Billie Jean King – Time Rewind

On This Day April 19

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On This Day April 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1932 – Singer and ukulele player Tiny Tim, born Herbert Buckingham Khaury (d. 1996)

1940 – Oscar and Grammy-winning jazz musician Herbie Hancock

1947 – Bestselling author Tom Clancy (“Patriot Games,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Clear and Present Danger”) (d. 2013)

1947 – Comedian and retired “Late Show” host David Letterman

1950 – Actor-singer and former teen heartthrob David Cassidy (“The Partridge Family”) (d.2017)

1956 – Actor-director Andy Garcia (“The Untouchables,” “The Godfather Part III,” “Stand and Deliver,” “Oceans Eleven” and its sequels, “The Lost City”)

1957 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter Vince Gill (“When I Call Your Name,” “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” “I Still Believe in You”)

1971 – Actress-director Shannen Doherty (“Little House on the Prairie,” “Our House,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Charmed”)

1979 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Claire Danes (“My So-Called Life,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Rainmaker,” “Homeland”)

History Highlights

1861 – The Civil War — the bloodiest four years in American history — begins in the early-morning hours when Confederate troops open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Bay. Neither side anticipated the length of the war nor the devastation that the conflict would bring.

1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies during his fourth term in office, leaving Vice President Harry Truman in charge of a nation still embroiled in World War II.

1961 – The Space Race between the U.S. and Soviet Union begins as the Soviets launch Vostok I. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space, making a single orbit around Earth in just under two hours.

1981 – The U.S. achieves a space exploration milestone with the inaugural space shuttle flight. Shuttle Columbia represents the first manned U.S. space mission since Apollo-Soyuz in July 1976. The shuttle is also the first reusable manned spacecraft.

2003 – Fifty years after their introduction, tokens for the New York City subway system are sold for the last time, replaced by the Metro Card.

Musical Milestones

1954 – Bill Haley and his Comets record “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock” at Pythian Temple studios in New York City. The song, widely credited with bringing rock ‘n’ roll into the mainstream, becomes a worldwide No. 1 and the biggest-selling pop single, with sales exceeding 25 million.

1963 – Bob Dylan performs his first major solo concert at Town Hall in Manhattan. Dylan’s 24-song set includes “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Highway 51” and “Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie.”

1969 – The 5th Dimension soar to the top of the singles chart with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” which holds at No. 1 for six weeks.

1973 – Stevie Wonder is just 23 years old when he makes a guest appearance on the children’s television show Sesame Street. Wonder interacts with several beloved characters in segments throughout the program, including Grover, whom he teaches how to sing. He also performs his smash hit, “Superstition.”

1975 – Elton John claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks with “Philadelphia Freedom,” a song he wrote for his good friend, international tennis legend Billie Jean King. “Philadelphia Freedom” is the name of the tennis team that King coached at the time.

1986 – Falco wraps up three weeks atop the Billboard singles chart with “Rock Me Amadeus.”

1997 – “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” by Puff Daddy featuring Mase, is in the midst of a six-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2003 – 50 Cent rules the singles chart with “In da Club,” which remains at No. 1 for nine weeks.

On This Day November 22

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Celebrity Birthdays

1899 – Singer-songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, known for such standards as “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Rockin’ Chair” and “Lazy River” (d. 1981)

1921 – Stand-up comedian-actor Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen (“Easy Money,” “Caddyshack,” “Back to School”) (d. 2004)

1932 – Actor Robert Vaughn, from the 1960s TV spy series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (d. 2016)

1943 – Tennis legend and LGBTQ advocate Billie Jean King, who famously defeated Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” matchup

1958 – Actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “True Lies,” “Freaky Friday,” “Scream Queens”)

1961 – Actress Mariel Hemingway (“Lipstick,” “Manhattan,” “Personal Best,” “Star 80”)

1967 – Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo (“You Can Count on Me,” “Collateral,” “13 Going on 30,” Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Zodiac,” “The Avengers,” “Now You See Me,” “Spotlight”)

1984 – Tony-winning actress Scarlett Johansson (“Lost in Translation,” “The Nanny Diaries,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “The Avengers,” “Hitchcock”)

History Highlights

1963 – Americans are horrified as President John F. Kennedy is gunned down by a sniper while his motorcade passes through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

1975 – Ten years after its theatrical release, “Dr. Zhivago” premieres on television, as NBC pays $4 million for the broadcast rights.

1984 – Fred Rogers of the PBS children’s show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” donates his famous cardigan sweater to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

1986 – Twenty-year-old Mike Tyson knocks out 33-year-old Trevor Berbick in just five minutes and 35 seconds to become the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history.

1988 – With members of the U.S. Congress and national media looking on, Northrup officials roll out the first B-2 (stealth) bomber at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft remains the most advanced bomber in U.S. military service.

1990 – Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister in British history, announces her resignation after 11 years in office.

Musical Milestones

1957 – Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel take the stage as ‘Tom and Jerry’ on “American Bandstand” with host Dick Clark. They perform “Hey Schoolgirl,” a song that reaches No. 54 on the Billboard pop chart and sells 100,000 copies.

1968 – The Beatles release their now-classic double LP “The Beatles” (also known as “The White Album”) in the U.K. Among the featured tracks: “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Dear Prudence,” “Helter Skelter,” “Blackbird,” “Back In The USSR” and George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

1969 – The Fifth Dimension enjoy their third and final week as Billboard chart-toppers with “Wedding Bell Blues.”

1975 – KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s The Way (I Like It)” is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart.

1986 – “Human,” by The Human League, begins a week as a Billboard chart-topper.

1997 – INXS frontman Michael Hutchence is found dead in a Sydney, Australia hotel room after reportedly hanging himself. He was 37.

2003 – The Beyoncé-Sean Paul duet, “Baby Boy,” remains firmly planted atop the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day September 20

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Celebrity Birthdays

1878 – Pulitzer Prize-winning author Upton Sinclair (“The Jungle,” “Boston,” “Dragon’s Teeth”) (d. 1968)

1929 – Actress-comedian Anne Meara, half of the famous [Jerry] Stiller-Meara comedy duo (d. 2015)

1934 – Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning actress Sophia Loren, born Sofia Villani Scicolone (“Two Women,” “Marriage Italian Style,” “A Countess from Hong Kong,” “Sunflower,” “More Than a Miracle”)

1948 – Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin

1956 – Actor Gary Cole (“Fatal Vision,” “Midnight Caller,” “American Gothic,” “The Brady Bunch Movie” and sequel, “Office Space,” “One Hour Photo,” “Kim Possible,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “The West Wing,” “Veep”)

1967 – Actress Kristen Johnston (“3rd Rock from the Sun,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,” “The Exes”)

History Highlights

1881 – Chester Arthur is inaugurated, becoming the third person to serve as United States president that year.

1963 – Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, President John F. Kennedy proposes that the United States and the Soviet Union collaborate on a mission to the moon, catching many from both countries off guard.

1973 – Tennis legend Billie Jean King wins the “Battle of the Sexes,” defeating Bobby Riggs in three straight sets during an internationally broadcast match at the Houston Astrodome.

1977 – A spin-off of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” premieres. It’s CBS’ hour-long dramatic series “Lou Grant,” starring Ed Asner as an LA newspaper editor.

1984 – Americans begin eavesdropping on the Huxtable family, as “The Cosby Show” debuts on NBC.

Musical Milestones

1969 – “Sugar, Sugar,” by The Archies, begins a four-week run on top of the pop chart and becomes Billboard’s No. 1 song of 1969. The track — part of the so-called “bubblegum pop” genre of the late 60s and early 70s — ran in the animated “The Archie Comedy Hour” on CBS Television.

1973 – A plane crash claims the life of 30-year-old singer-songwriter Jim Croce at the peak of his career. The accident occurs right before the release of his “I Got a Name” album, which spawns three posthumous hits including the title track.

1975 – David Bowie achieves fame with his first U.S. No. 1 single, “Fame,” a song co-written by John Lennon. However, the track only manages to get as high as No. 17 on the U.K. singles chart.

1986 – “Stuck With You,” by Huey Lewis and the News, is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sticks there for three weeks.

1997 – Mariah Carey is in the middle of a three-week hold on the top spot on the singles chart with “Honey.”