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On this Day August 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. president (d. 1964)

1928 – Grammy-winning country music singer and Jimmy Dean Sausage Co. founder Jimmy Dean (d. 2010)

1928 – Popular 50s singer-entertainer Eddie Fisher (“Thinking of You,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Oh My Pa-Pa)” (d. 2010)

1950 – Grammy-winning R&B, jazz and pop vocalist Patti Austin (“Every Home Should Have One,” “Do You Love Me,” “Baby, Come to Me”)

1959 – Actress Rosanna Arquette (“Desperately Seeking Susan,”  “Pulp Fiction,” “Crash”)

1960 – Actor-director-producer Antonio Banderas (“Assassins,” “Evita,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “Philadelphia,” “Desperado,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Spy Kids,” “Shrek,” “Puss in Boots”)

1972 – Actress-model Angie Harmon (“Baywatch Nights,” “Law & Order,” “Rizzoli & Isles”)

History Highlights

1846 – The Smithsonian Institution is founded in Washington, D.C. as an establishment dedicated to the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

1948 – The first reality TV show premieres before most Americans even own a TV. “Candid Camera,” with host Allen Funt, filmed pranks as they played out on unsuspecting victims who often didn’t realize they were being duped until they heard the show’s tagline: “Smile! You’re on Candid Camera.”

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act into law,  paving the way for a major expansion of federal housing programs.

1977 – After terrorizing New York City for more than a year, serial killer David Berkowitz — the self-proclaimed “Son of Sam” — is arrested. 

1978 –  Three teenage girls die after their 1973 Ford Pinto is rammed from behind by a van and bursts into flames on an Indiana highway. The fatal crash is one of a series of Pinto fires caused by rear-end collisions and the vehicle’s improperly designed fuel tank that eventually leads to a massive recall by Ford and at least one multi-million-dollar lawsuit.

1993 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second female U.S. Supreme Court Justice. 

Musical Milestones

1963 – ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder is just 13 when “Fingertips Part 2” reaches the top of the Billboard singles chart and holds there for three weeks. He becomes the youngest musician ever with a No. 1 hit.

1974 – “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” by Roberta Flack, tops the pop chart. Later, it receives three Grammy nominations.

1976 – Elton John plays the first of 10 sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The $1.25 million generated from the shows breaks a record set by The Rolling Stones in 1975.

1985 – “Shout,” by Tears For Fears, is midway through a three-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” by Bryan Adams, is the No. 1 single. It appears on the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” soundtrack.

2002 – In her third marriage, Lisa Marie Presley ties the knot with actor Nicolas Cage at a resort in Hawaii. Presley was previously married to musician Danny Keough and pop sensation Michael Jackson. Cage files for divorce four months later.

2008 – Soul singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes dies of a stroke at his home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 65. Hayes won an Oscar for the 1971 smash “Theme From Shaft” and was the voice of Chef from the animated TV series “South Park.”

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