On This Day April 8 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1892 – Actress Mary Pickford, known as “America’s Sweetheart,” as she became a legend of the silent film era (d. 1979) 1938 – Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who, along with the U.N., won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 1963 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Julian Lennon (“Too Late for Goodbyes,” “Valotte”) 1966 – Golden Globe-winning actress Robin Wright (“The Princess Bride,” “Forrest Gump,” “House of Cards”) 1968 – Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Patricia Arquette (“True Romance,” “Flirting With Disaster,” “Medium,” “Boyhood”) History Highlights 1974 – Playing for the Atlanta Braves, Hank Aaron hits the 715th home run of his career, breaking the record set by Babe Ruth in 1935. The historic shot is hit off of Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers into the left field bullpen at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 1985 – The government of India files suit against Union Carbide for the Bhopal disaster which killed more than 2,200 people. 1986 – Actor-director Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel, California, and serves for two years. 1990 – Filmmaker David Lynch’s surreal prime-time series, “Twin Peaks,” premieres on ABC. Set in a small fictional logging town, strange and intriguing characters and their relationships are revealed as investigators try to solve the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. 1992 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe stuns the world when he announces that he has AIDS, acquired from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery he underwent in 1983. Ashe, the first black man to win Wimbledon, dies from the disease less than a year later at age 49. 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of Britain, dies in London at the age of 87 from a stroke. Serving from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. She was nicknamed the “Iron Lady” because of her her fierce determination and unyielding will. Musical Milestones 1964 – Diana Ross and The Supremes record “Where Did Our Love Go,” which eventually becomes the first of the girl group’s five No. 1 singles. 1967 – The Turtles’ “Happy Together” marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single. 1972 – America gallops into its third and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “A Horse with No Name.” 1975 – “Toys in the Attic,” the third studio album from Aerosmith, is released. It contains the hit singles “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” and becomes the Boston rockers’ best-selling album to date, with more than 8 million copies sold. 1989 – “The Look” by Roxette is the No. 1 single and becomes the Swedish duo’s international breakthrough hit after success in Europe. 1995 – “Take a Bow” marks its seventh and final week as a No. 1 single, becoming Madonna’s longest-reigning chart-topper. 2000 – “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, kicks off 10 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track goes on to capture the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. READ MORE
On This Day November 29 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1927 – Retired Hall of Fame sportscaster Vin Scully, play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn and later the Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 seasons 1935 – Golden Globe-winning actress Diane Ladd, born Rose Diane Lanier (“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Alice,” “Wild at Heart,” “Rambling Rose”) 1940 – Jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione, best known for his 1978 smash “Feels So Good” 1949 – Comedian-actor Garry Shandling (“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) (d. 2016) 1954 – Oscar-winning director Joel Coen of the Coen Brothers (“Blood Simple,” “Raising Arizona,” “Miller’s Crossing,” “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” “No Country for Old Men,” “A Serious Man,” “True Grit”) 1955 – Comedian-actor and TV host-judge Howie Mandel (“St. Elsewhere,” “Deal or No Deal,” “Bobby’s World,” “America’s Got Talent”) 1960 – Actress Cathy Moriarty (“Raging Bull,” “Soapdish,” “The Mambo Kings,” “Casper,” “Analyze That,” “The Bounty Hunter”) 1961 – Emmy-winning actress Kim Delaney (“NYPD Blue,” “All My Children,” “Philly,” “CSI: Miami”) 1962 – Actor-director Andrew McCarthy (“St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Mannequin,” “Weekend at Bernie’s,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Less Than Zero,” “Orange is the New Black”) 1964 – Golden Globe-winning actor Don Cheadle (“Boogie Nights,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “Crash,” “House of Lies,” “Iron Man 2,” “Iron Man 3,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: Civil War”) History Highlights 1929 – American explorer Richard Byrd and three companions make the first flight over the South Pole. 1947 – Despite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine and the creation of an independent Jewish state. 1962 – Britain and France announce a joint agreement to design and build Concorde, the world’s first supersonic airliner. 1963 – One week after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the fatal shooting. Led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Commission later concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. 1981 – Actress Natalie Wood, who starred in such movies as “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Splendor in the Grass” and “West Side Story,“ drowns in a boating accident near California’s Catalina Island at the age of 43. Although the Hollywood star’s death was officially labeled accidental, suspicion continues to swirl around the case. 1986 – Two-time Oscar nominee Cary Grant (“The Philadelphia Story,” “The Awful Truth,” “His Girl Friday,” “Notorious,” “North By Northwest”) dies of a stroke at the age of 82. Musical Milestones 1969 – “Come Together/Something,” by The Beatles, claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. It is the band’s 18th chart-topper. 1975 – Silver Convention soars to the top of the singles chart with “Fly, Robin, Fly.” The disco smash nests there for three weeks. 1986 – Bon Jovi has its first No. 1 single with “You Give Love a Bad Name,” off the “Slippery When Wet” album. The track remains on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. 1997 – Barbra Streisand’s “Higher Ground,” her first album in four years, tops the Billboard album chart. It contains the Grammy-nominated duet, “Tell Him,” with Celine Dion. 2001 – Beatles guitarist, singer and songwriter George Harrison loses his battle with cancer at the age of 58. 2003 – “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, wraps up a nine-week run as a Billboard chart-topper. READ MORE
On This Day November 11 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1885 – General George S. Patton, Jr., who made a mark in World War I as the first officer assigned to the new U.S. Army Tank Corps before becoming one of the most prominent military commanders in World War II (d. 1945) 1922 – Author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (“Cat’s Cradle,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Breakfast of Champions”) (d. 2007) 1925 – Grammy and Emmy-winning actor-comedian Jonathan Winters (d. 2013) 1960 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Stanley Tucci (“Prizzi’s Honor,” “Winchell,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Julie & Julia,” “The Lovely Bones,” “The Hunger Games” trilogy, “Spotlight”) 1962 – Actress-producer Demi Moore, born Demetria Guynes (“General Hospital,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “About Last Night…,” “Ghost,” “A Few Good Men,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Striptease,” “G.I. Jane”) 1964 – Golden Globe-winning actress Calista Flockhart, best known for her starring role in the sitcom “Ally McBeal” 1974 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Leonardo DiCaprio (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Titanic,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” “The Departed,” “Inception,” “The Great Gatsby,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Revenant”) History Highlights 1918 – At 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month in France, World War I — known then as The Great War and called “the war to end all wars” — comes to an end with the signing of an armistice between Allied officials and the leaders of German forces. The document is technically a ceasefire agreement, with the conflict officially concluded when the Treaty of Versailles is signed in June 1919. 1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding dedicates the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia during an Armistice Day ceremony. 1926 – Route 66, the highway that Nat King Cole famously sang is the place to “get your kicks,” is established. Through the years, the legendary thoroughfare has been referred to as the “Main Street of America” and has also been named the Will Rogers Highway. 1981 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela is designated Rookie of the Year and wins the National League’s Cy Young Award, becoming the first player in baseball history to score both honors in the same season. 2000 – A funicular (train) crammed with skiers and snowboarders catches fire as it enters a tunnel in Austria, killing 155 people. Twelve people survive the tragedy, which is known as the Kaprun Disaster. Investigators blame a faulty electric heater for sparking the deadly blaze. Musical Milestones 1938 – “God Bless America” is performed for the first time by the singer for whom composer Irving Berlin wrote it — Kate Smith — during her regular radio broadcast. It becomes Smith’s signature song. 1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets score their first Top-10 single with “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” Originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, the Haley version climbs to No. 7 on the pop chart and remains in the Top 40 for 27 weeks. 1967 – The theme from the movie “To Sir, With Love,” by Scottish vocalist Lulu, continues its five-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100. 1978 – ‘Disco Queen’ Donna Summer begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park.” The track is Summer’s first chart-topper. 1989 – Bad English enjoy their first and only trip to the top of the pop chart as “When I See You Smile” reaches No. 1. 1995 – Mariah Carey is in her seventh week on top of the pop chart with “Fantasy.” The song holds at No. 1 for another week. 1999 – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) names The Beatles the best-selling act of the 20th century. 2000 – “With Arms Wide Open,” by Creed, begins a week on top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the Florida rockers’ first and only No. 1 single. 2006 – “My Love,” by Justin Timberlake featuring T.I., kicks off three weeks as a chart-topping single. READ MORE