Library of Congress – Time Rewind

On This Day February 15

Click each item below to learn more!

On This Day February 12

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1809 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president (d. 1865)

1809 – Scientist Charles Darwin, who laid the foundations for the theory of evolution in his book, “The Origin of Species” (d. 1882)

1915 – Radio announcer-turned-actor and singer Lorne Greene, best know as Ben Cartwright in the TV western “Bonanza,” and Commander Adama in the sci-fi TV series “Battlestar Galactica” (d. 1987)

1923 – Director-producer Franco Zeffirelli, known for his Shakespeare film adaptations, including “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Romeo and Juliet” (d. 2019)

1934 – Five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships from 1957 to 1969

1938 – Best-selling author Judy Blume, known for her children’s books and young-adult novels, including “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”

1952 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and former Doobies Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald

1956 – Actor, comedian and former talk show host Arsenio Hall

1968 – Actor Josh Brolin (“The Goonies,” “No Country For Old Men,” “W,” “Milk,” “Men in Black 3,” “Hail, Caesar!”, “Deadpool 2”, “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Once Upon A Deadpool”, “Avengers: Endgame”, )

1980 – Actress Christina Ricci (“The Addams Family,” “Casper,” “The Ice Storm,” “The Opposite of Sex,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Monster,” “Pan Am”)

History Highlights

1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. It is America’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization.

1976 – Oscar-nominated actor Sal Mineo (“Rebel Without a Cause,” “Giant,” “Exodus,” “The Longest Day”) is stabbed to death outside his West Hollywood apartment at the age of 37. It takes authorities more than two years to arrest Lionel Williams, who is convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison.

1986 – After spending eight years in Soviet prisons and labor camps, human rights activist Anatoly (Natan) Scharansky is released. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan brokered the amnesty deal at a summit meeting three months earlier.

1999 – The five-week impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton comes to an end, with the Senate voting to acquit Clinton on both articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice.

2002 – Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. The trial drags on for four years until Milosevic is found dead of a heart attack in his prison cell at the age of 64.

2008 – Struggling auto giant General Motors (GM) attempts to cut costs by offering buyouts to all 74,000 of its U.S. hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

2008 – Hollywood’s longest work stoppage since 1988 ends when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) overwhelmingly vote to go back to work following a 100-day walkout. The strike crippled the production of countless TV shows and cost the California economy more than $2 billion. It also gave rise to more reality TV programming that required little or no scripting.

Musical Milestones

1955 – “Sincerely,” by the McGuire Sisters, tops the singles chart and stays there for 10 weeks.

1966 – Petula Clark marks her second and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “My Love.”

1972 – “Let’s Stay Together,” by Al Green, kicks off a week as the No. 1 single. In 2010, the Library of Congress adds it to the National Recording Registry, which collects recordings deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

1977 – Barbra Streisand begins six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with the soundtrack to “A Star Is Born.” The track “Evergreen,” which becomes a No. 1 hit, garners a Best Original Song Oscar for Streisand and composer Paul Williams, as well as Grammys for Song of the Year and Female Pop Vocal Performance.

1983 – Men At Work’s “Down Under” climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second time, marking its fourth and final week as a chart-topper. The track is among two No. 1 hits off the Aussie band’s “Business As Usual” album.

1994 – “The Power of Love” by Céline Dion begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2012 – Adele wins all six Grammy Award categories for which she was nominated. The British singer captures Song of the Year for “Rolling In the Deep” and receives Grammys for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Someone Like You” and Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for “21.”

On This Day September 16

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Tony and Golden Globe-winning actress Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske (“To Have and have Not,” “The Big Sleep,” “Key Largo,” “How to Marry a Millionaire, “Designing Woman,” “The Mirror Has Two Faces”) (d. 2014)

1925 – Legendary blues artist B.B. King (d. 2015)

1949 – Actor Ed Begley, Jr. (“St. Elsewhere,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “Six Feet Under”)

1952 – Golden Globe-winning actor Mickey Rourke (“Diner,” “Angel Heart,” “Sin City,” “The Wrestler”)

1953 – Grammy-winning jazz fusion guitarist Earl Klugh

1956 – Illusionist David Copperfield

1968 – Singer-songwriter Marc Anthony

1971 – Actress, comedian and “Saturday Night Live” alum Amy Poehler

1992 – Pop singer-songwriter and actor Nick Jonas (Jonas Brothers)

History Highlights

1908 – Auto giant General Motors (GM) is founded By William “Billy” Durant, a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages in Flint, Michigan.

1919 – The American Legion is incorporated by an act of Congress. It was established to support and assist veterans returning from World War I, but has since grown to support veterans of all wars and veterans of peacetime as well.

1920 – A bombing in New York’s financial district kills 38 people and injures nearly 200 others, becoming the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history until the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. While those responsible were never found, the so-called “Wall Street Bombing” was thought to be the work of communist agitators associated with the Bolshevik Revolution.

1932 – Civil rights crusader Mohandas Gandhi begins a six-day hunger strike in his Bombay, India prison cell to protest the British government’s decision to separate India’s electoral system by caste.

1940 – President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Selective Service and Training Act, which requires all male citizens between 26 and 35 to register for the military draft.

1981 – Sugar Ray Leonard beats Thomas Hearns in their first of two epic boxing bouts.

1993 – “Cheers” spin-off “Frasier,” starring Kelsey Grammer, premieres on NBC.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Bobbie Gentry wraps up four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with her Grammy-winning “Ode to Billie Joe.”

1972 – “Black and White,” by Three Dog Night, is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The song was originally recorded by Pete Seeger in 1956 and a year later by Sammy Davis, Jr.

1978 – A Taste of Honey is in the middle of a three-week ride atop the singles chart with “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”

1979 – “Rapper’s Delight,” by The Sugarhill Gang, is released. While it is not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be responsible for introducing hip hop music to audiences around the world. The track reaches No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011, The Library of Congress preserved it in the National Recording Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

1989 – “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” by Gloria Estefan, is the No. 1 single.

1995 – “Gangsta’s Paradise,” by Coolio featuring L.V., is in the middle of three weeks as a No. 1 single.

2000 – Madonna is queen of the pop chart as “Music” kicks off three weeks at No. 1.

2006 – Justin Timberlake owns the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “SexyBack.” The single remains at No. 1 for seven weeks.