Dr. Jonas Salk – Time Rewind

On This Day April 26

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On This Day March 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost (d. 1963)

1911 – Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams (“The Glass Menagerie,” “A Streetcar Named Desire”) (d. 1983)

1931 – Actor-director-writer Leonard Nimoy, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” TV and movie series (d. 2015)

1934 – Actor Alan Arkin (“Wait Until Dark,” “The In-Laws,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Argo”)

1940 – Actor James Caan (“The Godfather,” “Brian’s Song,” “Rollerball,” “Alien Nation,” “Misery”)

1944 – Legendary Motown singer-actress Diana Ross, formerly of The Supremes

1948 – Rock singer-songwriter and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler

1950 – Comedian-actor and “SCTV” and “SNL” alum Martin Short

1950 – R&B soul singer Teddy Pendergrass (d. 2010)

1968 – Country music singer-songwriter and producer Kenny Chesney

1985 – Actress Keira Knightley (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Atonement,” “The Imitation Game”)

History Highlights

1953 – Dr. Jonas Salk goes on national radio to announce that he has successfully tested a vaccine against polio, a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease.

1979 – At a White House ceremony, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a peace treaty ending 30 years of war between their two countries.

1982 – Ground is broken in Washington, D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was founded by Jan Scruggs, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1969-70 as an infantry corporal. Scruggs wanted to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of all who served in Vietnam.

2000 – Comedian Billy Crystal hosts the 72nd annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Best Picture honors go to “American Beauty,” and Best Actor to its star, Kevin Spacey. Hilary Swank wins Best Actress for her role in “Boys Don’t Cry.”

Musical Milestones

1955 – “Ballad of Davy Crockett,” by Bill Hayes, begins a five-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

1966 – Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler mans his post at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Ballad of the Green Berets.”

1971 – The Rolling Stones introduce their iconic tongue logo, known officially as “Tongue and Lips.”

1975 – The film version of The Who’s 1969 rock opera “Tommy” opens in London, featuring Elton John as The Champ, singing “Pinball Wizard,” and Tina Turner as the Acid Queen.

1976 – Wings, featuring Paul McCartney, release the “At the Speed of Sound” album, containing classics like “Silly Love Songs” and “Let ‘Em In.” Less than a month later, it reaches the top of the Billboard album chart.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” is in the midst of a six-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – “The Sign,” by the Swedish band Ace of Base, Is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The track enjoys six non-consecutive weeks in the top spot and goes on to become an international smash.

2005 – “Candy Shop,” by 50 Cent featuring Olivia, is in the middle of a nine-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day February 23

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Celebrity Birthdays

1868 – American civil rights activist, sociologist, educator, historian and writer W.E.B. Du Bois (d.1963)

1940 – Actor Peter Fonda (“Easy Rider,” “Ulee’s Gold,” “The Passion of Ayn Rand,” “Wild Hogs,” “3:10 to Yuma”) (d. 2019)

1955 – 80s synth-pop singer-songwriter Howard Jones (“Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life in One Day,” “No One Is To Blame”)

1965 – Entrepreneuer and Dell Computer founder-CEO Michael Dell

1976 – Actress Kelly Macdonald (“Trainspotting,” “Gosford Park,” “The Girl in the Café,” “Boardwalk Empire”)

1983 – Golden Globe-winning actress Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Gideon’s Daughter,” “The Adjustment Bureau,” “The Five-Year Engagement,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Sicario,” “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” “The Girl on the Train”, “A Quiet Place”, “Mary Poppins Returns”)

1994 – Actress Dakota Fanning (“I Am Sam,” “Man on Fire,” “War of the Worlds,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Coraline,” “The Twilight Saga”)

History Highlights

1836 – The Battle of the Alamo begins as Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his army arrive in San Antonio, Texas. Undaunted, William Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and a few hundred others prepare to defend the mission together, holding out for 13 days. “Remember the Alamo!” becomes a rallying cry for the Texian Army.

1945 – During the bloody Battle of Iwo Jima, five U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. His iconic World War II image — a symbol of American military heroism — wins a Pulitzer Prize and becomes the inspiration for the national U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

1954 – Elementary school children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania receive the first injections of the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk.

1968 – Considered a basketball legend, Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first NBA player to score more than 25,000 points during his professional sports career.

1980 – American speed skater Eric Heiden wins the 10,000-meter race at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, setting a world record with his time and winning an unprecedented fifth Gold medal at the games.

1997 – Scientists in Scotland announce that they have cloned a sheep named Dolly — the first successful cloning of a mammal from an adult cell. This development sparks widespread speculation about the possibility of human cloning.

Musical Milestones

1963 – Paul & Paula wrap up their three-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hey Paula.”

1974 – Barbra Streisand dominates the pop chart for a third week with the Oscar and Grammy-winning theme from the movie “The Way We Were.”

1978 – For the first time in Grammy Award history, two singles tie for Song of the Year: Barbra Streisand’s “Love Theme from A Star Is Born (Evergreen)” and Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life.” Other winners include Fleetwood Mac (Album of the Year for “Rumours”), Eagles (Record of the Year for “Hotel California”) and The Bee Gees (Best Pop Vocal Performance for “How Deep Is Your Love”).

1980 – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” from Queen’s “The Game” album, becomes the British rock band’s first No. 1 single in the U.S. It holds the top spot for four weeks. Freddie Mercury claimed to have written the song in about 10 minutes while taking a bath.

1991 – Whitney Houston scores her ninth No. 1 single in five years with “All the Man That I Need.”

2000 – Carlos Santana cleans up at the 42nd Annual Grammys, winning eight awards, including Album of the Year for his chart-topping “Supernatural” album.

2002 – “Always on Time,” by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

On this Day June 23

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Celebrity Birthdays

1927 – Tony-winning director and choreographer Bob Fosse (“Cabaret”) (d. 1987)

1929 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter June Carter Cash (d. 2003)

1948 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

1956 – Grammy-winning producer and former “American Idol” judge and musician Randy Jackson

1957 – Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning actress Frances McDormand (“Raising Arizona,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Fargo,” “Almost Famous,” “Olive Kitteridge”)

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz (“The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” “Curbside Prophet,” “You and I Both,” “I’m Yours”)

1984 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy (“Rockferry,” “Mercy”)

History Highlights

1868 – Pennsylvania native Christopher Latham Sholes receives a patent for a page-numbering machine that leads to development of the first typewriter. His machine features the QWERTY keyboard that all of us still use today on our computers, smartphones and other devices for written communication.

1956 – Gamal Abdel Nasser is elected president of Egypt.

1969 – Warren Burger is sworn in as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by retiring chief justice Earl Warren.

1972 – President Richard Nixon’s advisor, H.R. Haldeman, tells the president to put pressure on the head of the FBI to “stay the hell out of this [Watergate burglary investigation] business.” In essence, Haldeman was telling Nixon to obstruct justice, which is one of the articles for which Congress threatened to impeach Nixon in 1974.

1989 – Moviegoers are introduced to the darker side of Batman when director Tim Burton’s interpretation opens in theaters, starring Michael Keaton as the “caped crusader” and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. “Batman” earns over $400 million at the box office—enough to impress even Bruce Wayne!

1992 – Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the “Teflon Don” after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering.

1995 – American physician and medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk, who pioneered the first safe and effective vaccine for polio, dies of heart failure at the age of 80.

2013 – Aerialist Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk a high wire across the Little Colorado River Gorge near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

2018 – Twelve members of a Thai soccer team and their coach become trapped in a flooded cave for more than two weeks until a harrowing rescue effort, covered by international media, that costs one diver his life.

Musical Milestones

1951 – “Too Young,” by Nat King Cole, begins a five-week run as the most popular single.

1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Ray Charles, is in the middle of a five-week domination of the singles chart.

1973 – George Harrison kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with “Living in the Material World,” which contains his chart-topping hit, “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”

1979 – Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” burns its way to the top of the singles chart. The song later garners Summer a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

1984 – Duran Duran kicks off two weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s first No. 1 in the U.S.

1990 – “It Must Have Been Love,” by Roxette, is the No. 1 single.

2001 – A new interpretation of LaBelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade,” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink, is in the middle of five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. This version was recorded for the soundtrack to the movie “Moulin Rouge!,” starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

2007 – “Umbrella,” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z, is in the midst of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.