On This Day: March 15

On This Day March 15

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1933 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to be appointed to the position (d. 2020)

1935 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor Judd Hirsch (“Taxi,” “Ordinary People,” “Independence Day,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Numb3rs, “Forever,” “Superior Donuts”)

1941 – Singer-songwriter Mike Love of The Beach Boys

1959 – Male supermodel Fabio, born Fabio Lanzoni

1963 – Poison lead singer and reality TV star Bret Michaels

1975 – Actress and director/producer Eva Longoria (“The Young and the Restless,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Harsh Times,” “The Sentinel,” “Over Her Dead Body,” “Overboard”)

1975 – Grammy-winning rapper and The Black Eyed Peas founder/frontman Will.i.am, born William Adams 

History Highlights
History Highlights

44 B.C.  – Caught in an ambush, Roman dictator Julius Caesar is stabbed to death by a group of his own senators. March 15 of 44 B.C. is known as the “Ides of March” in the Roman calendar.

1820 – As part of the Missouri Compromise between the U.S. North and South, Maine is admitted as the 23rd state in the Union.

1965 – Just days after a deadly police assault on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses a historic joint session of Congress to urge passage of legislation guaranteeing equal voting rights for all Americans. Congress passes the Voting Rights Act that summer, and Johnson signs the measure into law on August 6, 1965.

1970 – Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins becomes the first defenseman in NHL history to score 100 points in a season, after scoring four goals in one game against the Detroit Red Wings. 

1975 – “Funny Lady,” starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan and Omar Sharif, opens in movie theaters. It is the sequel to the 1968 musical film, “Funny Girl,” the story of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice.

1977 – The sitcom “Three’s Company” debuts on ABC, starring John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers. It runs until 1984.

1988 – “The Wonder Years” premieres on ABC and runs for six seasons. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous late 1960s, the series follows a suburban American family, focusing on the growing pains of youngest son Kevin, played by Fred Savage. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 –  “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” The Beatles’ first No. 1 single in the U.S., begins its seventh and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 only to be replaced by The Beatles’ second No. 1 hit: “She Loves You.”

1969 – “Dizzy,” by Tommy Roe, starts a four-week run as the No. 1 single.

1975 – The Doobie Brothers rule the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Black Water,” from their “What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits” album.

1980 – Queen wraps up a four-week run on top of the pop chart with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” the band’s first No. 1 U.S. hit.

1986 – “Sara,” by Starship, tops the singles chart for a week. The track is one of two No. 1 hits from the band’s “Knee Deep in the Hoopla” album. The other is “We Built This City.”

1997 – The Spice Girls’ debut single, “Wannabe,” marks its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It becomes the best-selling single ever by a female group.

1999 – Bruce Springsteen is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by U2 frontman Bono.

2003 – 50 Cent scores his first No. 1 single with “In da Club.” The track holds the top spot for nine weeks.

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On This Day: September 12

On This Day September 12

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – U.S. Olympic track and field legend Jesse Owens, known as “The Buckeye Bullet” (d. 1980)

1931 – Country music singer George Jones (d. 2013)

1940 – Actress Linda Gray, who played Sue Ellen Ewing in the TV series “Dallas”

1943 – Singer-songwriter Maria Muldaur, best known for her 1974 smash “Midnight at the Oasis”

1944 – Grammy-winning soul singer-songwriter and producer Barry White (d. 2003)

1951 – Actor Joe Pantoliano (“Risky Business,” “The Matrix,” “The Sopranos”) 

1973 – Actor Paul Walker, best remembered for his role in “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise (d. 2013)

1980 – Retired NBA/Houston Rockets star center and Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming

1981 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning singer-actress Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls,” “Sex and the City,” “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Winnie Mandela”) 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1940 – Four teenagers stumble upon prehistoric cave paintings while following their dog into a cavern near Montignac, France. The site, consisting primarily of animal renderings, is known as the Lascaux grotto. 

1953 – In what is considered the “social event of the season,” Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts marries Washington Times-Herald photographer Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. Kennedy is elected the 35th president of the United States seven years later.

1974 – Violence erupts in the streets of Boston on the first day of school over court-ordered busing intended to integrate the public schools. One student describes the experience as resembling “a war zone.”

1977 – Anti-Apartheid leader Steven Biko dies from head trauma suffered during a police beating days earlier. 

1978 – The sitcom “Taxi,” starring Judd Hirsch and Danny DeVito, premieres on ABC.

1992 – Best known for his role as the murderous Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho,” actor Anthony Perkins dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at age 60.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – The Animals rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “The House of the Rising Sun,” which also makes it to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.

1966 – With a blend of comedy and music, “The Monkees” TV show debuts on NBC and runs for nearly two years. 

1970 – “War,” by Edwin Starr, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1981 – The Diana Ross-Lionel Richie duet “Endless Love” is midway through a nine-week run as the No. 1 single.

1987 – Michael Jackson kicks off his Bad World Tour by playing the first of three sold-out shows in Tokyo, Japan. By the end of the tour, the King of Pop had performed for more than four million fans during 123 concerts in 15 countries.

1998 – Aerosmith’s single, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” from the movie “Armageddon,” tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week.

2003 – The “Man in Black,” country music legend Johnny Cash, dies in Nashville of complications from diabetes at the age of 71.  Cash was one of country music’s biggest stars throughout the ’50s and ’60s, scoring more than 100 hit singles.

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