Emmy-winning actor James Cromwell (“Babe,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “L.A. Confidential,” “The Green Mile,” “Six Feet Under,” “American Horror Story: Asylum”)

1944 – Pink Floyd founding member-drummer and auto racer Nick Mason

1948 – Dancer-actor Mikhail Baryshnikov (“The Turning Point,” “White Nights,” “Sex and the City”)

1956 – Actress Mimi Rogers (“Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”)

1959 – TV host and political commentator Keith Olbermann

1964 – Actress Bridget Fonda (“Single White Female,” “Point of No Return,” “Jackie Brown”)

1979 – Actress Rosamund Pike (“Die Another Day,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Jack Reacher,” “Gone Girl,” “Entebbe”)

History Highlights

1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. for “the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.”

1910 – Thomas Crapper, widely considered the prime developer of the flush toilet mechanism still in use today, dies at the age of 73.

1945 – Soviet troops reach the Auschwitz concentration camp complex and liberate some 7,000 remaining prisoners who survived the Holocaust, but were ill and dying. An estimated 1.1 million Auschwitz prisoners were killed between 1940 and 1945.

1965 – Ford introduces the Shelby GT 350, a version of the Mustang sports car developed by auto racer/car designer Carroll Shelby. The vehicle features a 306-horsepower V-8 engine and remains in production through 1971.

1967 – A launch pad fire during a preflight test at Cape Kennedy, Florida, kills Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. An investigation determines that a faulty electrical wire inside the command module was the probable cause.

1973 – In Paris, the U.S., South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam formally sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam.”

1996 – Tennis great Monica Seles wins her first Grand Slam title since her 1993 stabbing by a mentally unstable fan during a tournament in Hamburg, Germany that led her to take a two-year hiatus from the sport.

Musical Milestones

1956 – RCA Records releases Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” which sells 300,000 copies in its first week to become Presley’s first Gold record. That spring, it spends seven weeks on top of the pop chart.

1962 – With the American dance craze going strong, the hottest song on the radio is “Peppermint Twist” by Joey Dee & The Starliters. The track holds at No. 1 for three weeks.

1973 – Stevie Wonder sneaks into the top spot on the singles chart with “Superstition,” from his “Talking Book” album that also contains the hit “You Are The Sunshine of My Life.”

1984 – King of Pop, Michael Jackson, suffers second and third degree burns on his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in Los Angeles.

1991 – Grammy-winning pop legend Whitney Houston performs “The Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Florida to such excellent response that a single (that eventually reaches No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100) and video are rush-released. Houston’s appearance comes amid heightened patriotism across the U.S. during the Persian Gulf War.

1996 – “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men is in the midst of an unprecedented 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.

2001 – Destiny’s Child enjoys the final week of an 11-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “Independent Women, Part I.”

On This Day January 3

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Celebrity Birthdays

1892 – English writer and poet J. R. R. Tolkien (“The Hobbit,” “Lord of the Rings”) (d. 1973)

1926 – Record producer-arranger George Martin, known as the “Fifth Beatle” (d. 2016)

1930 – Actor-director Robert Loggia (“Scarface,” “Big,” “Jagged Edge,” “Independence Day,” “Lost Highway,” “The Sopranos”) (d. 2015)

1932 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Dabney Coleman, (“9 to 5,” “Tootsie,” “WarGames,” “Buffalo Bill,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Rules Don’t Apply”)

1950 – Actress Victoria Principal, best known for her role as Pam Ewing in the hit series “Dallas”

1956 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer-director Mel Gibson (“Mad Max,” “Braveheart,” the “Lethal Weapon” movie series, “The Patriot,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “The Beaver,” “Hacksaw Ridge”)

1981 – Star NFL quarterback Eli Manning of the New York Giants

History Highlights

1938 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his former law partner, Basil O’Connor, establish the March of Dimes (originally known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis) to battle polio, the disease FDR contracted at the age of 39 that prevented him from ever walking on his own again.

1961 – The U.S. severs diplomatic relations with Cuba two years after Fidel Castro seized control of the island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

1967 – Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who killed the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, dies of cancer in a Dallas hospital. The Texas Court of Appeals had recently overturned Ruby’s death sentence for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and was scheduled to grant him a new trial.

1969 – Apollo 8 astronauts William Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell grace the cover of TIME magazine as “Men of the Year” for becoming the first humans to orbit the moon. During their mission, the trio also captured the iconic “Earthrise” image of planet Earth hovering above the lunar surface. They were hailed for bringing a hopeful conclusion to 1968 — a year filled with social strife that included the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

1990 – Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S. military troops to face charges of drug trafficking.

1993 – The Buffalo Bills stage the greatest comeback in NFL history. Backup quarterback Frank Reich leads the Bills to an improbable 41-38 overtime victory over the Houston Oilers in an AFC wild card playoff game that would forever be known to football fans as “The Comeback.” In Houston, however, it was referred to as “The Choke.”

Musical Milestones

1970 – The Beatles record their last song as a group — George Harrison’s “I, Me, Mine” — which appears on the “Let It Be” album.

1970 – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” by B.J. Thomas, begins a four-week domination of the singles chart. The song is featured in the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

1976 – S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! Scotland’s Bay City Rollers hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Saturday Night.”

1981 – Less than four weeks after his assassination outside his Manhattan apartment building, John Lennon has the first No. 1 single of 1981 with “(Just Like) Starting Over.”

1987 – Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1987 – The Bangles claim the top spot on the singles chart with “Walk Like an Egyptian.”

1998 – Elton John’s tribute to the late Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997,” enters its 13th week as a No. 1 single.

2004 – OutKast rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hey Ya!” The track ultimately holds the top spot for nine weeks and goes on to win a Best Urban/Alternative Performance Grammy Award.

On this Day August 21

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Celebrity Birthdays

1904 – Jazz pianist-bandleader Count Basie (d. 1984)

1924 – Sportscaster Jack Buck (d. 2002)

1932 – Actor-filmmaker-writer Melvin Van Peebles

1936 – Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain (d. 1999)

1938 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, Country Music Hall of Famer and actor Kenny Rogers (“Lucille,” “The Gambler,” “Islands in the Stream,” “Lady”) (d. 2020)

1939 – Actor Clarence Williams III, most recognized for his role as Linc in the TV police drama “The Mod Squad” (d. 2021)

1941 – Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon (“What the World Needs Now Is Love,” “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”)

1956 – Golden Globe-winning actress Kim Cattrall, best known for playing Samantha in the HBO series “Sex and the City”

1958 – Entrepreneur and AOL co-founder Steve Case

1967 – Actress Carrie-Anne Moss (“The Matrix” trilogy, “Chocolat,” “Memento,” “Disturbia”)

1989 – Actress Hayden Panettiere (“One Life to Live,” “Racing Stripes,” “Heroes,” “Nashville”)

History Highlights

1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre in Paris by Vincenzo Perugia, a former museum employee who smuggled the painting to his native Italy. It wasn’t until December 1913 that Peruggia was finally caught and the Mona Lisa recovered, becoming the best known painting on the planet.

1959 – President Dwight Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state.

1965 – NASA launches the third manned Gemini flight, Gemini V, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles “Pete” Conrad. The nearly eight-day mission breaks a record for space flight duration set by the Soviets’ Vostok 5 spacecraft two years earlier.

1971 – Vietnam War protesters raid federal draft board offices in Buffalo, New York and Camden, New Jersey and destroy draft records. The FBI and local police arrest 25 protestors.

1979 – Soviet ballet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the U.S.

1987 – “Dirty Dancing,” starring Patrick Swayze as a dance instructor at a summer resort and Jennifer Grey as the young guest that falls in love with him, opens in theaters. The movie’s theme song, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes captures both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for best duet.

Musical Milestones

1961 – Still recuperating from a car crash two months earlier, legendary country crooner Patsy Cline makes her way to a studio on crutches to record the classic Willie Nelson composition “Crazy.”

1971 – The Bee Gees are mid-way through a four-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

1976 – “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” by Elton John and Kiki Dee, is the No. 1 single.

1982 – New on the singles chart: “Up Where We Belong,” the Joe Cocker-Jennifer Warnes duet from the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman.” The track captures a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Oscar for Best Original Song. Cocker and Warnes also win a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song.

1991 – Bryan Adams is in the midst of a seven-week ride atop the singles chart with “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” from the movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”

1999 – Christina Aguilera owns the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Genie in a Bottle.”

On this Day July 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1887 – Major League Baseball player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (d. 1951)

1907 – Popcorn pioneer Orville Redenbacher (d. 1995)

1907 – Actress Barbara Stanwyck (“Double Indemnity,” “Sorry, Wrong Number”) (d. 1990)

1911 – Actress-dancer-singer Ginger Rogers, who often collaborated with entertainer Fred Astaire (d. 1995)

1952 – Composer and drummer for The Police, Stewart Copeland

1963 – Actress Phoebe Cates (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Gremlins”)

1967 – Comedian-actor and “SNL” alum Will Ferrell (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights,” “Blades of Glory,” “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”)

1971 – Actor-singer Corey Feldman (“Stand By Me,” “The Goonies,” “Lost Boys,” “Gremlins,” “The ‘Burbs”)

History Highlights

1790 – President George Washington signs into law the Residence Act, which grants him the authority to select a new site for a capital of the United States on the east bank of the Potomac River.

1935 – The first parking meter in the U.S. — Park-O-Meter No. 1 — is installed at the intersection of First Street and Robinson Avenue in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The device was the creation of Carl Magee (pictured), founder of the Oklahoma News newspaper, who was determined to alleviate parking congestion. Magee saw the meter, and the threat of being ticketed, as a way to prevent drivers from leaving their cars parked endlessly on the street.

1945 – The nuclear age begins as the so-called “Trinity Test” is conducted. Part of the Manhattan Project, the world’s first successful test of an atomic bomb takes place during the early morning hours in the desert at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

1951 – J. D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” is published and becomes one of the best known works in American literature. To date, more than 65 million copies have been sold.

1969 – Apollo 11 roars from its launch pad at Cape Kennedy, Florida on the first manned mission to the moon. Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin set out to fulfill a national objective declared by President John F. Kennedy in May of 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return safely to Earth.

1999 – A single-engine plane piloted by publisher and presidential son John F. Kennedy, Jr. crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, killing Kennedy, 38, his wife Carolyn, 33, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, 34. Five days later, underwater divers discover all three bodies still strapped into their seats.

Musical Milestones

1966 – “Hanky Panky,” by Tommy James & the Shondells, begins two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the same duo that penned the hits “Be My Baby” and “Leader of the Pack.”

1966 – Guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker form Cream, generally regarded as rock music’s first “supergroup.” The band breaks up about two years later, but not before cranking out classic recordings like “Sunshine of Your Love,” “Badge,” “Strange Brew” and “White Room.”

1972 – After 16 years as their lead singer, Motown legend Smokey Robinson leaves The Miracles (originally named the Five Chimes) for a solo career.

1977 – The hottest single belongs to then-teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy: “Da Doo Ron Ron.”

1981 – One of America’s great musical storytellers, Grammy-winning folk-rock singer Harry Chapin (“Cat’s in the Cradle,” “Taxi”), dies in a Long Island, New York car crash.

1983 – The Police enter their second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Every Breath You Take,” which remains a chart-topper for eight weeks.

1994 – All-4-One is in the middle of an 11-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Swear.”

2005 – Mariah Carey rules the singles chart with “We Belong Together,” which holds at No. 1 for 14 nonconsecutive weeks. The track is from her tenth studio album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”