Fenway Park – Time Rewind

On This Day April 20

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On This Day September 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1934 – Actress-model-animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot

1938 – Legendary soul singer Ben E. King (“Stand by Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “Spanish Harlem”) (d. 2015)

1950 – Screenwriter-director John Sayles (“Return of the Secaucus 7,” “Passion Fish.” “Lone Star,” “Men With Guns”)

1964 – Actress-comedian and political activist Janeane Garofalo (“The Ben Stiller Show,” “Reality Bites,” “The Independent,” “Bad Parents”)

1967 – Oscar-winning actress-producer Mira Sorvino (“Mighty Aphrodite,” “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” “Mimic,” “The Replacement Killers,” “Summer of Sam,” “Human Trafficking”)

1968 – Actress Naomi Watts (“Mulholland Drive,” “The Ring,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “King Kong,” “J. Edgar,” “The Impossible,” “Birdman”)

1987 – Actress-singer Hilary Duff (“Lizzie McGuire,” “Cheaper By The Dozen,” “A Cinderella Story,” “Metamorphosis,” “War, Inc.”)

History Highlights

1928 – A landmark event in modern medicine takes place as young Scottish bacteriologist Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin — one of the world’s first antibiotics. It means that doctors finally have a tool that could completely cure their patients of deadly infectious diseases.

1941 – Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox plays a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics on the last day of the regular season and gets six hits in eight trips to the plate, to boost his batting average to .406 and become the first player since Bill Terry in 1930 to hit .400.

1960 – Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams thrills fans at Fenway Park when he hits a dramatic home run in the last at-bat of his 21-year career. He becomes the last player to hit .400 in a season. In 1966, Williams is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1965 – Six years after leading the Cuban Revolution and four years after the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs Invasion, Fidel Castro announces that any Cuban wishing to leave the island was free to do so.

1980 – Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” premieres on PBS, becoming the most-viewed television series to date.

1982 – The first of seven deaths from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules is reported near Chicago. The case terrifies Americans and changes the way we buy and consume over-the-counter medications.

1989 – Former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos, whose corrupt regime spanned 20 years, dies in exile in Hawaii.

Musical Milestones

1963 – Bobby Vinton is in the middle of a three-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Blue Velvet.”

1968 – The Beatles begin nine weeks on top of the singles chart with “Hey Jude.” With a running time of just over seven minutes, the track remains the lengthiest No. 1 single ever and is beloved by radio DJs around the world as the ultimate bathroom break song.

1974 – “Rock Me Gently,” by Andy Kim, is the hottest song on the radio.

1985 – “Money for Nothing,” by Dire Straits, is in the midst of a three-week run as a Billboard chart-topper. Sting lends his talents to the track as a background vocalist. The song captures a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1986.

1991 – Jazz great Miles Davis dies at the age of 65.

1991 – Color Me Badd is in its second and final week on top of the singles chart with “I Adore Mi Amor.”

1996 – Los Del Rio dominate Top 40 radio as their smash, “Macarena,” continues its 14-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

2002 – “Dilemma,” by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland, kicks off its seventh week as a No. 1 single.

2013 – Miley Cyrus kicks off two weeks on top of the pop chart with “Wrecking Ball.”

On this Day July 31

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Celebrity Birthdays

1945 – Singer-songwriter and former Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch (d. 2012)

1956 – Actor Michael Biehn (“Logan’s Run,” “The Terminator”)

1958 – Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks owner and panelist on ABC’s “Shark Tank”

1962 – Actor Wesley Snipes (“Mo’ Better Blues,” “New Jack City,” “Passenger 57,” “Demolition Man,” “Money Train,” “Blade”)

1965 – British author J.K. Rowling, best known for her “Harry Potter” series

1979 – Actor-comedian-author B.J. Novak (“The Office,” “Inglorious Basterds,” “Saving Mr. Banks”)

History Highlights

1941 – Hermann Göring, writing under instructions from German dictator Adolf Hitler, orders Reinhard Heydrich, SS general and Heinrich Himmler’s No. 2 man, “to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.”

1961 – The first tie in All-Star Game history takes place at Fenway Park in Boston when the game is stopped in the ninth inning because of rain. Players included such future Hall of Famers as Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Stan Musial, Harmon Killebrew, Nellie Fox, Willie Mays and Yogi Berra. The next tie to occur during a playing of the Midsummer Classic would be in 2002.

1964 – Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon.

1971 – Humans take the first drive on the moon, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin cruise the dusty and bumpy surface in their lunar rover vehicle (LRV). It marks NASA’s first use of an LRV, which, among other tasks, enabled the astronauts to collect 179 pounds of lunar rocks and soil to be studied back on Earth.

1975 – Former Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of a suburban Detroit restaurant, never to be seen or heard from again. In 1982, he is officially declared dead.

1981 – Cries of “play ball” echo throughout American ballparks after a seven-week players’ strike centered around compensation for free agents ends.

Musical Milestones

1968 – The Beatles begin a two-day recording session at London’s Trident Studios to produce “Hey Jude.”

1971 – James Taylor has the No. 1 single with “You’ve Got a Friend,” written by Carole King, which goes on to capture Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year).

1976 – Jazz and soul singer-guitarist George Benson’s “Breezin’” begins two weeks on top of the Billboard album chart.

1993 – UB40 is on top of the singles chart with their cover of Elvis Presley’s “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love.” The song remains at No. 1 for seven weeks. Elvis’ original version from 1961 only got as high as No. 2.

1999 – Christina Aguilera kicks off five weeks at No. 1 the Billboard Hot 100 with “Genie in a Bottle.”

2004 – Usher wraps up two weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with Confessions Part II.