On This Day: March 1

On This Day March 1

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1904 – Swing bandleader, composer and arranger Glenn Miller (d. 1944)

1927 – Grammy and Tony-winning singer, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte, dubbed the “King of Calypso”

1944 – Singer-songwriter and The Who founder-frontman Roger Daltrey

1954 – Actor and Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard (“The Andy Griffith Show,” “Happy Days,” “Apollo 13,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”)

1994 – Grammy-winning pop sensation Justin Bieber 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1872 – The U.S. Congress passes an act designating Yellowstone the first federally protected national park.

1932 – In one of the most sensational criminal cases in American history, the 20-month-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh is kidnapped from the family’s Hopewell, New Jersey mansion. Despite a ransom payment, the child is never returned. Two months later, his decomposed body is found by a truck driver about four miles from the Lindbergh home. The investigation eventually leads to the arrest of German immigrant and carpenter Bruno Hauptmann, who is tried, convicted and executed for the crime in 1936.

1961 – Newly elected President John F. Kennedy signs an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. Over the years, the Peace Corps has sent nearly a quarter of a million American volunteers to 141 countries to provide local training and assistance with health, education, water, sanitation, agriculture, nutrition and forestry projects.

1969 – Legendary New York Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle announces his retirement from baseball. Nicknamed “The Mick,” he is considered one of the greatest power and switch hitters in baseball history.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – “Everyday People,” by Sly and the Family Stone, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

1973 – “The Dark Side of the Moon,” the eighth studio album by British rock band Pink Floyd, is released in the U.S. and gives us classics including “Money” and “Us and Them.” It remains on the Billboard album chart for an incredible 937 weeks (18 years).

1974 – Olivia Newton-John wins Record of the Year and Best Pop Female Vocal Performance Grammys for “I Honestly Love You.”

1975 – The Eagles soar to the top of the singles chart with their first No. 1 single: “Best of My Love.”

1986 – Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie,” from the band’s “Welcome to the Real World” album, begins two weeks as a No. 1 single. 

1997 – The Spice Girls’ debut single, “Wannabe,” is in the middle of a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. The track also goes on to top the pop charts in the band’s native U.K. and 20 other countries.

2003 – Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J wrap up four weeks as chart-toppers with “All I Have.”

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On this Day: August 19

On this Day August 19

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1871 – Aviation pioneer Orville Wright (d. 1948)

1883 –  French fashion designer Coco Chanel (d. 1971)

1921 – “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry (d. 1991) 

1940 – Singer-songwriter Johnny Nash, best known for his 1972 smash “I Can See Clearly Now” (d.2020)

1940 – Actress Jill St. John, born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim (“The Lost World,” “Come Blow Your Horn,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Sitting Target”)

1946 – Bill Clinton, 42nd U.S. president

1947 – Actor Gerald McRaney (“Simon & Simon,” “Major Dad,” “Promised Land,” “Jericho,” “House of Cards”)

1955 – Actor Peter Gallagher (“Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “The Player,” “While You Were Sleeping,” “The O.C.,” “Covert Affairs”)

1963 – Actor John Stamos (“General Hospital,” “Full House,” “Fuller House,” “ER,” “Jake in Progress,” “Necessary Roughness”)

1965 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Kyra Sedgwick (“Singles,” “Heart and Souls,” “Something to Talk About,” “Phenomenon,” “The Closer”)

1965 – Actor Kevin Dillon (“Platoon,” “No Escape,” “Entourage”)

1966 – Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack (“I Hope You Dance,” “Something Worth Leaving Behind,” “I May Hate Myself In the Morning”)

1969 – Actor-producer Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit TV sitcom “Friends”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1909 – The first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before a crowd of 12,000. Austrian driver Louis Schwitzer wins the five-lap event behind the wheel of a Stoddard-Dayton traveling at an average speed of 57.4 miles per hour.

1960 – A Soviet military court sentences American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers to 10 years in prison for spying. Powers had pleaded guilty to spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after his plane was shot down at high altiitude above the Soviet Union.

1969 – Some 8,000 volunteers begin a massive cleanup of Max Yasgur’s Bethel, New York dairy farm after nearly half a million people leave the muddy, garbage-strewn site of the iconic Woodstock music festival. Decades later, archaeologists begin digging up remnants of the event.

1977 – Beloved, cigar-chomping comedian Groucho Marx dies at the age of 86. A member of the comedic Marx Brother,  he spent nearly seven decades making people laugh with his snappy one-liners and sharp wit. 

1981 – ABC airs its final episode of “Charlie’s Angels” after a five-year run. The detective series starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Beatles have their 14th No. 1 single with “All You Need Is Love.”

1972 – Gilbert O’Sullivan begins his fourth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Alone Again (Naturally).”

1978 – “Three Times a Lady,” by The Commodores featuring Lionel Richie, begins its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single is the band’s first No. 1 hit and garners two Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus.

1989 – Richard Marx is in the midst of a three-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Right Here Waiting” — his third consecutive chart-topper.

1995 – TLC’s “Waterfalls” wraps up a seven-week domination of the singles chart. The music video goes on to win four MTV Video Music Awards.

2000 – “Incomplete,” by American R&B artist Sisqó, tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

2006 – Fergie kicks off three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “London Bridge.”

2017 – “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, is in the midst of a 16-week domination of the U.S. pop chart.

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