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On This Day September 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1857 – Businessman and philanthropist Milton Hershey, who founded the Hershey Chocolate Company (d. 1945)

1941 – Vocalist David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears

1944 – Golden Globe-winning actress Jacqueline Bisset (“The Detective,” “Bullitt,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Deep,” “Dancing on the Edge”)

1944 – Singer-songwriter and bassist Peter Cetera, best known as front man for the band Chicago

1964 – Talk show host, political commentator and author Tavis Smiley

1969 – Actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer and author Tyler Perry, born Emmitt Perry, Jr., best known for his TV show “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fiona Apple (“Criminal, “Shadowboxer”)

History Highlights

1969 – “Scooby Doo Where Are You” premieres, introducing a band of meddling kids to the Saturday morning cartoon lineup.

1971 – A four-day revolt by inmates at Attica Prison in upstate New York comes to an explosive end as state police troopers and National Guardsmen storm the maximum-security facility with teargas and a hail of gunfire. Forty-three people are killed.

1974 – “The Rockford Files,” starring James Garner as a private investigator, debuts on NBC.

1976 – “The Muppet Show” debuts with host Kermit The Frog joined by new Jim Henson creations, including Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. 

1993 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy. 

1994 – President Bill Clinton signs the Federal Assault Weapons Ban into law. The bill bans 18 specific firearms and certain features on guns, but only those manufactured after enactment. The measure expires exactly 10 years later, in 2004, since Congress did not reauthorize it.

2008 – Hurricane Ike makes landfall along the Texas Gulf coast in the early morning hours as a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. The third costliest storm in U.S. history after Hurricane Katrina causes flooding and severe wind damage across Galveston and Houston, leaving many without power for weeks.

Musical Milestones

1960 – The U.S. Congress passes an amendment to the Communications Act outlawing payola — payments of cash or gifts to radio stations in exchange for playing certain records on the air.

1965 – Louis Armstrong captures Best Male Vocalist honors for “Hello, Dolly!” at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards.

1975 – Glen Campbell is riding high on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Rhinestone Cowboy” marks its second week at No. 1. The track also spends three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

1980 – “Upside Down,” by Diana Ross, is mid-way through a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 

1986 – Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away,” lands on top of the Billboard singles chart. The song is from the soundtrack to the movie “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Kelly McGillis. It goes on to capture an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

1996 – Hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur dies of injuries sustained six days earlier in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting. He is just 25.

1997 – Mariah Carey kicks off three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Honey.”

2003 – “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” by Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee, is in the middle of four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2008 – T.I. claims the top spot on the singles chart with “Whatever You Like.”

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