On This Day: December 29

On This Day December 29

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1808 – 17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson (d. 1875), the first American president to face impeachment.

1936 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Mary Tyler Moore (“The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Ordinary People”) (d. 2017)

1938 – Golden Globe-winning actor Jon Voight (“Midnight Cowboy,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Pearl Harbor,” “National Treasure,” “Ray Donovan”)

1946 – Singer-songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull

1947 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Ted Danson, best known as bartender Sam Malone in the 1980s sitcom “Cheers”

1972 – Actor-producer Jude Law (“Gattaca,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain,” “A.I.,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Spy”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1845 – Six months after the Congress of the Republic of Texas votes for annexation by the United States, Texas is admitted into the Union as the 28th state.

1851 – The first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) location in the U.S. opens in Boston.

1890 – In the tragic final chapter of America’s long war against the Plains Indians, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

1940 – On a Sunday evening, German bombers launch their deadliest World War II attack (“Blitz”) on London, destroying buildings and triggering hundreds of fires that make up what is termed “The Second Great Fire of London.”

1972 – Eastern Airlines Flight 401 — an L-1011 jumbo jet en route from New York to Miami — crashes in the Florida Everglades, killing 101 people. Seventy-five survive. Investigators determine that the pilot and co-pilot were distracted by a faulty indicator light and accidentally bumped a lever which deactivated the aircraft’s autopilot setting.

1975 – A bomb explodes inside the main terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people and injuring 75 others. The crime is considered the deadliest terrorist act in the city prior to the infamous September 11, 2001 attack, and remains unsolved to this day.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late),” by David Seville and the Chipmunks, is the No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for four weeks. The band is later known as Alvin and the Chipmunks.

1962 – The Tornados remain in orbit around No. 1 on the singles chart for a second week with “Telstar.”

1966 – Paul McCartney begins laying down tracks at London’s Abbey Road Studios for “Penny Lane,” derived from the name of a street near John Lennon’s house in Liverpool.

1973 – Three months after his death in a plane crash, folk-rock singer Jim Croce scores his second No. 1 single of the year with “Time In A Bottle.”

1984 – Madonna’s first No. 1 single, “Like a Virgin,” marks its second week atop the Billboard Hot 100. Her breakthrough hit remains a chart-topper for six weeks. The pop superstar goes on to score 11 more No. 1 singles later in her career.

1990 – “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” by Stevie B,” enters its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2001 – Nickelback is midway through a four-week run as Billboard chart-toppers with “How You Remind Me,” off the band’s “Silver Side Up” album. The track is later named the most played song on U.S. radio during the 2000s by Nielsen Soundscan.

2007 – Alicia Keys reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth and final week with “No One.”

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On This Day: December 6

On This Day December 6

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1900 – Actress Agnes Moorehead (“Citizen Kane,” “The Magnificent Ambersons,” “All That Heaven Allows,” “Show Boat,” “Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” “Bewitched”) (d. 1974)

1920 – Jazz-classical pianist-composer Dave Brubeck (“In Your Own Sweet Way,” “The Duke,” “Take Five”) (d. 2012)

1948 – Actress JoBeth Williams (“Stir Crazy,” “Poltergeist,” “The Big Chill,” “The Day After,” “Adam,” “Baby M”)

1955 – Comedian-actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Wright

1962 – Actress Janine Turner (“Northern Exposure,” “Strong Medicine”)

1967 – Emmy-winning producer-director Judd Apatow (“Freaks and Geeks,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “This Is 40,” “Trainwreck”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1865 – The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery. It provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

1884 – Workers place a nine-inch aluminum tip atop a white marble tower, completing construction of the iconic Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. At the time, the structure was the tallest building in the world, standing 555 feet, 5.125 inches.

1923 – Calvin Coolidge, known by many as America’s “Silent President,” delivers the first presidential radio address—the State of the Union—which is transmitted to listeners in six cities.

1947 – President Harry Truman dedicates the Florida Everglades as a national park.

1955 – The federal government standardizes the size of license plates throughout the U.S.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1968 – The Rolling Stones release “Beggars Banquet,” an album that represents a return to roots rock for the band following the psychedelic pop of their 1967 release, “Their Satanic Majesties Request.”

1969 – “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” by Steam, is the most popular song in the U.S. The track holds the top spot for two weeks.

1975 – “Still Crazy After All These Years” becomes Paul Simon’s first solo production to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1986 – Peter Cetera and Amy Grant are on top of the singles chart with “The Next Time I Fall.”

1988 – Grammy-winning Rock And Roll Hall of Famer Roy Orbison (“Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” “Oh, Pretty Woman”) — recognized for his distinctive, impassioned voice, complex compositions and dark emotional ballads — dies of a heart attack at the age of 52.

1997 – Elton John’s musical tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, “Candle in the Wind 1997” (also known as “Goodbye England’s Rose”), is in the middle of a 14-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2003 – “Stand Up,” by Ludacris featuring Shawnna, captures the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the first chart-topper for Ludacris.

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