composer – Time Rewind

On This Day February 8

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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 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Comedian-philanthropist Danny Thomas (“Make Room for Daddy”) (d. 1991)

1944 – Actress Bonnie Franklin, best known for her role in the 70s sitcom “One Day at a Time” (d. 2013)

1953 – Malcolm Young, guitarist-vocalist and co-founder of the hard rock band AC/DC (d. 2017)

1955 – Comedian, actor and writer Rowan Atkinson (“Black Adder,” “Mr. Bean,” “Johnny English”)

1957 – Three-time LPGA champion Nancy Lopez

1967 – Director John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood,” “Poetic Justice,” “Shaft,” “Four Brothers,” “2 Fast 2 Furious”)

1969 – Actor Norman Reedus (“The Boondock Saints,” “American Gangster,” “The Walking Dead”)

1982 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Eddie Redmayne (“My Week with Marilyn,” “Les Misérables,” “The Theory of Everything,” “The Danish Girl”)

History Highlights

1838 – Samuel Morse publicly demonstrates the telegraph system he invented and which would go on to revolutionize long-distance communication.

1919 – Ten years after the end of his term as the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt dies in his sleep at his Long Island, New York estate at the age of 60. The cause is a coronary embolism.

1942 – Pan American World Airways completes the first around-the-world commercial flight with the Pacific Clipper, a Boeing 314 “flying boat” piloted by Capt. Robert Ford. The journey ends with a safe water landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

1973 – The animated Saturday morning TV series “Schoolhouse Rock!” premieres on ABC, featuring “Multiplication Rock.” Educational topics include grammar, science, economics, history, math and civics.

1974 – In response to the U.S. energy crisis, President Richard Nixon signs emergency legislation imposing daylight saving time for almost 16 months — until April 27, 1975.

2001 – Congress certifies George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 presidential election over Vice President Al Gore after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to halt a five-week-long manual recount of ballots in Florida. This marked the fourth election in U.S. history in which the winner failed to get a plurality of the popular vote.

2021 – Supporters of President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in an effort to halt the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. After violently clashing with Capitol police, the rioters ransacked the complex, destroyed property and sent members of Congress and their staff into hiding in offices and bunkers. The attack is often referred to as the “January 6 insurrection.”

Musical Milestones

1954 – Working as a truck driver, Elvis Presley enters the Memphis Recording Service in Tennessee and records “It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You” and “I’ll Never Stand In Your Way” as a demo for Sun Records. Impressed with his sound, Sun Records head Sam Phillips calls Presley back to record more, and the rest is rock and roll history.

1958 – Danny & the Juniors bop to the top of Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart with “At the Hop,” which holds at No. 1 for five weeks.

1968 – The Beatles commandeer the top spot on the Billboard album chart for eight weeks with “Magical Mystery Tour,” which contains such classics as “Hello, Goodbye,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” “All You Need is Love” and, of course, the title track.

1973 – “You’re So Vain,” by Carly Simon, begins a three-week reign over the Billboard singles chart. Through the years, speculation swirled about the subject of the song, with Simon eventually admitting that it refers to three men, only one of whom she named publicly: actor Warren Beatty.

1979 – The Bee Gees own the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Too Much Heaven.”

1990 – Phil Collins has the first No. 1 album of the 90s as “…But Seriously” claims the top spot on the Billboard 200. The album contains his Grammy-winning smash “Another Day in Paradise.”

1993 – Legendary jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie dies of cancer at the age of 75. Gillespie developed his own signature style called “bebop,” and worked with musical greats like Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Earl Hines, Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington.

2001 – Destiny’s Child is in the midst of an 11-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Independent Women Part I,” from the “Charlie’s Angels” movie soundtrack and the group’s third album, “Survivor.”

On This Day December 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1914 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Widmark (“Kiss of Death,” “No Way Out,” “Don’t Bother to Knock”) (d. 2008)

1921 – Entertainer Steve Allen, first host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” who was a prolific comedian, composer, actor, author and TV host during a nearly five-decade career (d. 2000)

1927 – Comedian-actor Alan King (d. 2004)

1933 – Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, the talent behind the “Sesame Street” characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (d. 2019)

1939 – Grammy-winning record producer-songwriter and convicted murderer Phil Spector

1947 – Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk

1956 – Humorist-comedian-author David Sedaris (“SantaLand Diaries,” “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” “When You Are Engulfed in Flames”)

1971 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor and musician Jared Leto (“Girl, Interrupted,” “American Psycho,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “Panic Room,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Suicide Squad”)

1979 – Rock singer-songwriter-guitarist Chris Daughtry, whose music career was launched by a fourth-place finish on “American Idol”

History Highlights

1898 – In a landmark moment for chemistry and physics, French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie publish a paper announcing their discovery of the element of radium (Ra). The groundbreaking discovery later garners the husband and wife team the Nobel Prize.

1946 – Mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel opens the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, aiming to establish a stylish and cosmopolitan gambling destination in the Nevada desert. Siegel closes the resort just two weeks later due to lackluster business, and the following June, he is killed in a mob hit. After undergoing multiple ownership changes through the years, the Flamingo is still in operation as the oldest casino on the Vegas Strip.

1966 – Kwanzaa is observed for the first time. The seven-day holiday with strong African roots was designed by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach, as a celebration of African American family, community and culture.

1972 – Harry S. Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, dies in Independence, Missouri at the age of 88.

1973 – “The Exorcist” opens in movie theaters across the U.S., terrifying audiences and establishing a new standard for the horror genre. Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning movie is about a girl, played by Linda Blair, that is possessed by an evil spirit.

1974 – Cancer claims the life of beloved comedian Jack Benny at the age of 80.

1982 – TIME magazine breaks from tradition when the magazine’s editors replace the annual “Man of the Year” cover story with “Machine of the Year” and profile the personal computer.

1996 – Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home. Her murder becomes the focus one of most intensive and publicized police investigations in U.S. history and remains unsolved to this day.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles score their sixth No. 1 single of the year as “I Feel Fine” kicks off three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the Fab Four’s 29th to make the charts in 1964.

1970 – “My Sweet Lord,” by George Harrison, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and makes Harrison the first ex-Beatle to reach No. 1 as a solo act.

1981 – Olivia Newton-John begins her sixth week reigning over the pop chart with “Physical,” which remains at No. 1 for the first four weeks of 1982.

1987 – The “Dirty Dancing” soundtrack is the middle of a nine-week reign as the No. 1 album. It becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time.

1992 – Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” enters its fifth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track continues to hold the top spot for the first nine weeks of 1993.

1998 – “I’m Your Angel.” by R. Kelly and Céline Dion, is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the singles chart.

1999 – Soul, R&B and funk singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield, best known for his acclaimed 1972 “Super Fly” soundtrack,” dies at the age of 57. Mayfield — a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — was a member of The Impressions before embarking on a solo career.

2009 – The Jay-Z/Alicia Keys duet, “Empire State of Mind,” is in its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day December 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1770 – Composer-pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (d. 1827)

1775 – Author Jane Austen (“Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Mansfield Park,” “Emma”) (d. 1817)

1917 – Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, whose short story, “The Sentinel,” inspired the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” (d. 2008)

1938 – Golden Globe-winning actress-director Liv Ullmann (“The Emigrants,” “Scenes from a Marriage,” “Face to Face”)

1941 – CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl

1943 – Emmy-winning TV producer-writer Steven Bochco (“Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.”)

1947 – Actor Ben Cross, best known for playing British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the movie “Chariots of Fire”

1962 – Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry

1963 – Actor Benjamin Bratt (“Law & Order,” “Demolition Man,” “Traffic,” “Miss Congeniality,” “Private

History Highlights

1773 – Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British ships docked in Boston Harbor and dump 342 chests of tea into the water to protest tea taxes. The raid comes be known as the Boston Tea Party.

1944 – The deadliest conflict of World War II occurs on this day. The Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium.

1951 – “Just the facts, ma’am.” The police detective series “Dragnet,” which launched on NBC Radio in 1949, premieres on NBC Television, starring Jack Webb as detective Joe Friday. Webb was the show’s creator and also served as director/producer. The series runs through 1970.

1960 – This day marks the worst commercial aviation disaster of its time. A United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collide over New York City, sending one aircraft hurtling into Staten Island and the other into a Brooklyn neighborhood. The crash kills 134 people, including six on the ground.

1973 – Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson becomes the first player in the National Football League to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

Musical Milestones

1957 – After six weeks on top of the Best Sellers in Stores chart in October and November of this year, Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” climbs back into the No. 1 spot for a week.

1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Daydream Believer.” The song becomes the band’s final No. 1 hit in the U.S.

1972 – Billy Paul starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Me and Mrs Jones.”

1983 – British rockers The Who announce their breakup. However, it was not to last, as the band gets back together in 1985 for Live Aid (a massive, duel-venue benefit concert for African famine relief) and then launches a full-fledged reunion tour in 1989.

1995 – “One Sweet Day,” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, is in its third week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for a record-breaking total of 16 weeks.

2000 – Destiny’s Child rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Independent Women Part I,” from the movie, “Charlie’s Angels.” This track remains a No. 1 single for 11 weeks.

On This Day December 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1832 – Engineer Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Paris landmark that bears his name (d. 1923)

1892 – Industrialist J. Paul Getty, who built his fortune as president of the Getty Oil Company (d. 1976)

1933 – Emmy-winning comedian Tim Conway (“McHale’s Navy,” “The Carol Burnett Show”) (d. 2019)

1942 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Dave Clark of the 1960s beat group The Dave Clark Five

1949 – Actor Don Johnson, best known for his role as detective Sonny Crockett in the 1980s hit TV crime drama series “Miami Vice”

1963 – Actress Helen Slater (“Supergirl,” “Ruthless People,” “The Secret of My Success,” “City Slickers”)

History Highlights

1791 – Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, become the law of the land.

1939 – The motion picture classic “Gone With the Wind,” starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh, premieres in Atlanta. The film goes on to capture 10 Academy Awards.

1961 – Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer considered to be the architect of the Holocaust, is condemned to death by an Israeli war crimes tribunal.

1966 – Animation pioneer Walt Disney, who built an entertainment empire around a cartoon mouse, dies at the age of 65. The visionary creator of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck produced some of Hollywood’s greatest hits, conceived Disneyland and Disney World and was one of world’s most beloved storytellers.

1973 – Jean Paul Getty III, the grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, five months after his kidnapping by an Italian gang.

1993 – “Schindler’s List,” from director Steven Spielberg, opens, starring Liam Neeson as German businessman Oskar Schindler, who saves the lives of over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust. The movie wins seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

2001 – Italy’s iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a team of experts spends 11 years and $27 million to fortify the historic landmark without eliminating its famous lean.

2011 – The U.S. marks the end of the war in Iraq with a low-key ceremony in Baghdad eight years after the American-led invasion of that nation. Despite the declaration, violence intensifies there over the next several years.

Musical Milestones

1943 – Jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer and comedic entertainer Fats Waller dies of pneumonia while traveling by train near Kansas City, Missouri. Waller wrote many songs, including “Ain’t Misbehavin'” and “Your Feet’s Too Big.”

1944 – Overseas to entertain U.S troops during World War II, legendary bandleader Glenn Miller takes off from England en route to France, but his plane vanishes over the English Channel. The beloved 40-year-old musician is never seen again.

1973 – Charlie Rich dominates the singles chart for two weeks with “The Most Beautiful Girl.”

1979 – “Babe,” by Styx, enjoys its second and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the Chicago-based band’s first and only chart-topper.

1984 – Hall & Oates begin a second and final week at No. 1 with “Out of Touch,” off their “Big Bam Boom” album.

1988 – “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, begins serving time in a South Carolina prison following a series of run-ins with the law that summer for which he was convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill and other criminal charges.

1990 – “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” by Stevie B, is midway through a four-week ride on top of the pop chart, becoming the last No. 1 single of 1990.

2001 – Usher lays claim to the top spot on the singles chart with “U Got It Bad” from his “8701” album.” The track holds at No. 1 for a week.

On This Day December 4

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Celebrity Birthdays

1934 – Game show host Wink Martindale (“Tic Tac Dough,” “Gambit,” “Dedt”)

1949 – Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges (“The Last Picture Show,” “Jagged Edge,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” “The Fisher King,” “Fearless,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Seabiscuit,” “Iron Man,” “Crazy Heart,” “Tron: Legacy,” “The Giver”)

1964 – Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei (“My Cousin Vinny,” “In the Bedroom,” “The Wrestler”)

1966 – Comedian Fred Armisen (“Saturday Night Live,” “Portlandia”)

1969 – Grammy-winning rapper-record producer Jay Z, born Shawn Corey Carter

1973 – Supermodel-turned-actress and TV host Tyra Banks

History Highlights

1945 – The Senate overwhelmingly approves full U.S. participation in the United Nations just weeks after the U.N. is established.

1969 – Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed in their sleep during a raid by Chicago police.

1991 – Islamic militants in Beirut release American journalist Terry Anderson after more than six years as a hostage.

1991 – Commercial aviation pioneer Pan American World Airways, more commonly known as Pan Am — the airline that first transported The Beatles to the U.S. in 1964 — shuts down after nearly 65 years of service.

1992 – President George H.W. Bush orders 28,000 American troops to Somalia, a war-torn East African nation where rival warlords were preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid to thousands of starving Somalis.

1998 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-88) on the first mission to assemble the International Space Station (ISS).

2009 – In a sensational case dubbed “the trial of the decade,” 22-year-old American exchange student Amanda Knox is convicted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007 in Perugia, Italy.

Musical Milestones

1954 – The Chordettes settle in at No. 1 on the singles chart for seven weeks with “Mr. Sandman.”

1964 – The Beatles release their fourth album, “Beatles For Sale.” It contains “No Reply,” “I’m a Loser,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Eight Days a Week” and other now-classic tunes.

1965 – The Byrds kick off three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Turn! Turn! Turn!”

1971 – The most popular single is “Family Affair” by Sly & the Family Stone. It remains at No. on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.

1988 – Roy Orbison plays his final concert at the Front Row Theater in Cleveland, Ohio, performing classics like “In Dreams,” “Only the Lonely,” “Ooby Dooby,” “Crying” and his signature song, “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Two days later, the 52-year-old rock ‘n roll legend suffers a fatal heart attack.

1993 – Cancer claims the life of rock composer-guitarist Frank Zappa at the age of 52.

2004 – The Usher-Alicia Keys duet, “My Boo,” enters its sixth and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day November 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1784 – Zachary Taylor, 12th U.S. president (d. 1850)

1868 – Ragtime composer and pianist Scott Joplin (“The Maple Leaf Rag,” “The Entertainer”) (d. 1917)

1925 – Conservative author-commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. (d. 2008)

1938 – Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar “Big O” Robertson

1941 – Original Beatles drummer Pete Best

1978 – Emmy-winning actress Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Knocked Up,” “State of Affairs”)

1990 – Actress Sarah Hyland (“Private Parts,” “Modern Family,” “Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters”)

History Highlights

1859 – “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,” a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England, and every copy sells the first day. Darwin concluded that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.”

1960 – Philadelphia Warrior Wilt Chamberlain snags 55 rebounds in a game against the Boston Celtics, setting an NBA record for the most rebounds in a single game.

1963 – Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shoots and kills accused JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the garage of Dallas police headquarters. The incident is captured on live television as media outlets cover Oswald’s transfer from the police station to a county jail.

1971 – A hijacker identifying himself as D.B. Cooper takes $200,000 in ransom money and parachutes from a Seattle-bound passenger jet flying through a thunderstorm at 10,000 feet. Cooper’s fate remains a mystery to this day.

1978 – David Letterman makes his first guest appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Musical Milestones

1950 – The musical comedy “Guys and Dolls” premieres on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre. Two years later, it spawns a film adaptation starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.

1962 – The Four Seasons, featuring Frankie Valli, are in the second week of a five-week run as Billboard chart-toppers with “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

1966 – The Beatles gather in a studio for the first time since wrapping up their U.S. summer concert tour and spend the entire day recording John Lennon’s “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

1972 – Don Kirshner’s “Rock Concert” TV show debuts, featuring Chuck Berry, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Alice Cooper.

1973 – Ringo Starr’s “Photograph” begins a week as the No. 1 single.

1979 – The Barbra Streisand-Donna Summer duet “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” kicks off two weeks as a No. 1 single.

1984 – “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” by Wham!, rules the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – Queen frontman Freddie Mercury dies of complications from AIDS exactly one day after publicly disclosing that he is HIV positive. He was 45 years old.

1997 – Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols is the defendant in an episode of TV’s “Judge Judy.” The case is a wrongful termination suit brought on by his former drummer, which Rotten wins.

2007 – Jay-Z climbs to the top of the Billboard album chart with “American Gangster,” his 10th chart-topping album. This ties the rapper to 2nd place with Elvis Presley for the most No. 1 albums. Only The Beatles have had more, with 19.

On This Day November 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1840 – French artist Claude Monet (d. 1926)

1900 – Oscar- and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Copland (“Fanfare for the Common Man,” “El Salón México,” “Appalachian Spring”) (d. 1990)

1921 – Actor Brian Keith (“The Parent Trap,” “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” “Family Affair,” “The Wind and the Lion”) (d. 1997)

1948 – King Charles III, formerly known as the Prince of Wales

1951 – Singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop (“On and On”, “It Might Be You”)

1954 – New age music composer-pianist Yanni, born Yiannis Chryssomalis

1954 – Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the first African American woman to hold that position

1964 – Rapper Reverend Run, born Joseph Simmons, of the legendary 80s rap group Run-D.M.C.

History Highlights

1851 – Harper & Brothers publishes Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale,” a treasured piece of American literature about the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, whose commander, Captain Ahab, goes on an obsessive quest for a white whale.

1941 – The Alfred Hitchcock romantic thriller “Suspicion” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. The film is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but loses to “How Green Was My Valley.” However, Fontaine wins a Best Actress Oscar — the only Oscar performance ever in a Hitchcock movie.

1969 – Apollo 12 clears the launch pad at Cape Kennedy in Florida on its way to America’s second manned moon landing.

1970 – A chartered jet carrying most of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team crashes while preparing to land in Huntington, West Virginia, killing 37 players, the coach, doctors, the university athletic director, flight crew and 25 team boosters. The tragedy remains the worst sports-related air disaster in U.S. history. It inspired the 2006 movie, “We Are Marshall,” starring Matthew McConaughey.

1972 – Wall Street hits record territory when the Dow Jones Industrial Average tops the 1,000 mark for the first time.

1982 – Lech Walesa, leader of communist Poland’s outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after 11 months of internment near the Soviet border.

2006 – State officials close the last two of Texas’ beloved Pig Stands, the only remaining pieces of the nation’s first drive-in restaurant empire. The owners had filed for bankruptcy and owed the state more than $200,000 in back-taxes.

Musical Milestones

1952 – The U.K.’s first Official Singles Chart debuts, published in the New Musical Express (NME). The No. 1 single is “Here In My Heart,” by American singer Al Martino.

1960 – Ray Charles has the No. 1 single with “Georgia on My Mind.” In 1979, the state of Georgia adopts it as the official state song.

1970 – “I’ll Be There,” by The Jackson 5, begins its fifth and final week on top of the pop chart.

1981 – An Aussie invasion of sorts takes place as Australian acts make up four of the day’s Top-10 singles in the U.S., led by Olivia Newton-John with “Physical” (No. 3). Other acts are Little River Band, Air Supply and Rick Springfield.

1987 – The soundtrack from the movie “Dirty Dancing” shimmies its way to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, where it remains for 18 weeks. It goes on to sell 32 million copies worldwide and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.

1998 – Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks. Her only chart-topper, the track goes on to clinch Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.

2009 – Jason Derulo owns the top spot on the singles chart with “Whatcha Say,” which holds at No. 1 for a week.

On This Day September 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1888 – Poet T.S. Eliot (d. 1965)

1898 – Composer George Gershwin (“Rhapsody in Blue,” “An American in Paris,” “Porgy and Bess”) (d. 1937)

1930 – Tony-winning actor Philip Bosco (“Trading Places,” “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Working Girl,” “Shadows and Fog”) (d. 2018)

1947 – Grammy-winning country singer Lynn Anderson, best remembered for her 1970 hit “Rose Garden” (d. 2015)

1948 – Grammy-winning singer-actress Olivia Newton-John, who co-starred with John Travolta in the 1978 box office smash “Grease” and whose Top 40 hits include “Let Me Be There,” “I Honestly Love You,” “Have You Never Been Mellow,” “Magic” and “Physical”)

1956 – Actress Linda Hamilton, best known for her role as Sarah Connor in “The Terminator” movie series

1968 – Actor Jim Caviezel (“The Count of Monte Cristo,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius,” “Frequency,” “Person of Interest”)

1981 – Tennis superstar Serena Williams

History Highlights

1960 – Democratic Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy and Republican Vice President Richard Nixon go head to head during the first televised presidential debate.

1964 – Seven fictional passengers set sail aboard the charter boat SS Minnow for a three-hour tour, but end up stranded on an island for three TV seasons. It’s the debut of “Gilligan’s Island” on CBS.

1969 – “The Brady Bunch” premieres on ABC. Considered daring for its time, the sitcom centers around a mother with three daughters by one marriage who marries a widower with three boys, a maid and a dog.

1986 – In one of the most bizarre plot twists ever in prime time television, “Dallas” character Bobby Ewing returns to the show after being killed off the previous season. His wife, Pam, discovers him very much alive in their shower.

2008 – Screen legend, auto racer and entrepreneur Paul Newman, whose 65 movies include such classics as “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting” and “The Verdict,” dies of cancer at age 83.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Roy Orbison dominates the singles chart with “Oh, Pretty Woman.” The track holds at No. 1 for three weeks.

1969 – The Beatles release their final studio album, “Abbey Road,” in the U.K. This recording features the iconic cover photo of the Fab Four marching single-file across a London crosswalk and contains such favorites as “Come Together,” “Here Comes The Sun,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Octopus’s Garden.”

1975 – “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” opens in movie theaters across the U.S. The cult classic musical features then-unknows Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick and still draws crowds to midnight screenings.

1987 – Michael Jackson kicks off six weeks atop the Billboard album chart with “Bad,” the follow-up to 1982’s “Thriller.” It becomes the world’s best-selling album with an estimated 45 million copies sold worldwide. The album spawns five No. 1 singles — the first ever to do so.

1987 – Whitney Houston rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Didn’t We Almost Have It All.”

2003 – British singer-songwriter Robert Palmer, best known for the ’80s hits “Addicted To Love” and “Simply Irresistible,” dies of a heart attack at the age of 54.