On This Day: March 12

On This Day March 12

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1922 – Beat Generation poet and novelist Jack Kerouac (d. 1969)

1940 – Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Al Jarreau (“We’re in This Love Together,” “Moonlighting” TV theme) (d. 2017)

1946 – Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning singer-actress Liza Minnelli (“Cabaret,” “Lucky Lady,” “New York, New York,” “Arthur”)

1947 – Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney

1948 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor (“Fire and Rain,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Shower the People”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1912 – Juliette Gordon Low gathers 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, to share what she had learned abroad about a new outdoor and educational program for youth. She names the group the “Girl Guides” with a mission to embrace, together, their individuality, strength and intellect, and the Girl Scout movement is born. Today, that group is known as the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

1930 – Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi begins a march to the sea in protest of the British monopoly on salt, his boldest act of civil disobedience yet against British rule in India.

1933 – One week after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation by radio from the White House in the first of his Sunday evening “fireside chats.” With nearly all U.S. banks temporarily closed in response to mass withdrawals by a panicked public, Roosevelt calms fears and outlines his plan to restore confidence in the banking system.

1947 – President Harry S. Truman establishes the “Truman Doctrine” to aid in the containment of Communism.

1968 – Oil is discovered in Prudhoe Bay—a remote region along Alaska’s northernmost coast.

1989 – Computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee submits his first proposal for an “information management system” that leads to development of the “World Wide Web” and ultimately revolutionizes global communication and human interaction.

1993 – One day after her Senate confirmation, Janet Reno is sworn in as the first female U.S. Attorney General.

2020 – New York’s famed Broadway theater district goes dark for 32 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure ends up being extended to the end of May 2021, resulting in billions of dollars in tourism losses.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1955 – Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker dies of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 34. Cause of death is determined to be lobar pneumonia and the devastating effects of long-term substance abuse.

1966 – “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” by Cher, premieres on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first solo Top 5 hit. It ultimately reaches No. 2.

1969 – The Temptations become the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award — Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance for “Cloud Nine, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – “Anything For You,” the first of three No. 1 hits for Gloria Estefan, debuts on the singles charts.

1988 – Rick Astley kicks off two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It is the first of Astley’s two career chart-toppers.

1994 – “The Sign,” by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for four weeks.

2007 – Amy Winehouse makes her American television debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” performing “Rehab.” The song goes on to win three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. 

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On This Day: February 17

On This Day February 17

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Actor Hal Holbrook (“Mark Twain Tonight,” “Designing Women,” “The Firm”)

1954 – Actress Rene Russo (“Lethal Weapon 3,” “Ransom,” “The Thomas Crown Affair”)

1962 – Actor Lou Diamond Phillips (“La Bamba,” “Stand and Deliver,” “Courage Under Fire,” “Che,” “The 33”)

1963 – Basketball legend Michael Jordan

1963 – Comedian-actor Larry the Cable Guy, born Daniel Whitney (“Blue Collar Comedy Tour,” “Cars”) 

1965 – Director Michael Bay (“The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Transformers”)

1972 – Singer-songwriter and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong 

1974 – Actor Jerry O’Connell (“Stand By Me,” “Sliders,” “Crossing Jordan”) 

1981 – Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“3rd Rock From the Sun,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Premium Rush,” “Looper,” “The Walk”)

1981 – Socialite, model and actress Paris Hilton 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1801 – Thomas Jefferson is elected the third president of the United States. The election constitutes the first peaceful transfer of power from one U.S. political party to another. In addition to drafting the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson had served in two Continental Congresses, was minister to France and secretary of state under George Washington and had served as John Adams’ vice president.

1933 – Newsweek magazine is published for the first time (called News-Week at the time), featuring cover stories about German dictator Adolf Hitler and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. A copy sells for 10 cents.

1947 – The Voice of America (VOA) begins to transmit radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union.

1972 – President Richard Nixon leaves Washington on a peace mission to the People’s Republic of China, becoming the first U.S. president to do so.

1974 – Disgruntled U.S. Army Private Robert K. Preston buzzes the White House in a stolen military helicopter. Secret Service agents fire on the chopper, forcing it to land on the South Lawn. Preston suffers minor injuries and is quickly arrested. President and Mrs. Richard Nixon were away at the time.

1979 – Garrison Keillor’s popular radio variety show, “A Prairie Home Companion” premieres on National Public Radio (NPR). The broadcast originated from Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.

1996 – In the final game of a six-game match, world chess champion Garry Kasparov triumphs over Deep Blue, IBM’s chess-playing computer, and wins the match, 4-2. However, Deep Blue defeats Kasparov in a heavily publicized rematch the following year.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1904 – Giacomo Puccini’s opera, “Madame Butterfly,” premieres at the La Scala theater in Milan, Italy.

1962 – Gene Chandler carries the 50s doo-wop sound into the 60s as “Duke of Earl” launches a three-week run on top of the Billboard pop chart.

1967 – The Beatles begin recording “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite” at Abbey Road Studios in London. The carnival-sounding track is on the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album.

1971 – James Taylor makes his American television debut on “The Johnny Cash Show.” Other guests include Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt and Tony Joe White.

1975 – AC/DC release their debut album, “High Voltage,” in their native Australia. About a year later, a slightly different version of the album is released internationally.

1996 – The Mariah Carey-Boyz II Men duet, “One Sweet Day,” is in the middle of a 16-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. 

2001 – “Ms. Jackson,” by OutKast, grabs the No. 1 spot on the pop chart for a week. The track goes on to win a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. 

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On This Day: November 3

On This Day November 3

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1921 – “Tough guy” actor Charles Bronson (“The Magnificent Seven,” “The Great Escape,” “The Dirty Dozen,” “The Mechanic,” “Death Wish”) (d. 2003)

1933 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning film composer John Barry (“Midnight Cowboy,” “Out of Africa,” “Dances With Wolves” and many more) (d. 2011)

1952 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress-comedian Roseanne Barr, best known for her hit comedy series “Roseanne”

1953 – Actress Kate Capshaw, who met her husband, director Steven Spielberg, while working on the movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”

1953 – Comedian, “SNL” alum and political commentator Dennis Miller

1954 – New wave musician Adam Ant (“Antmusic,” “Goody Two Shoes”)

1957 – Swedish actor, director and martial artist Dolph Lundgren, best known for playing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV” and Gunner Jensen in “The Expendables”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1903 – With the support of the U.S. government, Panama declares its independence from Colombia.

1948 – The Chicago Tribune mistakenly declares New York Governor Thomas Dewey winner of the presidential race against incumbent Harry S. Truman in a front-page headline: “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Truman had actually defeated Dewey by 114 electoral votes.

1957 – The Soviet Union ups the ante in the Space Race by launching Sputnik 2. On board the spacecraft is a dog named Laika that becomes the first living animal in space.

1964 – In one of the most crushing victories in the history of U.S. presidential elections, incumbent Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) defeats Republican challenger Barry Goldwater, Sr.

1969 – A group of local educational TV stations unites under the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) banner. There are more than 345 PBS stations in the U.S. today.

1976 – Based on a Stephen King novel, the horror film “Carrie,” starring Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, and directed by Brian De Palma, opens in U.S. theaters.

2014 – One World Trade Center officially opens in Manhattan. The 104-story, 1,776-foot-high tower is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and replaces the Twin Towers, which were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – “He’s a Rebel,” by The Crystals, begins a two-week ride on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1967 – The filming of “Magical Mystery Tour” wraps, with sequences for George Harrison’s song, “Blue Jay Way,” shot at Ringo Starr’s house with Ringo himself directing.

1972 – James Taylor and Carly Simon are married by a judge in Simon’s Manhattan apartment, beginning an 11-year marriage. That evening, Simon joins Taylor on stage at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and announces their union to a cheering audience.

1979 – One-hit wonder M has the most popular single in the U.S. with “Pop Muzik,” a song credited with ushering in the new wave era.

1984 – Billy Ocean starts a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run).”

1990 – Vanilla Ice owns the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Ice Ice Baby” — the first No. 1 hip hop single. The track is constructed on the bassline of “Under Pressure,” by Queen and David Bowie.

2001 – “Family Affair” becomes Mary J. Blige’s first No. 1 single. It holds the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.

2007 – “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” by Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em, enters its seventh and final week as a No. 1 single.

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On this Day: July 31

On this Day July 31

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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.

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