On This Day April 7 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1897 – Popular 1930s-50s radio host-gossip columnist Walter Winchell (d. 1972) 1915 – Legendary jazz and blues singer-songwriter Billie Holliday, born Eleanora Fagan (d. 1959) 1920 – Indian musician-composer Ravi Shankar, who popularized the sitar and Indian classical music in Western culture (d. 2012) 1928 – Golden Globe-winning actor James Garner (“The Rockford Files,” “Maverick,” “The Notebook”) (d. 2014) 1939 – British TV talk show host David Frost, most remembered for his revealing interview series with U.S. President Richard Nixon (d. 2013) 1939 – Oscar-winning director-producer-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” series, “Apocalypse Now,” “Cotton Club,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) 1954 – Actor, martial artist, stuntman and choreographer Jackie Chan (“Rumble in the Bronx,” “Rush Hour” series, “Shanghai Knights”,”Kung-Fu Panda” franchise) 1964 – Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe (“L.A. Confidential,” “The Insider,” “Gladiator,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man,” “American Gangster,” “Les Misérables”, “Man of Steel”) History Highlights 1776 – U.S. Navy Captain John Barry (a.k.a. “Father of the American Navy”), commander of the warship Lexington, achieves the first American naval capture of a British vessel when he seizes the British warship HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia. The capture of the Edward and its cargo turns Barry into a national hero and boosts the morale of the Continental forces. 1948 – The United Nations establishes the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote “the highest possible level of health” around the globe. A major cornerstone of WHO is the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. World Health Day is observed internationally every April 7. 1954 – President Dwight Eisenhower coins one of the most famous Cold War phrases when he suggests the fall of French Indochina to the communists could create a “domino effect” in Southeast Asia. The so-called “domino theory” guided U.S. strategy toward Vietnam for the next decade. 1961 – President John F. Kennedy lobbies Congress to fund the preservation of historic monuments in Egypt’s Nile Valley threatened by construction of the Aswan High Dam. 1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material (Stanley v. Georgia). 1970 – At the 42nd annual Academy Awards, screen legend John Wayne ropes his first and only Oscar: Best Actor for his role in the Western “True Grit.” 1978 – President Jimmy Carter cancels the planned production of the neutron bomb. 1994 – Violence in Rwanda fuels the launch of what becomes the worst episode of genocide since World War II: the massacre of an estimated 500,000 to 1 million innocent civilian Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Musical Milestones 1962 – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meet Brian Jones at the Ealing Jazz Club in London and begin laying the groundwork for formation of The Rolling Stones. 1973 – Comedian Vicki Lawrence finds success as a vocalist, claiming the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks. 1984 – This day marks a second British Invasion, as an unprecedented 40 singles by British artists hold sway on the Billboard Hot 100. Two are in the Top-10: “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins (No. 3) and “Here Comes the Rain Again” by The Eurythmics ( No. 4). 1984 – Kenny Loggins holds the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Footloose,” from the movie of the same name, starring Kevin Bacon. 1985 – Wham! becomes the first Western pop group to play in China when they perform at the Worker’s Gymnasium in Beijing. Footage from their trip appears in the video for their song “Freedom.” 1990 – “Love Will Lead You Back,” by Taylor Dayne, lands on top of the singles chart for a week. 2001 – “Butterfly,” by Crazy Town, returns to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week. 2007 – Akon begins two weeks on top of the singles chart with “Don’t Matter.” READ MORE
On This Day January 18 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1882 – British author A. A. Milne, who created the Winnie-the-Pooh character (d. 1956) 1892 – Oliver Hardy, one half of the famous comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy (d. 1957) 1904 – Actor Cary Grant, born Archibald Alexander Leach (“The Philadelphia Story,” “The Awful Truth,” “His Girl Friday,” “Notorious,” “North By Northwest”) (d. 1986) 1911 – Golden Globe-winning actor, comedian and dancer Danny Kaye (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “The Court Jester,” “On the Riviera,” “Me and the Colonel”) (d. 1987) 1941 – Pop and country music singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro (“See the Funny Little Clown,” “Honey”) 1955 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actor-director and musician Kevin Costner (“The Untouchables,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “Dances With Wolves,” “JFK,” “The Bodyguard,” “Waterworld,” “Hatfields & McCoys,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “Hidden Figures”) 1969 – Actor Jesse L. Martin (“Rent,” “Ally McBeal,” “Law & Order”) 1980 – Actor Jason Segel (“Freaks and Geeks,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Knocked Up,” “The Five-Year Engagement,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “The Muppets,” “Sex Tape”) History Highlights 1778 – British explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he lands at Waimea on the island of Kauai and names the island cluster the Sandwich Islands, after the voyage’s sponsor, the Earl of Sandwich. 1919 – Leaders of the Allied powers — the United States, France, Great Britain and Italy — convene in Paris, France to begin the long and complex negotiations that would pave the way for the end of World War I. The Paris Peace Conference, as it is known, leads to creation of the League of Nations, an international peacekeeping organization. 1975 – The sitcom “The Jeffersons,” one of several spin-offs from TV’s groundbreaking “All in the Family,” premieres on CBS and becomes a ratings bonanza of its own during an 11-season run. Another Norman Lear creation, it stars Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as a successful African-American couple adjusting to life on Manhattan’s ritzy East Side after leaving their modest Queens neighborhood. 1977 – Scientists identify the cause of a mysterious outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that killed 34 people at a 1976 American Legion Convention in Philadelphia. 1990 – An FBI sting leads to the arrest of Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry for possession of crack cocaine. After serving six months in federal prison, the so-called “mayor for life” makes one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of American politics in 1994 when D.C. residents elect him to a fourth term as mayor. Musical Milestones 1944 – The first jazz concert — known as the Esquire All-American Jazz Concert — is held at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, featuring Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, Jack Teagarden and Billie Holiday. 1960 – Johnny Preston starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Running Bear,” a song written by J. P. Richardson (a.k.a. “The Big Bopper”). The song was released shortly after Richardson’s death in the February 1959 plane crash that also claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. 1964 – The Beatles make their U.S. singles chart debut when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” enters at No. 45. It goes on to spend seven weeks at No. 1. 1969 – Marvin Gaye is midway through a seven-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” The track becomes Motown’s biggest-selling hit at that time. 1975 – Barry Manilow scores his first chart-topping single when “Mandy” reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100. 1986 – “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick, featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, is the No. 1 single. The track, written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, wins Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year Grammys. 1989 – At 38 years of age, Stevie Wonder becomes the youngest living person inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has excellent company, as other inductees in his class include The Rolling Stones, The Temptations and Dion (DiMucci). 1992 – Michael Jackson wraps up seven weeks as a chart-topper with “Black or White,” off his “Dangerous” album. 2003 – Eminem finds himself on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for another week with “Lose Yourself,” from the “8 Mile” soundtrack. READ MORE
On this Day July 17 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1899 – Oscar-winning actor James Cagney (“Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Angels With Dirty Faces,” “Love Me or Leave Me”) (d. 1986) 1912 – Radio and TV host Art Linkletter (“House Party,” “People Are Funny”) (d. 2010) 1917 – Comedian-actress-author Phyllis Diller (d. 2012) 1935 – Actress-singer Diahann Carroll (“Julia,” “Claudine,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “Dynasty”) (d. 2019) 1935 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Donald Sutherland (“M*A*S*H,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “Ordinary People,” “Backdraft,” “Space Cowboys,” “The Hunger Games” movie series) 1950 – Singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, best known for her 1975 chart-topping hit “Poetry Man” (d. 2011) 1951 – Actress-singer-dancer Lucie Arnaz (“Here’s Lucy,” “The Jazz Singer,” “Down to You”) 1952 – Actor David Hasselhoff (“Knight Rider,” “Baywatch,” “Click,” “Dodgeball,” “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” “Hop”) 1976 – Country music singer Luke Bryan (“All My Friends Say,” “Rain Is a Good Thing,” “Someone Else Calling You Baby,” “I Don’t Want This Night to End”) History Highlights 1955 – Disneyland, America’s first theme park, opens in Anaheim, California. The Walt Disney Company built the $17 million complex on 160 acres of former orange groves and it quickly became a cash cow. Each year, Disneyland hosts over 14 million visitors who spend close to $3 billion. 1975 – Two Cold War adversaries meet in space for the docking of the U.S. spacecraft Apollo 18 and the Soviet’s Soyuz 19. It is the final Apollo mission. 1980 – Ronald Reagan, an actor who went on to become governor of California, accepts the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency at the party’s national convention in Detroit. 1981 – A walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri collapses during a dance party, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200. 1996 – Minutes after takeoff from New York’s JFK International Airport, a TWA 747 jetliner bound for Paris explodes over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 230 people aboard. A lengthy and extensive investigation concludes that the flight was brought down by a fuel tank explosion, but others dispute the findings citing eyewitness accounts of missile-like objects that allegedly flew toward the plane. Musical Milestones 1959 – Billie Holiday, widely regarded as the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, dies at the age of 44 of heart and liver disease following years of alcohol and drug abuse. 1961 – “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” by Bobby Lewis, is No. 1 on both the Billboard singles and R&B charts. It remains atop the singles chart for seven weeks and the R&B chart for 10. 1967 – Iconic jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer John Coltrane dies of liver cancer at age 40. 1968 – The Beatles’ psychedelic cinematic adventure, “Yellow Submarine,” premieres in London, introducing fans to Blue Meanies and a host of new hits. The animated movie musical opens in the U.S. four months later. 1971 – Carole King enters her fifth and final week on top of the Billboard pop chart with “It’s Too Late,” off her Grammy-winning “Tapestry” album. 1982 – “Don’t You Want Me,” by The Human League, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single. 1999 – Destiny’s Child is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bills, Bills, Bills.” READ MORE