Frank Sinatra – Time Rewind

On This Day February 29

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On This Day April 22

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Celebrity Birthdays

1906 – Actor Eddie Albert (“Roman Holiday,” “Green Acres,” “The Heartbreak Kid”) (d. 2005)

1922 – Jazz double-bassist Charles Mingus (d. 1979)

1923 – Producer-screenwriter Aaron Spelling (“The Mod Squad,” “The Rookies,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Melrose Place”) (d. 2006)

1926 – Actress Charlotte Rae, best known for her role as Mrs. Garrett on TV’s “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life” (d. 2018)

1936 – Grammy-winning country music singer Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle on My Mind,” “Galveston,” “Rhinestone Cowboy”) (d. 2017)

1937 – Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson (“Five Easy Pieces,” “Chinatown,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “The Shining,” “Terms of Endearment,” “A Few Good Men,” “As Good as It Gets,” “The Departed,” “Batman”)

1950 – Rock singer-songwriter Peter Frampton (“Show Me the Way”, “Baby, I Love Your Way”, “Do You Feel Like We Do,” “I’m in You”)

History Highlights

1864 – By an act of Congress, the words “In God We Trust” are inscribed on all coins minted as U.S. currency beginning with the two-cent piece.

1969 – British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.

1970 – The modern environmental movement is born as millions across America observe the first Earth Day, an effort to increase public awareness of global environmental problems.

1976 – ABC announces that Barbara Walters will co-anchor “ABC Evening News” with Harry Reasoner that October. The move makes Walters the first woman co-anchor of a network evening news program as well as television’s highest paid journalist, earning $1 million a year for five years.

1994 – 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon, who helped forge improved relations with China and the Soviet Union before resigning in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal, dies of a stroke at age 81.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Nancy Sinatra and her father, Frank, are midway through a four-week ride atop the singles chart with “Somethin’ Stupid.”

1978 – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd debut as The Blues Brothers on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live (SNL).” The duo go on to earn three Top 40 hits (“Soul Man,” “Rubber Biscuit” and “Gimme Some Lovin'”), a No. 1 pop album (“Briefcase Full of Blues”) and a piece of screen immortality with their 1980 film, “The Blues Brothers.”

1978 – The Bee Gees maintain a grip on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Night Fever,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” movie soundtrack.

1989 – “Like a Prayer,” by Madonna, is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stays there for three weeks.

1995 – Montell Jordan dominates the singles chart with “This Is How We Do It.” The track has a lock on the top spot for seven weeks.

2000 – Santana featuring The Product G&B are midway through a 10-week hold on the No. 1 spot on the singles chart with “Maria Maria”

2006 – Daniel Powter is in the midst of a five-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Bad Day.”

On This Day April 29

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Celebrity Birthdays

1863 – Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst (d. 1951)

1899 – Jazz composer-pianist-bandleader Duke Ellington (d. 1974)

1917 – Actress Celeste Holm (“Oklahoma!” “Gentleman’s Agreement”) (d. 2012)

1933 – Iconic Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter and activist Willie Nelson

1954 – Comedian-producer-actor Jerry Seinfeld, best known for his long-running NBC comedy series “Seinfeld”

1957 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis (“My Left Foot,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Gangs of New York,” “Lincoln”)

1958 – Actress Michelle Pfeiffer (“Scarface,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” “Batman Returns,” “Hairspray”,”Ant-Man and The Wasp”)

1970 – Retired tennis star Andre Agassi

1970 – Golden Globe-winning actress Uma Thurman (“Pulp Fiction,” “Gattaca,” “Kill Bill”)

History Highlights

1854 – Originally established as The Ashmun Institute, Lincoln University receives its charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, becoming the first degree-granting college in the U.S. founded solely for African-American students.

1945 – U.S. military forces liberate the Dachau concentration camp in Nazi Germany. More than 188,000 prisoners were incarcerated in Dachau between 1933 and 1945, and more than 28,000 died in the camp and its sub-camps.

1974 – President Richard Nixon announces that he will release edited transcripts of taped White House conversations in response to a subpoena in the Watergate scandal. The House Judiciary committee insists that he also turn over the tapes.

1986 – Pitching for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Roger Clemens sets a Major League Baseball record with 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the Seattle Mariners.

1992 – Riots erupt across Los Angeles after four LAPD officers are acquitted in the beating of unarmed African American motorist Rodney King. Protesters in south-central L.A. block freeway traffic, wreck and loot shops and set more than 100 fires. The rioting continues for five days and sparks a national conversation about racial and economic disparities and police brutality — a debate still raging today.

2004 – The National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C. It honors the 16 million people who served as part of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, including more than 400,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

2004 – General Motors’ last Oldsmobile rolls off a Lansing, Michigan assembly line, marking the end of America’s oldest automotive brand. The final model is an Alero GLS sedan, which factory workers signed under the hood.

2011 – Great Britain’s Prince William marries his longtime girlfriend, Catherine “Kate” Middleton, at Westminster Abbey in London. An estimated two billion people around the world watch the ceremony on television.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Frank Sinatra and daughter Nancy maintain their hold on No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart with “Somethin’ Stupid.” The duet remains a chart-topper for four weeks.

1969 – On his 70th birthday, jazz legend Duke Ellington receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Richard Nixon in the East Room of the White House. Nixon concludes the presentation by playing the piano and singing.

1970 – George Harrison tells reporters that The Beatles will reunite eventually and announces plans for his first post-Beatles solo album.

1976 – Bruce Springsteen wraps up a concert performance in Memphis as part of his “Born to Run” tour and he and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt decide to pay their idol, Elvis Presley, a visit at his Graceland estate. Security guards escort Springsteen off the grounds after he jumps the gate and runs toward the front door. The King was not home at the time.

1978 – Topping the singles chart for the seventh consecutive week: The Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1989 – Madonna has the No. 1 single with “Like a Prayer,” from her album of the same name.

1993 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Barry White appears in the “Whacking Day” episode of the animated series “The Simpsons.” As White sings, Bart and Lisa place loudspeakers on the ground to lure snakes away from Springfield residents trying to kill them as part of Whacking Day tradition.

1995 – “This Is How We Do It,” by Montell Jordan, is in the midst of a seven-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2000 – “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, is in the middle of a 10-week domination of the singles chart.

2006 – Daniel Powter owns the top spot on the pop chart with “Bad Day.”

On This Day April 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1452 – Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci (d. 1519)

1933 – Country music singer-guitarist and former “Hee Haw” host Roy Clark (d. 2018)

1933 – Actress Elizabeth Montgomery (“Bewitched”) (d. 1995)

1951 – “Hints From Heloise” columnist Heloise Bowles Cruse (d. 1977)

1959 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Emma Thompson (“Howard’s End,” “The Remains of the Day,” “In the Name of the Father,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Nanny McPhee,” “Saving Mr. Banks”)

1982 – Actor Seth Rogen (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” “Funny People,” “This Is The End,” “The Long Shot”, “The Disaster Artist”)

1990 – Actress Emma Watson, best known for playing Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” movie series and Belle in the live-action adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast”

History Highlights

1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies from the gunshot wound he sustained the night before while watching a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln’s death comes only six days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army, effectively ending the American Civil War.

1912 – More than 1,500 lives are lost in the early morning hours when the luxury liner Titanic sinks after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City.

1947 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American in baseball’s major leagues when he debuts with the Brooklyn Dodgers. This becomes a landmark event not only for the sport, but for the U.S. civil rights movement.

1955 – The golden arches rise in Des Plaines, Illinois with the opening of the first McDonald’s restaurant. Customers pay just 15 cents for a hamburger. The restaurant is built for drive-through service only, with indoor seating eventually added in 1962.

1959 – Four months after leading a successful revolution in Cuba, Fidel Castro begins an 11-day U.S. visit. It comes amid escalating tensions between his regime and the American government.

1997 – On the 50 anniversary of his first Major League Baseball game, the league retires Jackie Robinson’s number, 42. Robinson becomes the only player in MLB history to have his number retired across all teams, a sign of the reverence with which he is regarded decades after leading the charge to integrate the major leagues.

2013 – Two bombs go off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and wounding more than 260 others. Four days later, after an intense manhunt, authorities capture one of the bombing suspects, 19-year-old Dzhohkar Tsarnaev. His older brother and fellow suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, dies following a shootout with police earlier that same day.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy start a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Somethin’ Stupid.” They are the only father-daughter act to ever score a chart-topping single.

1972 – Roberta Flack begins a six-week reign over the singles chart with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” The track garners her Grammy Awards for Record and Song of the Year.

1978 – “Night Fever,” by the Bee Gees, blazes through a fifth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The disco smash, from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, remains a chart-topper for nine weeks.

1989 – “She Drives Me Crazy” by the Fine Young Cannibals is the No. 1 single. The song, from the band’s “The Raw & the Cooked” album, holds the top spot for a week.

1995 – One-hit-wonder Montell Jordan kicks off seven weeks on top of the pop chart with “This Is How We Do It.”

2000 – “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, is in the second of 10 weeks as a chart-reigning single. The track, off the “Supernatural” album, goes on to won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

2006 – Daniel Powter is in the middle of five weeks on top of the singles chart with “Bad Day.”

On This Day February 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1923 – Retired U.S. Air Force General Chuck Yaeger, the first pilot to break the sound barrier

1933 – Actress Kim Novak (“Vertigo,” “The Man With the Golden Arm,” “Bell, Book and Candle”)

1934 – Golden Globe-winning actor George Segal (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” “A Touch of Class,” “Just Shoot Me,” “The Goldbergs”)

1942 – Singer-songwriter Peter Tork, best known as keyboardist and bass guitarist of The Monkees (d. 2019)

1944 – Talk show host and former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer

1944 – Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Stockard Channing (“Grease,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” “The West Wing”)

1950 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and former Genesis front man Peter Gabriel (“Solsbury Hill,” “Shock the Money,” “Sledgehammer,” “Don’t Give Up,” “Big Time,” “In Your Eyes,” “Red Rain”)

1979 – Actress Mena Suvari (“American Beauty,” “American Pie,” “Six Feet Under”)

History Highlights

1861 – Colonel Bernard Irwin becomes the first person awarded the new U.S. Medal of Honor for leading his troops in a battle against the Chiricahua Apaches during a rescue mission.

1923 – The New York Renaissance (a.k.a. “The Rens”), the first all-Black professional basketball team, is organized. It becomes one of the dominant teams of the 1920s and 1930s.

1945 – Allied firebombing raids begin against Dresden, reducing the eastern German city to rubble and flames, and causing around 25,000 deaths. The assault becomes the single most destructive bombing of World War II — including Hiroshima and Nagasaki — and has been considered controversial because Dresden was neither significant to German wartime production nor an industrial center.

1965 – Sixteen-year-old Peggy Fleming wins the ladies senior figure skating title at the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Lake Placid, New York. Fleming goes on to win Olympic gold.

1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.

2001 – “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” by director Ang Lee, earns 10 Oscar nominations, becoming the first Asian film and only the seventh foreign-language production to get a nod for Best Picture.

Musical Milestones

1914 – The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

1961 – “Calcutta,” by American bandleader and television host Lawrence Welk, begins two weeks as the No. 1 single. It becomes the most successful chart hit of Welk’s career.

1961 – Frank Sinatra launches Reprise Records in order to have more artistic freedom for his own recordings — a move that garners him the nickname “The Chairman of the Board.” Reprise later becomes the home of many influential acts, such as Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and The Beach Boys.

1967 – The Beatles release the double A-sided single “Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane” on Capitol Records in the U.S.

1971 – “One Bad Apple,” by The Osmonds, latches on to the No. 1 spot on the singles chart for five weeks.

1982 – The J. Geils Band is in the midst of a six-week stretch at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Centerfold.”

1993 – “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston, is in the midst of a 14-week ride atop the singles chart.

1999 – Monica begins a four-week hold at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Angel of Mine.”

On This Day February 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1812 – Author Charles Dickens (“David Copperfield,” “Oliver Twist,” “A Christmas Carol”) (d. 1870)

1867 – Pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder, best known for her “Little House on the Prairie” series (d. 1957)

1885 – Novelist Sinclair Lewis, the first American author to win the Nobel prize for literature (d. 1951)

1955 – Actor Miguel Ferrer (“Twin Peaks,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Traffic,” “NCIS: Los Angeles”) (d. 2017)

1960 – Emmy-winning actor James Spader (“Less Than Zero,” “The Practice,” “Boston Legal,” “The Blacklist”)

1962 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter Garth Brooks

1965 – Emmy and Grammy-winning comedian, actor, producer and “SNL” alum Chris Rock (“New Jack City,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” “Everybody Hates Chris”)

1978 – Actor-producer Ashton Kutcher (“That 70s Show,” “Dude, Where’s My Car?”, “Guess Who,” “A Lot Like Love,” “What Happens in Vegas,” “No Strings Attached,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Jobs”)

History Highlights

1812 – The most violent in a series of earthquakes near Missouri causes the Mississippi River to flow backward for several hours, a phenomenon known as a fluvial tsunami. It triggers landslides and leaves massive cracks in the ground. Research completed in 2011 determines that these powerful New Madrid earthquakes could be felt in varying intensity across a nearly 965,000-square-mile stretch of the U.S.

1979 – Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor known as the “Angel of Death,” who performed medical experiments at the Auschwitz death camps, dies of a stroke while swimming in Brazil. However, his death is not confirmed until 1985.

1984 – While in orbit 170 miles above Earth, Navy Captain Bruce McCandless becomes the first human being to fly untethered in space when he exits the space shuttle Challenger and maneuvers freely, using a rocket pack of his own design.

1986 – Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti when President Jean-Claude ”Baby Doc” Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.

1990 – The Soviet Union crumbles when the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.

1999 – Jordan’s King Hussein bin Talal, the 20th century’s longest-serving executive head of state dies, and his son Prince Abdallah bin Hussein ascends to the throne.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles are mobbed by thousands of adoring fans after landing at New York’s Kennedy Airport to start their first U.S. tour. Later in the day, they appear on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” becoming the first British rock group to perform on American television.

1970 – The No. 1 single is “Venus” by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue.

1976 – Paul Simon begins three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”

1981 – Kool & the Gang have reason to celebrate as their single, “Celebration,” tops the Billboard Hot 100.

1985 – New York Mayor Ed Koch proclaims Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “New York, New York” as the official anthem of New York City, although it was never actually made official.

1986 – Madonna clinches the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with her fifth chart-topping single, “Open Your Heart.”

1998 – Janet Jackson wraps up two weeks on top of the U.S. singles chart with “Together Again.”

2004 – OutKast concludes a nine-week domination of the U.S. pop chart with “Hey Ya!”

On This Day January 22

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Celebrity Birthdays

1931 – Soul singing sensation Sam Cooke (“You Send Me,” “Chain Gang” and “Twistin’ the Night Away”) (d. 1964)

1934 – Actor Bill Bixby (“My Favorite Martian,” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” “The Incredible Hulk”) (d. 1993)

1940 – Actor John Hurt (“A Man For All Seasons,” “Midnight Express,” “Alien,” “The Elephant Man”) (d. 2017)

1949 – Journey frontman Steve Perry

1959 – Actress Linda Blair, best known for her portrayal of the demonically possessed girl in the horror movie “The Exorcist”

1960 – INXS founding member and frontman Michael Hutchence (d. 1997)

1965 – Actress Diane Lane (“Unfaithful,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Under the Tuscan Sun,” “Man of Steel”)

1968 – Restaurateur and TV host Guy Fieri (“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”)

History Highlights

1968 – The variety show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” premieres on NBC and helps launch the acting careers of Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin and many others.

1973 – The U.S. Supreme Court delivers its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing elective abortion in all 50 states. The 7-2 ruling means that a woman’s right to privacy extends to her right to make her own medical decisions, including having an abortion.

1973 – George Foreman is crowned World Heavyweight Boxing Champion after knocking out Joe Frazier in two rounds during “The Sunshine Showdown” in Kingston, Jamaica.

1973 – Four years after completing his last term as U.S. president, Lyndon Johnson dies at his Texas ranch at the age of 64.

1998 – Mathematics professor-turned-domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski (a.k.a. “The Unabomber”) pleads guilty to federal charges in connection with his 17-year campaign of package bombings that killed three people and injured more than 20 others. He receives a life sentence.

2008 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Heath Ledger, best known for his roles in the movies “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Dark Knight,” dies from accidental intoxication by prescription drugs at the age of 28.

Musical Milestones

1963 – The Drifters enter a studio to record their classic, “On Broadway,” which climbs as high as No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 later that year. In 1978, George Benson’s cover of the hit makes it to No. 7 on the pop chart.

1966 – “The Sounds of Silence,” by Simon & Garfunkel, is the No. 1 single.

1966 – Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Nancy, steps onto the Billboard Hot 100 with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” The track marches its way to No. 1 about a month later.

1977 – Stevie Wonder is on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Wish.”

1983 – “Down Under,” by Australian band Men At Work, is mid-way through a three-week reign over the Billboard singles chart.

1994 – “All For Love” by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting is the No. 1 single. The track is from the movie “The Three Musketeers.”

2000 – Christina Aguilera has the No. 1 single with “What a Girl Wants.”

On This Day December 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1915 – Tony and Emmy-winning actor Eli Wallach (“The Misfits,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Nuts,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) (d. 2014)

1932 – Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn (“The Exorcist,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”)

1947 – Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench

1949 – Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter and actor Tom Waits (“Jersey Girl,” “Hold On,” “One From the Heart”)

1956 – Basketball Hall of Famer and former Indiana Pacers coach/legendary Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird

1979 – Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Love Song,” “King of Anything”)

History Highlights

1941 – Japanese forces launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thrusting the U.S. into World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt calls it “a date which will live in infamy.”

1963 – Decades before the DVR and years before the first Super Bowl, instant replay is used for the first time during an Army-Navy college football game. As the CBS broadcast replays Rollie Stichweh’s winning touchdown, commentator Lindsey Nelson tells viewers, “Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!”

1972 – Apollo 17 hurtles toward space, carrying a three-man crew to the last moon landing of the Apollo program.

1982 – The nation’s first execution by lethal injection takes place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Charles Brooks, Jr. was convicted of kidnapping and murdering an auto mechanic.

1993 – Colin Ferguson opens fire on a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter train after it pulls out of New York’s Penn Station, killing six and injuring 19. Other passengers overpower Ferguson when he stops to reload his pistol. The incident comes to be known as the Long Island Rail Road Massacre.

2001 – The heist film “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts, and directed by Steven Soderbergh, opens in theaters. It is a remake of the 1960 movie of the same name that starred “Rat Pack” members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., along with Angie Dickinson.

Musical Milestones

1963 – The Singing Nun begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Dominique,” which goes on to sell 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and win a Grammy for the year’s best Gospel song.

1974 – One-hit wonder Carl Douglas chops his way to the top of the singles chart with “Kung Fu Fighting.” The song, which holds at No. 1 for two weeks, sells 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1985 – “Broken Wings,” by Mr. Mister, begins two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – U2 conquer the Billboard album chart with “Achtung Baby,” featuring “One,” “Mysterious Ways,” “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and other popular tracks.

2002 – Eminem is in the midst of a 12-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose Yourself.” The track, from his “8 Mile” movie soundtrack, becomes the first rap song to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also garners Eminem two Grammys.

On This Day November 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1784 – Zachary Taylor, 12th U.S. president (d. 1850)

1868 – Ragtime composer and pianist Scott Joplin (“The Maple Leaf Rag,” “The Entertainer”) (d. 1917)

1925 – Conservative author-commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. (d. 2008)

1938 – Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar “Big O” Robertson

1941 – Original Beatles drummer Pete Best

1978 – Emmy-winning actress Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Knocked Up,” “State of Affairs”)

1990 – Actress Sarah Hyland (“Private Parts,” “Modern Family,” “Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters”)

History Highlights

1859 – “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,” a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England, and every copy sells the first day. Darwin concluded that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.”

1960 – Philadelphia Warrior Wilt Chamberlain snags 55 rebounds in a game against the Boston Celtics, setting an NBA record for the most rebounds in a single game.

1963 – Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shoots and kills accused JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the garage of Dallas police headquarters. The incident is captured on live television as media outlets cover Oswald’s transfer from the police station to a county jail.

1971 – A hijacker identifying himself as D.B. Cooper takes $200,000 in ransom money and parachutes from a Seattle-bound passenger jet flying through a thunderstorm at 10,000 feet. Cooper’s fate remains a mystery to this day.

1978 – David Letterman makes his first guest appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Musical Milestones

1950 – The musical comedy “Guys and Dolls” premieres on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre. Two years later, it spawns a film adaptation starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.

1962 – The Four Seasons, featuring Frankie Valli, are in the second week of a five-week run as Billboard chart-toppers with “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

1966 – The Beatles gather in a studio for the first time since wrapping up their U.S. summer concert tour and spend the entire day recording John Lennon’s “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

1972 – Don Kirshner’s “Rock Concert” TV show debuts, featuring Chuck Berry, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Alice Cooper.

1973 – Ringo Starr’s “Photograph” begins a week as the No. 1 single.

1979 – The Barbra Streisand-Donna Summer duet “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” kicks off two weeks as a No. 1 single.

1984 – “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” by Wham!, rules the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – Queen frontman Freddie Mercury dies of complications from AIDS exactly one day after publicly disclosing that he is HIV positive. He was 45 years old.

1997 – Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols is the defendant in an episode of TV’s “Judge Judy.” The case is a wrongful termination suit brought on by his former drummer, which Rotten wins.

2007 – Jay-Z climbs to the top of the Billboard album chart with “American Gangster,” his 10th chart-topping album. This ties the rapper to 2nd place with Elvis Presley for the most No. 1 albums. Only The Beatles have had more, with 19.

On This Day November 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1918 – Christian evangelist Billy Graham, often called “America’s pastor” (d. 2018)

1938 – Actor Barry Newman (“Vanishing Point,” “Petrocelli”)

1942 – Rock and roll singer-songwriter Johnny Rivers, whose biggest hits were “Secret Agent Man,” “Poor Side of Town”)

1943 – Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who enjoyed a string of hits in the 1970s, including “Chelsea Morning,” “Both Sides, Now” and “Big Yellow Taxi”

1967 – Grammy-winning DJ and record producer David Guetta (“Love Don’t Let Me Go,” “People Come People Go,” “Gettin’ Over You,” “When Love Takes Over”)

1970 – Documentary producer and host Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me,” “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?” “30 Days,” “Morgan Spurlock Inside Man”)

History Highlights

1944 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) is elected to an unprecedented fourth term in office, but with his physical health in decline during World War II, he dies the following April. FDR is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms.

1962 – Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt dies at the age of 78.

1962 – The morning after the California gubernatorial election, Richard Nixon concedes to incumbent Governor Pat Brown and then accuses the media of biased, campaign coverage. Nixon tells reporters that this is his last press conference, saying, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”

1980 – Moviegoers mourn the death of “The King of Cool,” actor Steve McQueen (“The Great Escape,” “Bullitt,” “The Getaway”). McQueen conquered many tough guys on screen and performed most of his own stunts, but he lost his real-life battle with mesothelioma — a rare form of lung cancer — at the age of 50.

1991 – Basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson stuns the world by announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers after testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Two and a half decades later, the three-time NBA MVP, 12-time All-Star and Olympic Gold Medalist continues to promote awareness and education about HIV/AIDS.

Musical Milestones

1951 – Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra marries his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. Six years later, they are divorced.

1964 – “Baby Love,” by The Supremes, is in the middle of four weeks as a No. 1 single. It’s a follow-up to the Motown sensation’s “Where Did Our Love Go,” which was their first chart-topper.

1969 – Paul McCartney and his family are the subject of a LIFE Magazine cover story called “The Case of the Missing Beatle: Paul is Still With Us.” Interviewed on his Scottish farm after initially chasing off the reporter, McCartney dispels rumors about his death that had been circulating around the world.

1970 – “I’ll Be There,” by The Jackson 5, is in the midst of a five-week ride atop the singles chart. It is the band’s fourth consecutive No. 1.

1981 – Hall & Oates begin a two-week run at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Private Eyes.” The single becomes the duo’s third of six career chart-toppers.

1987 – Sixteen-year-old Tiffany tops the singles chart with “I Think We’re Alone Now,” originally a hit for Tommy James & the Shondells in 1967, four years before Tiffany was born.

1992 – It’s the end of the road for Boyz II Men’s 13-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with their Grammy-winning single, “End of the Road.”

1998 – “The First Night,” by Monica, marks its last week as a No. 1 single. The track enjoys a total of five weeks as a Billboard chart-topper.

2009 – Owl City is perched at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Fireflies.”