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On This Day April 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1937 – Actor Billy Dee Williams, best known for his portrayal of Lando Calrissian in “Star Wars Episode V” and “Star Wars Episode VI”

1937 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Merle Haggard (d. 2016)

1947 – Actor John Ratzenberger, best known for playing letter carrier Cliff Clavin in the sitcom “Cheers” and being the voice of Hamm, the piggy bank, in Pixar’s “Toy Story” trilogy 

1952 – Actress and author Marilu Henner (“Taxi,” “Evening Shade,” “The Celebrity Apprentice”)

1969 – Actor Paul Rudd (“Clueless,” “The Object Of My Affection,” “Anchorman,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Ant-Man”)  

1975 – Grammy-winning actor-director Zach Braff (“Scrubs,” “Garden State,” “Oz the Great and Powerful,” “Going in Style”)

History Highlights

1896 – Opening ceremonies for the first Olympic Games of the modern era take place in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens 1,500 years after the event was banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Some 80,000 spectators welcome about 240 athletes from 14 countries to the international competition, which featured nine sports.

1917 – Two days after the U.S. Senate votes 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany, the U.S. House of Representatives endorses the decision by a vote of 373 to 50, and the United States formally enters World War I.

1938 – Roy Plunkett invents Teflon, whose non-stick properties revolutionize cooking.

1947 – The first Tony Awards for theatrical achievement are handed out. The Tonys are named after actress-director-producer Antoinette Perry, the dynamic wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing who had recently died.

1973 – Major League Baseball’s American League uses a designated hitter for the first time.  

1980 – The 3M company revolutionizes the workplace when it introduces Post-it notes, which adorn computer monitors, cubicle partitions and walls the world over.

Musical Milestones

1963 – The Chiffons are in the midst of a four-week domination of the singles chart with “He’s So Fine” which was written by Ronnie Mack.

1968 – Simon & Garfunkel reach No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with the soundtrack to the movie “The Graduate,” featuring their hits “The Sound of Silence” and “Mrs. Robinson.”

1974 – “Hooked on a Feeling,” by Blue Swede, is the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1985 – Phil Collins’ “One More Night” begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. 

1991 – “Coming Out of the Dark,” by Gloria Estefan, kicks off its second and final week on top of the pop chart.

1998 –  Country singer Tammy Wynette dies in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 55. Known as the First Lady of Country Music, Wynette scored 12 hit singles including “Stand By Your Man,” and sold more than 30 million records world-wide.

1999 – An all-star tribute to singer-songwriter Johnny Cash takes place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, with Sheryl Crow, Chris Isaak, Willie Nelson and U2 all performing for the special, broadcast on TNT.

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