Lebanon – Time Rewind

On This Day April 18

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On This Day March 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1751 – Fourth U.S. President and “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison (d. 1836)

1912 – Former First Lady Pat Nixon (d. 1993)

1926 – Comedian, actor, singer and former Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon host Jerry Lewis, born Joseph Levitch (d. 2017)

1941 – TV game show host Chuck Woolery (“Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection,” “Scrabble”)

1949 – Actor Erik Estrada, who rose to fame in the NBC police drama “CHiPs”

1949 – Actor Victor Garber (“Titanic,” “Alias” “Assassins,” “Argo”)

1954 – Singer-songwriter Nancy Wilson of the sibling rock duo Heart

1967 – Actress Lauren Graham (“Gilmore Girls,” “Bad Santa,” “The Pacifier,” “Because I Said So,” “Evan Almighty,” “Parenthood”)

History Highlights

1802 – President Thomas Jefferson signs legislation establishing the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York to train officers for the United States Army. The Academy’s motto is “Duty, Honor, Country.”

1850 – The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel about adultery and betrayal in colonial America, is published and vaults the struggling author to fame. The work is considered a masterpiece of American literature and a classic moral study.

1968 – American ground troops kill an estimated 300 unarmed Vietnamese villagers in what would become known as the “My Lai Massacre,” the most publicized atrocity of the Vietnam War.

1985 – Islamic militants kidnap American journalist Terry Anderson in Beirut, Lebanon and hold him hostage for nearly seven years.

2008 – The first domino falls in what comes to be known as the Great Recession — the worst panic to grip Wall Street since the Great Depression of the early 1930s. Bear Stearns, the 85-year-old investment bank, is acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. at the dramatically deflated price of $2 per share.

Musical Milestones

1968 – Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” sits on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first posthumous single in U.S. history to do so.

1970 – Motown singer Tammi Terrell — who had 10 hit duets with Marvin Gaye, including “Your Precious Love,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — dies of a brain tumor at the age of 24. Terrell’s battle with cancer began in 1967, when she collapsed in Gaye’s arms during a performance.

1974 – Terry Jacks begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Seasons in the Sun.”

1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” is in the midst of a seven-week ride as the most popular single in the U.S.

1991 – “Someday,” by Mariah Carey, is in its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

1996 – The Mariah Carey-Boyz II Men duet, “One Sweet Day,” concludes an incredible 16-week ride on top of the singles chart. The track earns Grammy nominations for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Record of the Year.

2002 – “Ain’t It Funny,” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

On this Day June 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1811 – American abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who rose to fame in with the 1851 publication of her best-selling book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (d. 1896)

1909 – Actor and folk singer Burl Ives (d. 1995)

1931 – Actress Marla Gibbs, best known for her role as the sarcastic maid in the TV sitcom “The Jeffersons”

1931 – Acclaimed Motown saxophonist and vocalist Junior Walker, born Autry DeWalt II, who led the 60s R&B band Jr. Walker & the All Stars (d. 1995)

1946 – U.S. President Donald Trump

1961 – Singer-songwriter Boy George, born George Alan O’Dowd, best known as lead singer of the 80s pop band Culture Club

1969 – Retired German tennis great Steffi Graf, who won 22 grand slam singles titles as well as Olympic gold

History Highlights

1777 – The Continental Congress passes the Flag Act, a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag becomes known as the “Stars and Stripes.”

1885 – America’s first Flag Day is celebrated when Wisconsin schoolteacher Bernard J. (B.J.) Cigrand arranges for his students to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as “Flag Birthday.” For years, Cigrand — known today as the “Father of Flag Day” — lobbied to have June 14 designated for a national celebration of the American flag. In 1948, 17 years after Cigrand’s death, President Harry S. Truman signed a Congressional Act into law, establishing a voluntary observance, but not an official national holiday.

1922 – President Warren G. Harding dedicates a memorial site in Baltimore for “Star Spangled Banner” composer Francis Scott Key, and in addressing the crowd, becomes the first U.S. president to have his voice transmitted by radio. Harding was the first president to own a radio and to have one installed in the White House.

1951 – Engineers take the wraps off the first commercial computer, the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer).

1954 – On Flag Day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Exactly two years later, he signs another measure into law officially declaring “In God We Trust” to be the nation’s official motto.

1968 – Acclaimed pediatrician and author, Dr. Benjamin Spock, an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, is convicted of aiding draft resistors. His two-year prison term is reversed on appeal in 1969, but for the rest of his life, Spock continues to engage in political protests and peace activism.

1976 – “The Gong Show,” a prime-time amateur talent contest, premieres on NBC with host Chuck Barris.

1982 – Argentina surrenders to Great Britain, ending the Falkland Islands War.

1985 – Shiite Hezbollah gunmen hijack TWA Flight 847 from Athens, Greece to Rome, forcing the plane to land in Beirut, Lebanon, where they execute a U.S. Navy diver on board.

Musical Milestones

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the midst of a five-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – “Sister Golden Hair,” by the band America, begins one week on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1975 – Janis Ian releases “At Seventeen,” which peaks at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and goes on to win a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, beating out Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John and Helen Reddy.

1980 – Billy Joel starts a six-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “Glass Houses.” It becomes Joel’s second chart-topping album and contains his first No. 1 single, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” It is nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy, but Joel wins a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

1986 – Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald begin three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their duet “On My Own.” LaBelle and McDonald really were on their own, recording their vocal parts separately. It was only after the song reached No. 1 that they met.

1994 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning composer-conductor-arranger Henry Mancini (“Moon River,” “Love Theme from Romeo And Juliet,” “The Pink Panther” and “Peter Gunn” themes) dies at the age of 70.

1995 – Some 60 million viewers tune in for Diane Sawyer’s interview with Michael Jackson and his bride, Lisa Marie Presley, on ABC’s PrimeTime Live. The widely advertised “no holds barred” interview was the first Jackson had given since being accused of child molestation by a 13-year-old boy in 1993.

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You,” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112, kicks off 11 weeks as a No. 1 single.

2003 – “21 Questions,” by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg, is in the middle of four weeks on top of the pop chart.