Dwight D. Eisenhower – Time Rewind

On This Day February 29

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On This Day January 17

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Celebrity Birthdays

1706 – U.S. Founding Father, statesman, publisher and inventor Benjamin Franklin (d. 1790)

1899 – American gangster Al Capone (d. 1947)

1922 – Actress-comedian Betty White, whose eight decades in show business included memorable roles in TV’s “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Saturday Night Live”) (d. 2021)

1927 – Singer-actress Eartha Kitt, best known for her rendition of “Santa Baby” and for playing Catwoman in the 60’s “Batman” TV series (d. 2007)

1931 – Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony-winning actor James Earl Jones, whose many performances include providing the voice of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” movie series and Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King”

1942 – Former World Heavyweight Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (d. 2016)

1957 – Comedian and “Family Feud” host Steve Harvey

1962 – Golden Globe-winning actor-comedian Jim Carrey (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Mask,” “Batman Forever,” “Liar Liar,” “The Truman Show,” “Man on the Moon,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”)

1964 – Former First Lady Michelle Obama

1971 – Rapper and singer-songwriter Kid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie

1980 – Actress-singer Zooey Deschanel (“All the Real Girls,” “Elf,” “The Happening,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “New Girl”)

History Highlights

1916 – Golf great Walter Hagen and some 30 other pro golfers meet in New York City and form the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).

1950 – Eleven Boston bandits stage what comes to be called the “crime of the century,” the “perfect crime” and the “fabulous Brink’s robbery.” The group steals more than $2 million ($29 million today) from the Brink’s Armored Car depot in Boston. Six years later, the suspects are finally arrested — just days before the statute of limitations for the heist was to expire.

1953 – General Motors (GM) unveils a prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car (code-named EX-122) at the Motorama auto show in New York City. Named for a fast type of naval warship, Corvette would eventually become an iconic American muscle car that is still in production today.

1955 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), sets out to sea. Over the next several years, the vessel shatters all submerged speed and distance records.

1961 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his farewell address to the nation and warns against the accumulation of power by “the military-industrial complex.”

1994 – A powerful earthquake rocks Los Angeles, leaving 57 people dead and causing billions of dollars in damage. The Northridge Quake, as it’s known, remains one of the most destructive in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones

1969 – Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album, featuring a stylized photo of the exploding Hindenburg airship on the cover, is released to a lackluster reception. The album, which includes the tracks “Good Times Bad Times” and “Dazed and Confused,” eventually climbs to No. 10 and helps shape the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal.

1970 – The Doors play the first of four shows at the Felt Forum in New York City. The performances are recorded for an eventual live compilation album.

1976 – Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs” reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and goes on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year. Ironically, Manilow did not write this song. It was penned by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys.

1987 – “Shake You Down,” by Gregory Abbott, is the No. 1 single.

1990 – The Four Seasons, The Platters, The Four Tops, Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, and The Who are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the fifth annual awards presentation in New York.

1998 – The Australian pop duo Savage Garden kicks off two weeks as Billboard chart-toppers with “Truly Madly Deeply.”

2004 – OutKast is in the middle of a nine-week domination of the pop chart with “Hey Ya!”

On this Day July 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1918 – Nobel Laureate and former South African President Nelson Mandela (d. 2013)

1921 – Former astronaut (first American to orbit the Earth) and U.S. Senator John Glenn (d. 2016)

1940 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor James Brolin (“Von Ryan’s Express,” “Fantastic Voyage,” “Traffic,” “The Master of Disguise,” “The 33”)

1950 – British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, who founded Virgin Records and Virgin Airlines, among many other businesses

1954 – Grammy-winning country music and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs

1961 – Actress Elizabeth McGovern (“Ragtime,” “Once Upon a Time in America,” “Downton Abbey”)

1967 – Actor-producer Vin Diesel, born Mark Sinclair (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Boiler Room,” “The Chronicles of Riddick” trilogy and the “Fast and Furious” film series)

1980 – Actress Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars,” “Gossip Girl,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Frozen,” “The Boss”)

History Highlights

1936 – The Oscar Mayer company rolls out the first Wienermobile to market its hot dogs. The small, metal wiener-shaped shell on wheels — the brainchild of Oscar’s nephew, Carl Mayer — stretched 13 feet long and cruised the streets of Chicago with Carl behind the wheel. Over the years, modern, more spacious versions of the original Wienermobile began to criss-cross the U.S., and still do today.

1940 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, who first took office in 1933 as America’s 32nd president, is nominated at the Democratic National Convention for an unprecedented third term. Roosevelt is eventually elected to a record four terms in office, the only U.S. president to serve more than two terms.

1947 – General Dwight D. Eisenhower appoints Florence Blanchfield to be a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, making her the first woman in American history to hold permanent military rank.

1969 – Mary Jo Kopechne, the 28-year-old passenger in a car driven by Massachusetts Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy, is killed when the vehicle plunges off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha’s Vineyard. The incident becomes a national scandal, referred to as “Chappaquiddick,” and is believed to have influenced Kennedy’s decision not to campaign for president in 1972 and 1976.

1976 – Fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 during the Summer Olympics in Montreal.

1984 – James Oliver Huberty opens fire in a crowded McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, California, killing 21 people and wounding 19 others with several automatic weapons.

1986 – New close-up videotaped footage of the sunken ocean liner Titanic is released to the public. It shows one of the ship’s majestic grand staircases and a coral-covered chandelier swinging slowly in the ocean current.

Musical Milestones

1960 – Brenda Lee begins three weeks at No. 1 on the pop chart with “I’m Sorry.”

1964 – “Rag Doll,” by The Four Seasons, kicks off two weeks as a No. 1 single — no small achievement for an American band during the early days of the British Invasion.

1964 – The Rolling Stones land on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time when their cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” peaks at No. 48.

1970 – “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” by Three Dog Night, is No. 1 on the pop chart. The composition was written by Randy Newman.

1974 – The U.S. Justice Department orders John Lennon out of the country by September 10. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had denied the former Beatle an extension of his non-immigrant visa because of his guilty plea in England to a 1968 marijuana possession charge.

1981 – Kim Carnes enjoys her ninth and final week ruling the singles chart with “Bette Davis Eyes.” The track goes on to capture Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

1992 – Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” is in the midst of a five-week reign of the Billboard Hot 100.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.” The single holds the top spot for 14 weeks.

On this Day July 21

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Celebrity Birthdays

1899 – Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway (d. 1961)

1920 – Grammy-winning violinist Isaac Stern (d. 2001)

1924 – Comedic actor Don Knotts (“The Andy Griffith Show,” “Three’s Company,” “Pleasantville”) (d. 2006)

1926 – Oscar-winning director-producer Norman Jewison (“In The Heat of The Night,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Moonstruck,” “The Hurricane”)

1948 – Singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens (“Father and Son,” “Wild World,” “Peace Train,” “Moonshadow,” “Morning Has Broken”)

1951 – Oscar-winning actor-comedian Robin Williams (“Mork and Mindy,” “Dead Poets Society,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Aladdin, “Night at the Museum”)) (d. 2014)

1957 – Comedian-actor and “SNL” alum Jon Lovitz (“A League of Their Own,” “The Wedding Singer”)

1978 – Actor-producer Josh Hartnett (“Pearl Harbor,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Sin City”)

History Highlights

1861 – In the first major clash of the Civil War, the Battle of Bull Run, a large Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army led by General Pierre G.T. Beauregard.

1925 – The so-called “Monkey Trial” ends with Tennessee high school biology teacher John Scopes found guilty of teaching evolution in class. He is fined $100.

1955 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower presents his “Open Skies” plan at the Geneva summit. It calls on the U.S. and Soviet Union to exchange maps showing the location of every military installation in their respective nations.

1961 – Astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom, piloting Liberty Bell 7, becomes the second American to go into space in a suborbital mission.

1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in Egypt is completed.

2005 – Terrorists attempt to attack the London transit system with bombs planted on three subways and a bus, however none detonates completely. The plot comes two weeks after terrorists killed 52 people and wounded over 700 others in the largest attack on Great Britain since World War II.

2011 – NASA’s 30-year space shuttle program comes to an end with the early-morning landing of shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 13-day mission to the International Space Station was the 33rd for Atlantis and 135th for NASA’s shuttle fleet.

Musical Milestones

1958 – The Coasters are chart-toppers with “Yakety Yak.” While this now-classic single spends just one week at No. 1 on the pop chart, it enjoys a seven-week run on top of the R&B chart.

1962 – “Roses Are Red (My Love),” by Bobby Vinton, is the No. 1 single.

1973 – Jim Croce’s “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” kicks off two weeks as a No. 1 single. It is Croce’s final chart-topper before his death in a plane crash that September.

1984 – Prince is midway through a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “When Doves Cry,” from his “Puple Rain” album.

1987 – Geffen Records releases Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, “Appetite for Destruction,” featuring hard rock anthems “Sweet Child O’Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” The album goes on to top the Billboard 200 and becomes the best-selling debut album ever by a band.

1990 – “She Ain’t Worth It,” by Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown, kicks off two weeks on top of the pop chart.

2001 – Usher maintains his grip on the top spot of the singles chart with “U Remind Me.”

On this Day June 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1904 – Actor Peter Lorre, born László Loewenstein in Hungary (d. 1964)

1911 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, considered the world’s greatest woman athlete (d. 1956)

1956 – Rock musician-actor Chris Isaak (“Wicked Game,” “Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing,” “Somebody’s Crying”)

1970 – Actor Chris O’Donnell (“Scent of a Woman,” “Batman Forever,” “Batman & Robin,” “NCIS” Los Angeles”)

1970 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian and producer Sean Hayes, best known for his starring role in the sitcom “Will & Grace”

1974 – Retired New York Yankees star shortstop Derek Jeter

1980 – NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who served nearly two years in prison for his role in illegal dog fighting

1992 – Actress Jennette McCurdy, best known for her role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom “iCarly” and its spin-off, “Sam & Cat, which co-starred Ariana Grande

1993 – Actress-turned-Grammy-winning pop sensation Ariana Grande (“The Way,” “Break Free,” “Problem,” “Thank U, Next”)

History Highlights

1927 – Coney Island’s iconic Cyclone roller coaster begins operating. The ride quickly becomes a fan favorite, with long lines of repeat customers paying 25 cents per ride. In 1988, it is designated a New York City Landmark, and in 1991, it is added to the National Register of Historic Places.

1948 – Known as the “Berlin Airlift,” U.S. and British planes begin delivering food and supplies through airdrops to (West) Berlin, Germany after Soviet forces seal off rail, road, and water access with a blockade. The crisis finally ends almost a year later when Soviet forces lift the blockade on land access to the city.

1959 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II preside at a ceremony marking the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which creates a navigational channel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

1963 – President John F. Kennedy speaks the famous words, “Ich bin ein Berliner,” in a speech before cheering throngs in democratic West Berlin.

1974 – Grocery shopping is revolutionized with the introduction of the bar code. The first item scanned is a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

1993 – President Bill Clinton punishes Iraq for a plot to assassinate former U.S. President George H. W. Bush.

2015 – Marking a major milestone for civil rights, the Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage cannot be banned in the United States and that all same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide, finally granting same-sex couples equal rights to heterosexual couples under the law.

Musical Milestones

1961 – Gary U.S. Bonds kicks off two weeks on top of the pop chart with “Quarter to Three,” ranked among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.

1965 – The most popular single is The Byrds’ interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

1971 – “It’s Too Late,” by Carole King, is in the middle of a five-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track goes on to capture a Record of the Year Grammy — one of four Grammys associated with King’s “Tapestry” album.

1976 – Paul McCartney and Wings hold the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Silly Love Songs.”

1977 – Elvis Presley makes his last ever live stage appearance when he plays to a crowd of 18,000 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Less than two months later, the 42-year-old music legend is dead.

1982 – Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder enter their seventh and final week as chart-toppers with “Ebony and Ivory.” The duet becomes one of the top-selling singles of 1982 and, in 2013, is ranked by Billboard as the 69th biggest all-time Hot 100 hit.

1993 – Janet Jackson rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “That’s the Way Love Goes.”

1999 – Jennifer Lopez is midway through a five-week run atop the singles chart with “If You Had My Love.”

2004 – Usher holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a sixth week with “Burn.”

On this Day June 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1852 – Architect Antoni Gaudi (d. 1926)

1924 – Director-producer Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men,” “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Network,” “The Verdict”) (d. 2011)

1925 – Tony-winning actress June Lockhart (“Lassie,” “Lost in Space,” “Petticoat Junction”)

1945 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning singer-songwriter Carly Simon (“Anticipation,” “You’re So Vain,” “Mockingbird,” “You Belong To Me,” “Coming Around Again,” “Jesse,” “Nobody Does It Better”)

1947 – Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker, best remembered for his catchphrase “Dy-no-mite” from the CBS sitcom “Good Times”

1956 – Emmy-winning TV chef and bestselling author Anthony Bourdain (d. 2018)

1961 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, director and producer Ricky Gervais

1963 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter George Michael, born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, who was half of the 80s pop duo Wham! (d. 2016)

History Highlights

1876 – Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River. The conflict becomes known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

1942 – General Dwight D. Eisenhower (a.k.a. “Ike”), who would later become 34th U.S. president, assumes command of all U.S. troops in the European theater during World War II. In 1943, Ike is appointed supreme Allied commander of all forces in Europe.

1950 – Armed forces from communist North Korea invade South Korea, setting off the Korean War. The United States, acting under the auspices of the United Nations, quickly springs to the defense of South Korea and fights a bloody and frustrating war for the next three years.

1962 – In the case of Engel v. Vitale, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that prayers read aloud in public schools violate the separation of church and state stipulated by the First Amendment.

1968 – Congress passes the Flag Desecration Law, making it a crime to burn or otherwise desecrate the American flag. However, in 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down flag desecration laws in 48 states in its 5-4 Texas v. Johnson ruling, stating that flag desecration is a constitutionally protected form of free speech.

1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as Canada’s 19th prime minister, becoming the first woman to hold the country’s highest office.

2009 – Actress Farrah Fawcett — best known for TV and movie roles in “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Cannonball Run” and “The Burning Bed,” and who rocketed to pin-up status when a 1976 poster of her in a red bathing suit sold 12 million copies — dies at 62 following a three-year battle with anal cancer.

Musical Milestones

1966 – The Beatles have the No. 1 single with “Paperback Writer.”

1967 – The Beatles record “All You Need Is Love” with friends Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Marianne Faithfull singing backup before an international audience of more than 350 million viewers. It is part of a live, worldwide satellite TV broadcast called “Our World.”

1969 – The Hollies record “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” with Elton John playing piano.

1973 – Chicago releases “Chicago VI,” which delivers two of the band’s biggest hits: “Just You ‘n’ Me” and “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day.” It becomes Chicago’s second album to reach the top of the Billboard 200, where it holds for five weeks.

1980 – “Coming Up (Live at Glasgow),” by Paul McCartney & Wings, begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart.

1984 – Prince releases the “Purple Rain” soundtrack five weeks before the movie opens.

1988 – Debbie Gibson is just 17 when her single, “Foolish Beat,” lands on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for a week.

1994 – All-4-One is in the middle of an 11-week domination of the singles chart with “I Swear.”

2009 – King of Pop, Michael Jackson, dies of cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home from a lethal combination of drugs administered by his personal doctor. He is just 50 years old and leaves behind a massive musical legacy enjoyed today by millions of fans around the world.