Hong Kong – Time Rewind

On This Day January 9

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On This Day December 19

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Celebrity Birthdays

1915 – Internationally acclaimed French cabaret singer-songwriter and actress Edith Piaf, who became widely regarded as France’s national chanteuse (d. 1963)

1924 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Cicely Tyson (“Sounder,” “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” “The Help”)

1944 – Paleoanthropologist-conservationist Richard Leakey

1957 – Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin McHale

1963 – Actress Jennifer Beals (“Flashdance,” “Devil in a Blue Dress,” “Four Rooms,” “The Chicago Code”)

1972 – Actress Alyssa Milano (“Who’s the Boss?” “Melrose Place,” “Charmed,” “Mistresses”)

1980 – Actor Jake Gyllenhaal (“October Sky,” “Donnie Darko,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Jarhead,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Zodiac,” “Nightcrawler,” “Southpaw”)

History Highlights

1732 – Benjamin Franklin begins publishing “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” The book, filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, is published continuously for 25 years and becomes one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.

1843 – Charles Dickens publishes his Christmas classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Originally titled “A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas,” the first edition sells out by Christmas Eve. By the end of 1844, 13 editions had been released. The work continues to be printed and sold nearly 200 years later and has been adapted countless times for film, stage, opera and other media, including a video game.

1903 – New Yorkers celebrate the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge, the second and largest of three steel-frame suspension bridges crossing the East River.

1917 – The National Hockey League (NHL) opens its first season with two games. At the time, the league consists of five franchises: the Canadiens and the Wanderers (both of Montreal), the Ottawa Senators, the Quebec Bulldogs and the Toronto Arenas (known at the time as the Toronto Hockey Club).

1972 – NASA’S Apollo manned lunar-landing program ends as the last three astronauts to travel to the moon safely splash down in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo 17 had blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, 10 days earlier.

1984 – The British government signs an agreement to return Hong Kong to China in 1997.

1997 – Director James Cameron’s epic drama “Titanic” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The film becomes a box office smash and goes on to capture 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

1998 – President Bill Clinton is impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by a divided House of Representatives, which recommends virtually along party lines that the Senate remove the nation’s 42d president from office. Clinton vows to finish his term.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Diana Ross & The Supremes score their third No. 1 single of 1964 with “Come See About Me,” which holds the top spot for a week.

1970 – Elton John’s first U.S. hit, “Your Song,” from the “Elton John” album, enters the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it eventually climbs to No. 8.

1979 – Elvis Presley’s personal physician, George Nichopoulos, is charged with ‘illegally and indiscriminately’ prescribing more than 12,000 uppers, downers and painkillers for the star during the 20 months preceding his untimely death.

1981 – Olivia Newton-John is in the middle of a 10-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Physical.”

1987 – George Michael is in the middle of a four-week domination of the pop chart with “Faith.”

1992 – “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston, starts its fourth week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for a total of 14 weeks.

2000 – Roebuck “Pops” Staples, gospel singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Staple Singers, dies at age 85. The group had hits including “I’ll Take You There,” “Respect Yourself” and “Let’s Do It Again” in the 1970s.

2009 – “Empire State of Mind,” by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys, rules the singles chart.

On this Day July 1

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Celebrity Birthdays

1908 – Beautician-business executive Estée Lauder (d. 2004)

1934 – Actor Jamie Farr, who played Klinger in the hit TV sitcom “M*A*S*H”

1939 – Actress Karen Black (“Easy Rider,” “Five Easy Pieces,” ”Family Plot”) (d. 2013)

1945 – Singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Harry, former lead singer of the new wave band Blondie (“Heart of Glass,” “Call Me,” “The Tide Is High,” “Rapture”)

1952 – Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd (“Saturday Night Live,” “The Blues Brothers,” “Trading Places,” “Ghostbusters,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Coneheads,” “Tommy Boy”)

1961 – U.S. Olympic track and field champion Carl Lewis

1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)

1967 – Actress-model Pamela Anderson (“Baywatch,” “Dancing with the Stars”)

1971 – Grammy-winning rapper Missy Elliott (“The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” “Sock It 2 Me,” “Get Ur Freak On,” “One Minute Man,” “4 My People,” “Gossip Folks,” “Work It”)

1977 – Actress Liv Tyler (“Armageddon,” “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy, “Jersey Girl,” “The Strangers,” “The Incredible Hulk”)

History Highlights

1963 – The U.S. Postal Service introduces the five-digit Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code to make mail delivery more efficient. A cartoon character named Mr. ZIP is used to help market it.

1979 – After the boombox, music becomes even more portable as Sony rolls out the Walkman, originally called the “Sound-About.” It retails for $200.

1984 – The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) institutes the PG-13 rating, strongly recommending parental guidance for moviegoers age 13 or younger. Red Dawn, starring Patrick Swayze, is the first movie to receive that rating.

1991 – “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, premieres. In this sequel to the original “The Terminator,” the Schwarzenegger character is transformed from villain to savior.

1992 – “A League of Their Own,” starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell and directed by Penny Marshall, opens in theaters.

1997 – Actor Robert Mitchum, best remembered for his roles in such films as “The Story of G.I. Joe,” “Crossfire,” “Out of the Past,” “The Night of the Hunter” and “Cape Fear,” dies at 79.

1997 – At the stroke of midnight, Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

2004 – Legendary actor and Oscar winner Marlon Brando, best remembered for performances in “On the Waterfront,” “The Godfather,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Viva Zapata!,” “Julius Caesar,” ““The Wild One,” “Last Tango in Paris,” and “Apocalypse Now,” dies at the age of 80.

Musical Milestones

1967 – “Windy,” by The Association, blows its way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remains there for four weeks.

1972 – Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” is the No. 1 single. The track is nominated for two Grammys in 1973 — Record of the Year and Song of the Year — but those honors ultimately go to Roberta Flack for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

1989 – Milli Vanilli score the first of three No. 1 singles with “Baby Don’t Forget My Number,” off the “Girl You Know It’s True” album, which paves the way for a Best New Artist Grammy. However, a lip-syncing scandal forces the duo to surrender the award a year and a half later.

1995 – Legendary disk jockey Wolfman Jack, beloved for his signature raspy voice and on-air howls, dies of a heart attack at the age of 57.

2000 – “Be With You,” by Enrique Iglesias, is in the middle of three weeks atop the singles chart.

2006 – Taylor Hicks, who won the fifth season of “American Idol,” conquers the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Do I Make You Proud.”