divorce – Time Rewind

On This Day March 4

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On This Day January 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1908 – Theater actress and singer Ethel Merman, best remembered for her rendition of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (d. 1984)

1935 – Indianapolis 500 champion A.J. Foyt

1943 – Grammy and Country Music Award-winning singer Ronnie Milsap (“Pure Love,” “There’s No Getting Over Me,” “Smoky Mountain Rain”)

1948 – Director-screenwriter-producer and composer John Carpenter, best known for the classic horror film “Halloween”

1950 – Actress-dancer Debbie Allen (“Fame,” “West Side Story,” “Sweet Charity”)

1959 – Grammy-winning musician Sade, born Helen Folasade Adu (“Smooth Operator,” “The Sweetest Taboo”)

1974 – Supermodel Kate Moss

1979 – R&B singer and actress Aaliyah, born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, whose career was cut short by a plane crash in The Bahamas (d. 2001)

History Highlights

1919 – The 18th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes.” Known as Prohibition, the alcohol ban takes effect one year and one day later — on January 17, 1920 — and remains the law of the land until 1933 when it is repealed.

1942 – Actress Carole Lombard, famous for her roles in such screwball comedies as “My Man Godfrey” and “To Be or Not to Be,” and for her marriage to actor Clark Gable, is killed in a plane crash outside Las Vegas at the age of 33.

1979 – The Shah of Iran is forced to flee his country amid violent protests against his regime. Later that year, he settles in the U.S.

1991 – The Persian Gulf War begins as the United Nations deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait expires at midnight. The Pentagon prepares to launch offensive operations to forcibly eject Iraq from its five-month occupation of its oil-rich neighbor.

1997 – Comedian and TV star Bill Cosby’s 27-year-old son Ennis is murdered while fixing a flat tire along a Los Angeles freeway.

Musical Milestones

1938 – Acclaimed clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (a.k.a. “The King of Swing”) makes history when he takes the stage at New York’s Carnegie Hall. It not only marks the first time jazz is played in the hallowed music venue, but the first time a racially integrated ensemble performs.

1965 – The Supremes have a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Come See About Me.”

1971 – George Harrison marks his fourth and final week at No. 1 on the pop chart with “My Sweet Lord.”

1979 – Cher’s divorce from Gregg Allman is finalized.

1988 – Twenty-four years after The Beatles first rule the singles chart, “Got My Mind Set On You” by George Harrison is No. 1. The track was originally recorded by R&B singer James Ray in 1962.

1988 – After huge success as half of the pop duo Wham! during the early to mid-80s, George Michael claims the top spot on the Billboard album chart with his debut solo album, “Faith.” The production packs several major hits, including the title track, “Father Figure,” “One More Try” and “Monkey.”

1993 – “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston, is in the middle of a 14-week domination of the Billboard singles chart.

1999 – Brandy’s “Have You Ever?” tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for two weeks.

2004 – King of Pop, Michael Jackson, pleads not guilty to child molestation charges, as fans, reporters and TV crews from around the world swarm outside the California courthouse. The judge admonishes Jackson for arriving late.

On This Day December 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1886 – Baseball legend Ty Cobb, considered the most competitive and complex personality ever to appear in a big league uniform (d. 1961)

1943 – Rolling Stones guitarist and songwriter Keith Richards

1946 – Oscar-winning director-producer Steven Spielberg (“Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” the “Indiana Jones” trilogy, “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Munich,” “Bridge of Spies”)

1950 – Movie critic-historian Leonard Maltin

1954 – Actor Ray Liotta (“Something Wild,” “Field of Dreams,” “Goodfellas,” “No Escape,” “Corina, Corina,” “ER”)

1963 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Brad Pitt (“Legends of the Fall,” “Seven,” “Fight Club,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Moneyball,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Fury”)

1978 – Actress Katie Holmes (“Dawson’s Creek,” “Batman Begins,” “Mad Money,” “Jack and Jill,” “Touched With Fire”)

1980 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera (“Genie in a Bottle”, “What a Girl Wants”)

History Highlights

1620 – The British ship Mayflower docks at what today is known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers — dubbed Pilgrims — set out to establish a new settlement called Plymouth Colony.

1916 – The Battle of Verdun, the longest engagement of World War I, ends after 10 months and close to a million total casualties suffered by German and French forces.

1956 – Japan is admitted to the United Nations.

1966 – The animated Christmas classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” debuts on CBS, based on the beloved book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. The program features a throaty narration by legendary horror film actor Boris Karloff.

1968 – The movie musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” opens in New York, starring Dick Van Dyke, who made a splash four years earlier in “Mary Poppins.”

Musical Milestones

1961 – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” by The Tokens, roars from the top of the Billboard singles chart where it remains for three weeks.

1971 – After 13 years, rock and roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis’ marriage to his 13-year-old cousin ends in divorce.

1976 – Rod Stewart is in the middle of an eight-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright).”

1982 – Hall & Oates begin a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Maneater,” off the duo’s “H2O” album.

1999 – “Smooth,” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas, is in its ninth week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for another three weeks, ultimately becoming what Billboard calls “the second most successful song of all time.”

2003 – Michael Jackson is formally charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering intoxicating liquor to a minor with the intent of committing a crime.

On this Day August 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1943 – Actor-singer David Soul, born David Richard Solberg, best remembered for his role as Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the 1970s TV series “Starsky & Hutch”

1957 – Actor Daniel Stern (“Diner,” “City Slickers,” “Home Alone,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “The Wonder Years”)

1958 – U.S. Olympic Gold Medal figure skater and TV commentator Scott Hamilton

1962 – Golden Globe-winning director David Fincher (“Alien 3,” “Seven,” “Fight Club,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Social Network,” “Mindhunter”)

1965 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter Shania Twain (“You’re Still the One,” “From This Moment On,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”, “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”, “Forever and for Always”)

1969 – Actor Jason Priestley (“Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Call Me Fitz”)

1969 – Actor-comedian-musician Jack Black (“Shallow Hal,” “High Fidelity,” “School of Rock,” “Tropic Thunder,” the “Kung Fu Panda” movies, “Gulliver’s Travels,” “Goosebumps”)

1982 – Grammy-winning country singer LeAnn Rimes, who covered the single “Blue” at the age of 13 and became the youngest country star since Tanya Tucker in 1972

1986 – Singer Florence Welch, lead singer of the indie rock band Florence and the Machine (“Kiss with a Fist,” “Shake It Out”)

History Highlights

1963 – More than a quarter of a million people participate in the March on Washington, a peaceful civil rights rally which culminates with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

1968 – Riots erupt in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention as Vietnam War protesters clash with police.

1981 – Oscar-winning director John Huston, known for such cinematic classics as “The Maltese Falcon,” “Key Largo,” “The African Queen,” “Moulin Rouge” and “The Misfits,” dies of pneumonia at age 81.

1981 – The Centers for Disease Control announces a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi’s sarcoma in gay men, soon to be recognized as symptoms of AIDS.

1988 – An air show involving military jets at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany turns tragic when three jets collide in mid-air and fall into the crowd. Seventy spectators are killed and hundreds others are injured.

1996 – Four years after their separation, Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally divorce.

Musical Milestones

1961 – The Marvelettes release their first single, “Please Mr. Postman,” which sells over a million copies and becomes the group’s biggest hit. It reaches the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B survey, becoming Motown’s first chart-topper.

1961 – Joe Dowell rockets to No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with his cover of “Wooden Heart,” originally performed by Elvis Presley a year earlier in the movie “G.I. Blues.” Presley’s version reached No. 1 in the U.K.

1965 – Bob Dylan kicks off a 40-date North American tour with a performance at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. For the second time that year, he angers folk music purists when he performs the latter half of his show with an electric guitar.

1971 – The Bee Gees enjoy their fourth and final week at No. 1 on the pop chart with “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

1982 – “Eye of the Tiger,” by Survivor, roars into its sixth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is the theme from the movie “Rocky III,” starring Sylvester Stallone.

1986 – Grammy-winning “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” Tina Turner is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1993 – Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams” begins three weeks atop the Billboard album chart. The album features cover artwork painted by Joel’s then-wife, Christie Brinkley.

1999 – Christina Aguilera wraps up a five-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Genie in a Bottle.”

2004 – Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe and Remy lays claim to the top spot on the singles chart with “Lean Back.”