Babe Ruth – Time Rewind

On This Day April 18

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On This Day April 8

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Celebrity Birthdays

1892 – Actress Mary Pickford, known as “America’s Sweetheart,” as she became a legend of the silent film era (d. 1979)

1938 – Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who, along with the U.N., won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001

1963 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Julian Lennon (“Too Late for Goodbyes,” “Valotte”)

1966 – Golden Globe-winning actress Robin Wright (“The Princess Bride,” “Forrest Gump,” “House of Cards”)

1968 – Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Patricia Arquette (“True Romance,” “Flirting With Disaster,” “Medium,” “Boyhood”)

History Highlights

1974 – Playing for the Atlanta Braves, Hank Aaron hits the 715th home run of his career, breaking the record set by Babe Ruth in 1935. The historic shot is hit off of Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers into the left field bullpen at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

1985 – The government of India files suit against Union Carbide for the Bhopal disaster which killed more than 2,200 people.

1986 – Actor-director Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel, California, and serves for two years.

1990 – Filmmaker David Lynch’s surreal prime-time series, “Twin Peaks,” premieres on ABC. Set in a small fictional logging town, strange and intriguing characters and their relationships are revealed as investigators try to solve the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer.

1992 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe stuns the world when he announces that he has AIDS, acquired from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery he underwent in 1983. Ashe, the first black man to win Wimbledon, dies from the disease less than a year later at age 49.

2013 – Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of Britain, dies in London at the age of 87 from a stroke. Serving from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. She was nicknamed the “Iron Lady” because of her her fierce determination and unyielding will.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Diana Ross and The Supremes record “Where Did Our Love Go,” which eventually becomes the first of the girl group’s five No. 1 singles.

1967 – The Turtles’ “Happy Together” marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1972 – America gallops into its third and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “A Horse with No Name.”

1975 – “Toys in the Attic,” the third studio album from Aerosmith, is released. It contains the hit singles “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” and becomes the Boston rockers’ best-selling album to date, with more than 8 million copies sold.

1989 – “The Look” by Roxette is the No. 1 single and becomes the Swedish duo’s international breakthrough hit after success in Europe.

1995 – “Take a Bow” marks its seventh and final week as a No. 1 single, becoming Madonna’s longest-reigning chart-topper.

2000 – “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, kicks off 10 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track goes on to capture the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

On This Day February 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1895 – Baseball legend Babe Ruth, born George Herman Ruth (d. 1948)

1911 – Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president (d. 2004)

1917 – Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (d. 2016)

1922 – Actor Patrick Macnee, best known as John Steed in “The Avengers” British TV spy series (d. 2015)

1931 – Actor-comedian Rip Torn, born Elmore Rual Torn, Jr. (“Cross Creek,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Men in Black,” “Men in Black II”) (d. 2019)

1940 – Peabody-winning broadcast journalist, author and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw

1942 – 1950s teen idol Fabian, born Fabiano Forte

1945 – World-renowned reggae singer-songwriter Bob Marley, born Nesta Robert Marley (d. 1981)

1950 – Grammy-winning jazz and pop vocalist Natalie Cole (d. 2015)

1962 – Singer-songwriter and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose (“Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine”)

1966 – Singer Rick Astley, best known for his 80s hits “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever”

History Highlights

1917 – Three days after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson severs diplomatic relations with Germany and warns that war would follow if American interests at sea were again assaulted, a German submarine torpedoes and sinks the passenger steamer California off the Irish coast.

1933 – The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, establishing the beginning and ending of the terms of elected federal offices, takes effect.

1937 – John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men,” the story of the bond between two migrant workers during the Great Depression, is published. Eight months later, the stage adaptation opens in New York and earns Steinbeck the New York Drama Critics’ Circle’s Best Play Award in 1938.

1952 – Princess Elizabeth becomes Queen of England when her father, King George VI, dies following a long illness. But it takes the 25-year-old Elizabeth more than a day to learn of her new royal status. She was on safari at the time, inside a Kenyan tree hut watching a herd of elephants gather at a watering hole.

1978 – One of the worst Nor’easters in New England history pounds the region for more than 30 hours, with wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and snowfall of four inches an hour. High tides cause damaging coastal flooding, while inland, thousands of cars are stranded in snow drifts. Remembered as “The Blizzard of ’78,” the monster storm leaves about 100 people dead and 4,500 others injured.

1993 – Tennis champion Arthur Ashe, the only African-American man to win Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Opens, dies of complications from AIDS, at age 49 in New York City.

Musical Milestones

1961 – The Shirelles wrap up two weeks atop the Billboard singles chart with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”

1965 – “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by The Righteous Brothers tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks.

1971 – Dawn, featuring Tony Orlando, begin a third and final week as chart-toppers with “Knock Three Times.”

1982 – The J. Geils Band kicks off six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Centerfold.”

1988 – Tiffany has the hottest single in the U.S. with “Could’ve Been.”

1993 – Whitney Houston reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Will Always Love You,” a song penned by Dolly Parton and used in the soundtrack to the movie “The Bodyguard.” The track holds the top spot for 14 weeks and becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1998 – Austrian pop superstar Falco (a.k.a. Johann Hölzel), the talent behind the 1982 hit “Der Kommisar” and 1986 smash “Rock Me Amadeus,” is killed in a car accident while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. He is just two weeks shy of his 41st birthday.

2010 – Kesha has the No. 1 single with Tik Tok.

On This Day February 5

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Celebrity Birthdays

1919 – Comedian-actor-TV host Red Buttons (d. 2006)

1934 – Retired Major League Baseball superstar Hank Aaron, who was first to break Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs

1942 – Retired Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach

1948 – Actress Barbara Hershey (“Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Beaches,” “Falling Down,” “Black Swan”)

1948 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Tom Wilkinson (“The Full Monty,” “In the Bedroom,” “Michael Clayton,” “Duplicity,” “The Debt,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”)

1948 – Actor, screenwriter and director Christopher Guest (“This is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride,” “Waiting for Guffman”)

1962 – Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (“Single White Female,” “Dolores Claiborne,” “The Hateful Eight”)

1964 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Laura Linney (“Kinsey,” “Primal Fear,” “The Truman Show,” “Wild Iris, “Frasier,” “John Adams”)

History Highlights

1937 – President Franklin Roosevelt announces a controversial plan to expand the Supreme Court, allegedly to make it more efficient. Critics accuse him of trying to “pack” the court to neutralize those justices hostile to his New Deal.

1971 – Apollo 14’s lunar module, the Antares, touches down on the surface of the moon in the region known as Fra Mauro, the intended landing site of the aborted Apollo 13 mission. While on the moon, Commander Alan Shepard practices his golf swing by hitting two balls.

1972 – Bob Douglas (1882-1979), considered the “Father of Black Professional Basketball,” becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

1988 – Two federal grand juries in Florida announce the indictments of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and 16 associates on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.

1993 – Just two weeks after his inauguration, President Bill Clinton signs the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It grants workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in order to recover from a serious medical condition, provide care for a seriously ill family member or care for a new child.

1994 – White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted in the murder of African-American civil rights leader Medgar Evers more than 30 years after the crime occurred.

Musical Milestones

1955 – Billboard magazine ranks “Hearts of Stone,” by the New Jersey trio The Fontane Sisters, the best-selling single in the U.S.

1957 – Way before the British Invasion, an American invasion is underway, as adoring fans welcome Bill Haley and His Comets of “Rock Around the Clock” fame to the U.K.

1966 – Petula Clark’s “My Love” is the No. 1 single. The track is Clark’s second chart-topper following her breakthrough hit, “Downtown.” She becomes the first British female artist to score two U.S. No. 1s.

1972 – Paul Simon’s first solo recording since the Simon & Garfunkel split, “Mother And Child Reunion,” is released and eventually climbs as high as No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1977 – “Torn Between Two Lovers” puts Mary MacGregor on top of the singles chart.

1983 – “Africa” becomes Toto’s first and only No. 1 single in the U.S. The track is from the band’s “Toto IV” album, which also contains the Top 5 hit “Rosanna.”

2000 – Australian pop duo Savage Garden is in the midst of a three-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Knew I Loved You.”

On This Day January 29

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Celebrity Birthdays

1820 – Civil rights crusader Harriet Tubman, known for freeing slaves via the Underground Railroad, and who served as a Union spy during the Civil War (d. 1913)

1843 – 25th U.S. President William McKinley, who was assassinated six months into his second term after leading the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War (d. 1901)

1940 – Actress Katharine Ross (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Stepford Wives”)

1945 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Tom Selleck (“Magnum, P.I.,” “Lassiter,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Friends,” “Blue Bloods”)

1954 – Media executive, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey

1970 – Actress Heather Graham (“Twin Peaks,” “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,” “Boogie Nights,” “Bowfinger,” Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “The Hangover”)

1975 – Actress and TV talk show host Sara Gilbert (“Roseanne,” “The Talk’)

1982 – Singer-songwriter Adam Lambert, whose career was launched during the eighth season of “American Idol” and now tours with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor as Queen + Adam Lambert

History Highlights

1845 – The Evening Mirror publishes Edgar Allan Poe’s now-classic poem, “The Raven” which begins, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…”

1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced In Cooperstown, New York. They include Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.

1963 – Robert Frost, considered the dean of American poets, dies in Boston at the age of 88.

1964 – Stanley Kubrick’s black comic masterpiece, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” opens in movie theaters to critical acclaim. Actor Peter Sellers plays three roles in the Cold War parody.

1979 – Teenager Brenda Spencer shoots and kills two men and wounds nine children as they enter the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. Asked by authorities upon her arrest why she did it, the 16-year-old replies, “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” The incident inspires The Boomtown Rats to write their hit song, “I Don’t Like Mondays.”

1979 – President Jimmy Carter welcomes Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House following the establishment of diplomatic relations. The visit culminates with the signing of historic new accords that reverse decades of U.S. opposition to the People’s Republic of China.

2002 – In his first State of the Union address since the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S., President George W. Bush says Iraq, Iran and North Korea constitute an “axis of evil.” He outlines his rationale for the “war on terror,” a series of military engagements which would define U.S. foreign policy for years to come.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles spend the day at the Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris in their only studio recording session for EMI held outside the U.K. They record “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Can’t Buy Me Love” in German.

1966 – “We Can Work It Out,” by The Beatles, reaches the top of the Billboard singles chart and remains there for a week.

1970 – Elvis Presley releases the single “Kentucky Rain,” which climbs as high as No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1972 – Don McLean’s “American Pie” is in the midst of a four-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100. In 2017, the recording is selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.”

1977 – “Car Wash,” by Rose Royce, is the No. 1 single. It comes from the movie of the same name that features Richard Pryor, George Carlin and The Pointer Sisters, and is considered a staple of the disco genre.

1983 – Men at Work wrap up three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Down Under,” off the Aussie band’s “Business as Usual” album.

1994 – “All for Love,” by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting, is in the middle of a three-week run on top of the pop chart. The single comes from the soundtrack to “The Three Musketeers,” a movie starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris O’Donnell.

2000 – The No. 1 spot on the pop chart belongs to Australian pop duo Savage Garden with “I Knew I Loved You.”

2011 – Britney Spears lands on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Hold It Against Me.”

2019 – Two-time Grammy-winning 80s R&B singer-songwriter James Ingram (“Just Once,” “Baby, Come to Me,” “I Don’t Have the Heart”) dies of brain cancer at the age of 66.

On This Day October 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1846 – Electrical and engineering pioneer George Westinghouse (d. 1914)

1908 – Actress Carole Lombard, born Jane Alice Peters (“Twentieth Century,” “My Man Godfrey”, “Nothing Sacred”) (d.1942)

1942 – Actress and former “Bond Girl” Britt Ekland

1963 – Actress Elisabeth Shue (“The Karate Kid,” “Adventures in Babysitting,” “Cocktail,” “Back to the Future Part II,” “Back to the Future Part III,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “The Saint,” “Hollow Man”)

1971 – Actress Emily Mortimer (“Lovely and Amazing,” “Match Point,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “Chaos Theory,” “Harry Brown,” “Shutter Island,” “Hugo,” “The Newsroom,” “Mary Poppins Returns”)

1973 – Actor Ioan Gruffudd (“Titanic,” “Hornblower,” “Fantastic Four,” “Black Hawk Down,” “San Andreas,” “Forever”)

1974 – Actor Jeremy Sisto (“Clueless,” “Six Feet Under,” “Waitress,” “Law & Order,” “Suburgatory”)

History Highlights

1866 – John and Simeon Reno (a.k.a. The Reno Brothers) stage the first train robbery in U.S. history, making off with $12,000 from an Ohio & Mississippi Railroad train in Seymour, Indiana. The pair perfected the art of stopping trains at gunpoint along sparsely populated stretches of track.

1926 – Yankee slugger Babe Ruth hits a record three home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth game of the World Series. Although the Yankees win the game 10-5, they lose the championship in the Game Seven.

1961 – With the Cold War raging, President John F. Kennedy urges Americans to build bomb shelters to protect against atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

1973 – Hoping to win back territory lost to Israel during the third Arab-Israeli war, Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. And so begins the Yom Kippur War, which rages for 18 days until the United Nations intervenes.

1974 – Five years after launching on the BBC in Great Britain, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” premieres on American television.

1981 – The world is horrified as Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat is assassinated during the nation’s annual victory parade in Cairo.

1989 – Oscar-winning screen legend Bette Davis, known for such movie classics as “All About Eve,” “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” and “Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte,” dies of cancer at the age of 81.

Musical Milestones

1962 – “Sherry,” by The Four Seasons, is in the midst of a five-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song was originally titled “Jackie Baby” in honor of then-First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, but was later changed.

1973 – Cher begins a two-week hold on the top spot on the singles chart with “Half-Breed.” The single becomes her second No. 1 as a solo act.

1979 – Robert John’s “Sad Eyes” is the No. 1 single and holds the top spot for a week.

1984 – “Let’s Go Crazy,” by Prince and the Revolution, is in its second and final week as a chart-topping single.

1990 – “Close to You,” by Maxi Priest, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week.

2001 – Alicia Keys is in the midst of a three-week reign over the pop chart with her Grammy-winning single “Fallin’.” The track is off her debut album “Songs in A Minor.”

2011 – Starship’s “We Built This City” (from 1985) is named the worst song of the 1980s in a Rolling Stone magazine readers’ survey. “The Final Countdown,” by the Swedish band Europe comes in second and “Lady in Red,” by Chris de Burgh, is third. Also among the Top Five are Wham!’s “Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)” and “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats.

2012 – Maroon 5, featuring Adam Levine, is in the midst of a nine-week domination of the pop chart with “One More Night.”

On This Day September 30

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Celebrity Birthdays

1917 – Legendary jazz drummer Buddy Rich, who played with bandleaders Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw before leading his own band (d. 1987)

1924 – “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “In Cold Blood” author Truman Capote (d. 1984)

1928 – Nobel Peace Prize-winning author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel (d. 2016)

1931 – Actress Angie Dickinson, who starred in the 1970s TV crime drama “Police Woman”

1935 – Grammy Hall of Fame pop vocalist Johnny Mathis (“Chances Are,” “Misty”, “It’s Not for Me to Say”)

1943 – Singer Marilyn McCoo, formerly of the band the 5th Dimension

1954 – Actor Barry Williams, born Barry William Blenkhorn, who played Greg on TV’s “The Brady Bunch”

1957 – Actress-comedian Fran Drescher, best known for her starring role in the 1990s sitcom “The Nanny”

1971 – Golden Globe-winning actress Jenna Elfman, best known for her role as Dharma in the sitcom “Dharma & Greg”

1975 – Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose,” “Big Fish,” “Public Enemies,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Contagion,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises”)

History Highlights

1927 – Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the season off Tom Zachary of the Washington Senators. Ruth’s record for the most homers in a single season stands for 34 years until Roger Maris hits 61 in 1961.

1954 – The U.S. Navy commissions the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine. During its early years of service, the vessel breaks numerous submarine travel records, and in August 1958, achieves the first voyage under the North Pole.

1955 – Hollywood legend James Dean is killed in a car accident at the age of 24. At the time, Dean is speeding in his beloved “Little Bastard” — a silver Porsche 550 Spyder — to a car race in Salinas, California, when a vehicle driven by a 23-year-old college student veers into his path.

1960 – Yabba Dabba Do! Hanna-Barbera introduces Americans to a “modern Stone Age family” in the animated series “The Flintstones,” which lasts six seasons on ABC.

1968 – The first Boeing 747, named “City of Everett,” is rolled out before thousands of employees and the international press at Boeing’s Everett, Washington factory. The jumbo jet is the world’s largest civilian aircraft at that time — capable of carrying up to 490 passengers and 33 attendants. It officially enters service on February 9, 1969.

1982 – The NBC sitcom “Cheers,” set in a Boston bar, debuts, starring Ted Danson and Shelley Long. It is nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series each of the 11 seasons it is on the air, capturing 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record 117 nominations.

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Box Tops are in the middle of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “The Letter.” Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the track among its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to its “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll” list, and in 2011, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1972 – Mac Davis is in the midst of a three-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” The track receives a nomination for a Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) Grammy.

1977 – Mary Ford, who with her husband, guitar pioneer Les Paul, made up one of the most popular musical duos of the 1950s, dies from complications of diabetes at the age of 53.

1978 – Exile kicks off a four-week run at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Kiss You All Over.”

1989 – Milli Vanilli begin their second and final week at No. 1 with “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You,” from the German dance-pop duo’s debut album, “Girl You Know It’s True.”

1995 – Mariah Carey becomes the first female artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have a single debut at No. 1, as “Fantasy” begins eight weeks as a chart-topper.

2006 – Justin Timberlake rules the Billboard album chart with his second solo album, “FutureSex/LoveSounds,” which becomes the biggest album ever for pre-orders on iTunes.

On this Day August 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1928 – Grammy and Emmy-winning singer Eydie Gormé, who often performed with her husband, Steve Lawrence (d. 2013)

1930 – NFL Hall of Famer and sportscaster Frank Gifford (d. 2015)

1933 – Tony-winning actress Julie Newmar, born Julie Newmeyer, best known for playing Catwoman in the 1960s “Batman” TV series

1953 – TV talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford (“The Morning Show,” “Today” show)

1954 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning director James Cameron (“The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss,” “True Lies,” “Titanic,” “Avatar”)

1958 – Golden Globe-winning actress Angela Bassett (“What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Rosa Parks Story,” “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” “Malcolm X,” “American Horror Story”)

1958 – Pop superstar Madonna, born Madonna Ciccone

1960 – Oscar-winning actor Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People,” “Taps,” “The Falcon and the Snowman,” “The Dark Half”)

1962 – Golden Globe-winning actor-comedian Steve Carell (“The Office,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Anchorman,” “Despicable Me,” “Foxcatcher,” “The Big Short”)

History Highlights

1812 – During the War of 1812, U.S. General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit and his army to the British without a fight. Hull, a 59-year-old veteran of the American Revolution, had lost hope of defending the settlement after seeing the large English and Indian force gathering outside Detroit’s walls.

1920 – Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman is struck in the temple by a ball pitched by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees. Chapman dies 12 hours later, becoming the first and only Major League Baseball player to die as the result of a pitched ball.

1948 – Cancer claims the life of baseball legend George Herman “Babe” Ruth. For two days following, his body lays in state at the main entrance to Yankee Stadium, and tens of thousands of people stand in line to pay their last respects.

1984 – John DeLorean, the celebrity millionaire caught on videotape discussing cocaine deals with government agents posing as drug dealers, is acquitted of all charges by a federal jury in a tumultuous and emotional climax to a five-month, $1 million trial.

1985 – The final episode of “The Dukes of Hazzard” airs on CBS.

1987 – A four-year-old girl is the lone survivor of the crash of a Northwest Airlines flight after takeoff from Detroit. 148 passengers and six crew members are killed in the accident which investigators blame on pilot error.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Twelve-year-old ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder releases his first single, “I Call It Pretty Music, (But The Old People Call It The Blues),” which features Marvin Gaye on drums.

1969 – The world is introduced to the Jackson 5 by Diana Ross & The Supremes during a performance at the Los Angeles Forum.

1975 – Peter Gabriel announces that he’s leaving Genesis. After auditioning more than 400 singers over the next 18 months, the band selects its longtime drummer, Phil Collins, as new frontman.

1977 – Music legend Elvis Presley dies of a heart attack at the age of 42. The King’s career included 33 movies and 105 Top 40 hits that continue to entertain fans decades after his death.

1980 – “Magic,” by Olivia Newton-John, is in the middle of a one-month reign of the Billboard Hot 100.

1985 – On her 27th birthday, Madonna weds actor Sean Penn in a Malibu ceremony described as a “media circus.” The marriage lasts four years.

1986 – “Papa Don’t Preach” becomes Madonna’s fourth No. 1 single. It holds the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. The track is from her “True Blue” album, which begins its own five-week run atop the album chart this same day.

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You, by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112, tops the Billboard Hot 100. The song samples The Police’s 1983 hit song “Every Breath You Take.”

2018 – ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin dies of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76. The self-taught piano prodigy, vocalist and songwriter notched 77 Hot 100 chart entries and earned 18 Grammys during her career. In 1987, Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

On this Day July 11

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Celebrity Birthdays

1767 – John Quincy Adams, sixth U.S. president (d. 1848)

1920 – Tony and Oscar-winning actor Yul Brynner (“The King and I,” “Anastasia,” “The Ten Commandments,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Westworld”) (d. 1985)

1934 – Fashion designer Giorgio Armani

1950 – Actor Bruce McGill (“MacGyver,” “My Cousin Vinny,” “The Insider,” “Ali,” “Legally Blonde 2,” “Collateral,” “Rizzoli & Isles”)

1953 – Former heavyweight boxing champion Leon Spinks (d. 2021)

1956 – Emmy-winning actress Sela Ward (“Sisters,” “The Fugitive,” “Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story,” “Once and Again,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “The Guardian,” “The Stepfather,” “Gone Girl”)

1959 – Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (“Tom’s Diner,” “Luka”)

1963 – Actress and TV host Lisa Rinna (“Days of Our Lives,” “Melrose Place,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”)

1975 – Grammy-winning rapper Lil’ Kim, born Kimberly Denise Jones (“Magic Stick,” “Crush on You,” “Lady Marmalade”)

History Highlights

1804 – Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shoots his longtime political antagonist, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton, a leading Federalist and former Treasury Secretary, dies the next day.

1914 – George Herman “Babe” Ruth makes his major league debut, pitching seven strong innings to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians, 4-3.

1916 – President Woodrow Wilson signs the Federal Aid Road Act, making federal funds available for construction and maintenance of U.S. highways.

1979 – Skylab plunges to Earth six years after its launch, showering flaming debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia, but fortunately causing no casualties.

1985 – Coca-Cola officials hold a news conference to announce that original Coke is coming back after consumers overwhelmingly rejected its replacement by New Coke. The original formula is renamed Coca-Cola Classic.

Musical Milestones

1951 – Legendary disc jockey Alan Freed (a.k.a. “Moondog”) starts his new job spinning records for a rhythm and blues show on radio station WJW in Cleveland. With his unprecedented on-air mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues songs, Freed is credited with coining the term “rock ‘n roll.”

1969 – David Bowie releases “Space Oddity,” which soars to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is ranked among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.”

1970 – The “Woodstock” soundtrack hits the top of the Billboard album chart and remains there for four weeks.

1970 – The No. 1 single in the U.S. is “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” by Three Dog Night. The song, written by Randy Newman, holds the top spot for two weeks.

1987 – “Alone,” by Heart, kicks off three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sibling duo’s biggest hit in the U.S.

1992 – “Baby Got Back,” by American rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, is in the midst of five weeks as a No. 1 single.

1998 – Brandy and Monica are in the middle of a 13-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Boy is Mine.”

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas kick off 14 weeks on top of the U.S. singles chart with “I Gotta Feeling,” the longest-running No. 1 single of 2009. The song is goes on to win a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

On this Day June 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1731 – First U.S. First Lady, Martha Washington (d. 1802)

1904 – Olympic Gold-winning swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller, best known for his portrayal of Tarzan in the 1930s and 40s movies (d. 1984)

1937 – Actress Sally Kellerman (“M*A*S*H,” “Brewster McCloud”)

1941 – Actor Stacy Keach (“Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer,” “Titus”)

1941 – Legendary Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts

1944 – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Golden Globe, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch (d. 2012)

1955 – Emmy-winning comedian-actor Dana Carvey (“Saturday Night Live,” the “Wayne’s World” movie series)

1977 – Actor Zachary Quinto (“Heroes,” “Star Trek,” “American Horror Story”)

1978 – Actor Justin Long (“Galaxy Quest,” “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” “Live Free or Die Hard”)

History Highlights

1865 – Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, signs the surrender terms offered by Union negotiators. Smith’s surrender effectively dissolves the last Confederate army, formally ending the Civil War — the bloodiest four years in U.S. history.

1924 – President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizen Act, granting automatic American citizenship to Native Americans born in the United States.

1935 – Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ends his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs.

1941 – Another baseball legend, Lou Gehrig, dies of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a rare type of paralysis commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

1953 – Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is crowned in Westminster Abbey during the first televised coronation ceremony.

1979 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit a communist country when he tours his native Poland.

1989 – Moviegoers discover a darker side of comedian-actor Robin Williams when “Dead Poets Society” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Williams as an unconventional prep school English teacher. The performance garners Williams a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

1997 – Timothy McVeigh, a former U.S. Army soldier, is convicted on 11 counts of murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He is later sentenced to death.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Ray Charles kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard pop chart with “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” The track also reaches No. 1 on the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.

1973 – Paul McCartney and Wings dominate two separate music charts: “Red Rose Speedway” is the No. 1 album while one of the tracks on it, “My Love,” is the No. 1 single.

1979 – “Hot Stuff,” by Donna Summer, captures the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

1984 – “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” by Deniece Williams, begins its second and final week at No. 1. The song is from the “Footloose” movie soundtrack, which sits at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1990 – Madonna begins her third and final week on top of the pop chart with “Vogue.” The song and accompanying video, directed by David Fincher, celebrate voguing — a style of dance popularized in New York’s mostly gay ballroom club scene of the 1980s that mimics fashion-shoot poses.

2001 – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their cover of Labelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade.” This reinterpretation, for the “Moulin Rouge!” movie soundtrack, holds the top spot for five weeks.

2008 – Legendary singer-guitarist Bo Diddley dies of heart failure at the age of 79. Born Ellas Otha Bates, Diddley helped shape the transition of blues to rock and roll, and influenced artists including Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and U2.