On This Day: February 3

On This Day February 3

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Author-poet and art collector Gertrude Stein (“How to Write,” “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”) (d. 1946)

1894 – Artist Norman Rockwell, famous for his “Saturday Evening Post” cover illustrations of everyday American life (d. 1978)

1918 – Entertainer and “Rat Pack” member Joey Bishop (d. 2007)

1940 – Legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who spent 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants

1943 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Blythe Danner (“Butterflies are Free,” “Will & Grace,” “Meet the Parents”)

1950 – Actress Morgan Fairchild (“Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Murphy Brown”) 

1956 – Tony-winning actor-comedian Nathan Lane (“The Producers,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Birdcage”) 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1913 – The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, authorizing the federal government to impose and collect a nationwide income tax. 

1966 – The Soviets achieve the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the moon with Luna 9. After touching down, the circular capsule opens like a flower and begins transmitting photographs and television images back to Earth.

1971 – New York City police officer Frank Serpico is shot during a Brooklyn drug bust and survives to expose corruption in the NYPD. Many believe the shooting was fellow officers trying to kill him. His experience is immortalized in the 1973 movie “Serpico,” starring Al Pacino.

1994 – President Bill Clinton lifts the 19-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam that was first imposed during the Vietnam War when North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon in South Vietnam.

2002 – The New England Patriots shock football fans everywhere by defeating the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to clinch their first Super Bowl victory. Super Bowl XXXVI was played at the Superdome in New Orleans before a crowd of nearly 73,000 people.

2005 – Alberto Gonzales wins U.S. Senate confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic attorney general despite protests over his record on torture.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1959 – Rock and Roll greats Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson are killed when their single-engine plane crashes in an Iowa cornfield during their Winter Dance Party tour. The tragedy is remembered as “The Day the Music Died.”

1968 – One-hit wonder The Lemon Pipers shake their way up to No. 1 on the singles chart with “Green Tambourine.”

1973 – Elton John scores his first No. 1 single in the U.S. with “Crocodile Rock,” from his “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player” album. The song holds the top spot for three weeks.

1979 – The Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) land on top of the Billboard album chart with “Briefcase Full of Blues.” The album contains their cover of “Soul Man,” which reaches No. 14 on the singles chart, and “Rubber Biscuit,” which climbs as high as No. 37.

1990 – Michael Bolton begins his third and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.”

2007 – Beyoncé rules the singles chart with “Irreplaceable,” which holds at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

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On This Day: December 2

On This Day December 2

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Five-time Tony Award-winning actress Julie Harris (“The Member of the Wedding,” “I Am a Camera,” “The Lark,” “East of Eden,” “The Haunting”) (d. 2013)

1944 – Actress Cathy Lee Crosby (“The Laughing Policeman,” “Wonder Woman”)

1946 – Fashion designer Gianni Versace (d. 1997)

1968 – Actress Lucy Liu (“Ally McBeal,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Kill Bill,” “Chicago,” “Southland,” the “Kung Fu Panda” series, “Elementary”)

1973 – Retired international tennis champion Monica Seles

1978 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado (“Turn Off the Light,” “I’m Like a Bird”)

1981 – Grammy-winning pop superstar Britney Spears

History Highlights
History Highlights

1823 – President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts—a policy that comes to be known as the Monroe Doctrine.

1954 – The U.S. Senate votes to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.” The move was prompted by McCarthy’s controversial investigation of suspected communists in the federal government, military and civilian society.

1970 – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is established to protect the public health and environment.

1982 – Sixty-one-year-old Barney Clark becomes the first human recipient of a permanent artificial heart. Near death at the time of the operation, Clark survives 112 days after the surgery.

1997 – Nominated for a staggering nine Academy Awards, “Good Will Hunting” premieres in Los Angeles and goes on to earn childhood friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon a Best Original Screenplay Oscar — propelling them to Hollywood fame. The movie, directed by Gus Van Sant, also garners Robin Williams the only Oscar of his career — for Best Supporting Actor.

2001 – Enron Corporation files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, exposing one of the largest corporate scandals in U.S. history. Before its collapse, the Houston-based energy trading giant employed some 20,000 people who now had to pack their belongings and look for new jobs. Investors lost billions.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees rule the Billboard singles chart with “Daydream Believer,” the band’s third and final No. 1 hit. The track holds the top spot for four weeks.

1972 – “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” by The Temptations, is the No. 1 single. The song is the legendary Motown band’s last No. 1 hit and goes on to capture three Grammys.

1978 – The Neil Diamond-Barbra Streisand duet, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” is on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking “Thriller” video, featuring narration by Vincent Price and directed by John Landis, premieres. In 2009, it is inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress — the first music video to ever receive this honor — for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.

1989 – Milli Vanilli are chart toppers for a second straight week with “Blame It on the Rain.”

1995 – “One Sweet Day,” by Mariah Carey and Boys II Men, begins an incredible 16-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart.

2000 – “Independent Women Part I,” by Destiny’s Child, is in the midst of an 11-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is from the 2000 movie adaptation of “Charlie’s Angels.”

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