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.” READ MORE
On This Day December 5 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1901 – Animator, voice actor and producer Walt Disney, born Walter Elias Disney, who founded The Walt Disney Company and created the iconic character Mickey Mouse (d. 1966) 1932 – Rock and Roll legend Little Richard, born Richard Wayne Penniman (“Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly”) 1947 – Singer-songwriter Jim Messina (Loggins & Messina) 1968 – Comedian, actress, producer and writer Margaret Cho 1985 – “Malcolm in the Middle” star and race car driver Frankie Muniz History Highlights 1933 – Fourteen years of Prohibition in the U.S. ends with ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which repeals the 18th Amendment. 1945 – A squadron of U.S. Navy bombers, collectively known as “Flight 19,” mysteriously vanishes in the Bermuda Triangle — a section of ocean between Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. A rescue aircraft also disappears during an attempt to locate the missing team. Despite countless theories throughout the years, there still is no definitive explanation for what happened to the six aircraft and 27 airmen aboard. 1955 – After 20 years of rivalry, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to become the AFL-CIO. 1955 – The Montgomery (Alabama) Bus Boycott begins, following the arrest of black bus passenger Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. The boycott lasts more than a year until a U.S. Supreme Court decision requires integration of Montgomery’s public transportation system. 1978 – In an effort to prop up an unpopular pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union signs a “friendship treaty” with the Afghan government, agreeing to provide economic and military assistance. 1984 – “Beverly Hills Cop” opens, starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a Detroit detective who heads to Beverly Hills, California to solve the murder of his best friend. Musical Milestones 1960 – Elvis Presley tops the singles chart with “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” 1964 – Actor Lorne Greene, beloved star of TV’s “Bonanza,” achieves musical success when his song, “Ringo,” lands on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for a week. 1973 – Paul McCartney releases “Band On The Run,” his fifth album since the breakup of The Beatles. It spawns two hit singles: “Jet” and “Band on the Run.” 1987 – Former Go-Gos lead singer Belinda Carlisle enjoys her first and only No. 1 single as a solo act: “Heaven is a Place on Earth.” 1992 – Grammy-winning pop legend Whitney Houston rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Will Always Love You,” a song written and originally recorded by country music legend Dolly Parton in 1973. 1998 – “I’m Your Angel,” by R. Kelly and Céline Dion kicks off six weeks as a No. 1 single. 2009 – Jay-Z and Alicia Keys own the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Empire State of Mind.” The single holds at No. 1 for five weeks and becomes the last chart-topper of the 2000s. READ MORE