Haiti – Time Rewind

On This Day February 29

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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 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1876 – Author Jack London (“The Call of the Wild,” “White Fang”) (d. 1916)

1944 – Retired World Heavyweight Boxing champion Joe Frazier (d. 2011)

1951 – Conservative talk show host and Radio Hall of Famer Rush Limbaugh (d. 2021)

1951 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Kirstie Alley (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Cheers,” “Shoot to Kill,” “Look Who’s Talking”) (d. 2022)

1954 – Radio shock jock and former “America’s Got Talent” judge Howard Stern

History Highlights

1904 – Driving his “999” Arrow Racer, automotive pioneer Henry Ford sets a land speed record of 91.37 miles per hours on the frozen surface of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair.

1926 – The two-man comedy series “Sam ‘n’ Henry” debuts on Chicago radio station WGN. Two years later, after changing its name to “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” the show becomes one of the most popular radio programs in American history.

1932 – Hattie Wyatt Caraway, an Arkansas Democrat, becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1966 – The “Batman” television series debuts on ABC, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Episodes feature acclaimed guest stars playing the various villains that battle Batman for supremacy over Gotham City.

1969 – In the most celebrated performance of his prolific career, quarterback Joe Namath leads the New York Jets to a stunning 16-7 victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami.

1971 – The groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” premieres on CBS, about a working-class Queens, New York family grappling with various social issues. It stars Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, Jean Stapleton as his wife, Edith, Sally Struthers as their daughter, Gloria, and Rob Reiner as their son-in-law, Michael (“Meathead”). The show was the brainchild of acclaimed writer-producer Norman Lear.

1981 – A three-hour television movie serves as ABC’s pilot for the prime-time soap opera “Dynasty,” starring John Forsythe as oil tycoon Blake Carrington, Linda Evans as his wife, Crystal, and Joan Collins as Alexis, Carrington’s scheming ex-wife and business rival.

2010 – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The quake — the strongest to strike the region in more than 200 years — leaves about 250,000 people dead and some 895,000 Haitians homeless.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Go Away Little Girl,” by Steve Lawrence, begins two weeks on top of the singles chart.

1974 – Jim Croce starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.”

1974 – The Steve Miller Band has the No. 1 single in the U.S. with “The Joker,” off the album of the same name.

1980 – “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” by Rupert Holmes, is the most popular single in the U.S.

1985 – “Like a Virgin,” by Madonna, is in the middle of six-weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1991 – Madonna rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Justify My Love.”

2002 – “How You Remind Me,” by Nickelback, begins its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2003 – Maurice Gibb of the celebrated musical trio, the Bee Gees, dies of a heart attack at the age of 53 after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery at a Miami hospital.

2013 – The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury until his 1991 death sells at auction for £74,000 to a Russian businessman.