Madison Square Garden – Time Rewind

On This Day March 8

Musical Milestones

1965 – Bob Dylan releases “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” which becomes his first Top 40 single, peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track, from his “Bringing it All Back Home” album, is used in one of the first modern promotional film clips ever produced — a precursor to the music video.

1969 – “Everyday People,” by Sly & the Family Stone, enters its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single. The track is the band’s first chart-topper.

1975 – Olivia Newton-John’s “Have You Never Been Mellow” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her second consecutive U.S. chart-topper.

1980 – Queen is in the midst of a four-week ride atop the singles chart with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” — the band’s first U.S. No. 1.

1986 – “Kyrie,” by Mr. Mister, marks its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

1997 – The Spice Girls are mid-way through a four-week domination of the pop chart with “Wannabe.”

2003 – 50 Cent kicks off nine weeks on top of the pop chart with “In da Club” — his first No. 1 single.

History Highlights

1950 – The Volkswagen microbus (also known as the VW Type 2) goes into production, becoming an icon of America’s counter-culture movement as the vehicle of choice for hippies during the 1960s.

1971 – Boxing titans Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier meet for the “Fight of the Century” before a crowd of more than 20,000 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The showdown marks Ali’s return to the ring three and a-half years after his boxing license was revoked over his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. Frazier wins by unanimous decision, retaining his heavyweight champion title and delivering Ali the first loss of his career.

1983 – Addressing the National Association of Evangelicals convention in Florida, President Ronald Reagan publicly refers to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” for the second time in his political career.

1993 – MTV airs the first episode of the animated series “Beavis and Butthead,” which goes on to become the network’s highest-rated series up to that point.

1999 – Baseball legend and cultural icon Joe DiMaggio (“The Yankee Clipper”), who devoted his entire 13-year Major League Baseball career as a New York Yankees center fielder, dies at the age of 84.

2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, loses contact with air traffic control less than an hour after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur then veers off course and vanishes. Most of the Boeing 777, and everyone on board, are never seen again.

Celebrity Birthdays

1921 – Actor Alan Hale, Jr., best remembered as the “Skipper” in the popular 1960s sitcom, “Gilligan’s Island” (d. 1990)

1945 – Micky Dolenz, drummer and lead vocalist for the 1960s rock band The Monkees

1958 – Musician Gary Numan (“Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and “Cars”)

1959 – Actor Aidan Quinn (“Desperately Seeking Susan,” “Benny and Joon,” “Legends of the Fall,” “Blink,” “Michael Collins,” “Elementary”)

1959 – TV journalist Lester Holt, anchor of “NBC Nightly News” and “Dateline NBC”

1976 – Actor Freddie Prinze, Jr. (“I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,” “She’s All That,” “Summer Catch,” “Scooby-Doo,” “24”)

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Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

Welcome to the Real World

Mr. Mister

The Volkswagen Bus Book

Malcolm Bobbitt

The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier March 8, 1971

Michael Arkush

I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness

Micky Dolenz

Boys and Girls

Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Claire Forlani and Jason Biggs, and directed by Robert Iscove

On This Day February 11

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles play their first U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum. More than 350 police officers surround the stage to keep some 8,000 screaming fans under control. The set includes “I Saw Her Standing There,” “This Boy”, “All My Loving,” “I Wanna Be Your Man”,” Please Please Me”, “Till There Was You”, “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Twist and Shout” and much more.

1967 – The Monkees begin their seventh and final week on top of the pop chart with “I’m a Believer.”

1978 – The Bee Gees stay on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week with “Stayin’ Alive,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” movie soundtrack. The single remains at No. 1 for a total of four weeks.

1984 – Culture Club is midway through a three-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Karma Chameleon.”

1989 – Paula Abdul starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Straight Up.”

2012 – Six-time Grammy-winning pop sensation Whitney Houston is found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel at the age of 48. Cause of death is determined to be drowning, with complications from cocaine use and heart disease.

History Highlights

1805 – Sacagawea, the Shoshone interpreter and guide to the Lewis and Clark expedition, gives birth to her first child, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.

1932 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the flathead V8 engine, giving the world affordable, mass-produced V8 power. It becomes the darling of hot-rodders, road racers and stock car racers for more than two decades.

1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin wrap up the Yalta Conference following a week of intensive talks over the progress of World War II and the post-war world.

1963 – Chef Julia Child’s show, “The French Chef,” premieres on public television (NET, which later became PBS).

1968 – New York City’s 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden officially opens between 7th and 8th Avenues in Manhattan, becoming the fourth version of that arena. The showplace for sports and entertainment opens with a gala hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

1970 – Japan’s first satellite (Ohsumi) is successfully launched into an orbit around Earth, making Japan the world’s fourth space power — after the Soviet Union in 1957, the United States in 1958, and France in 1965.

1990 – Anti-apartheid crusader Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for more than 27 years, is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa. Four years later, he is elected South Africa’s president.

Celebrity Birthdays

1847 – Inventor Thomas Edison (d. 1931)

1926 – Actor-comedian Leslie Nielsen (“Forbidden Planet,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Airplane,” “The Naked Gun”) (d. 2010)

1936 – Golden Globe-winning actor Burt Reynolds (“Deliverance,” “The Longest Yard,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Evening Shade,” “Boogie Nights”) (d. 2018)

1941 – Grammy-winning Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes

1962 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow (“If It Makes You Happy,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road”)

1969 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Jennifer Aniston, who has appeared in many movies, but is best known for playing Rachel in the NBC sitcom “Friends”

1971 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Damian Lewis (“Band of Brothers,” “Life,” “Homeland,” “Billions”)

1979 – Grammy-winning singer-actress Brandy, born Brandy Rayana Norwood (“The Boy is Mine,” “Moesha”)

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Colour By Numbers

Culture Club

Whitney The Greatest Hits

Whitney Houston

The French Chef

Julia Child

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Airplane!

Starring Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lloyd Bridges, and directed by Jim Abrahams

The Longest Yard

Starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert and Ed Lauter, and directed by Robert Aldrich

On This Day November 28

Musical Milestones

1925 – The Grand Ole Opry, one of the longest-lived and most popular showcases for country music, begins broadcasting live from Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, it is known as the WSM Barn Dance.

1960 – Elvis Presley scores his 15th chart-topping single when “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” reaches No. 1 on the pop chart. It holds the top spot for six weeks.

1970 – Ex-Beatle George Harrison makes his solo Billboard chart debut with “My Sweet Lord,” a song he is later found guilty of having “subconsciously plagiarized” from Ronnie Mack’s “He’s So Fine,” which was a smash for The Chiffons.

1974 – John Lennon joins Elton John on stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden for what becomes Lennon’s last concert appearance. He performs three songs: “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”

1987 – The Bill Medley-Jennifer Warnes duet, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” from the movie “Dirty Dancing,” is No. 1 on the singles chart.

1998 – “Lately,” by one-hit-wonder Divine, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week.

2001 – Aretha Franklin sues the supermarket tabloid “Star” for $50 million dollars claiming that her reputation was damaged by a December 2000 article that alleged she had alcohol problems.

2007 – Kanye West and stuntman Evel Knievel settle a copyright dispute over West’s use of the name “Evel Kanyevel” in a music video. The 69-year-old daredevil claimed his image was harmed by the video’s “vulgar, sexual nature.” The clip for “Touch The Sky” shows the rap star attempting to cross a canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle.

History Highlights

1520 – Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan leads a fleet of three ships through treacherous waters below South America to become the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic.

1895 – Driving a gas-powered horseless carriage known as the Duryea Motor Wagon at an average speed of 5 miles per hour in the Chicago snow, J. Frank Duryea wins America’s first auto race. Frank and his brother, Charles, designed and manufactured the vehicle.

1942 – The deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history strikes the Cocoanut Grove in Boston, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more. Investigators never determined what sparked the inferno. The disaster led to sweeping changes in fire codes

1964 – The U.S. scores one in the Space Race as NASA launches Mariner 4 on a successful fly-by mission to Mars.

1975 – “As The World Turns” and “The Edge of Night” become the last American soaps to switch from live broadcasts to videotape.

1994 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is beaten to death in a Wisconsin prison while serving 15 consecutive life terms for the rape, murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys.

Celebrity Birthdays

1929 – Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jr.

1943 – Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and composer Randy Newman, best known for his 1977 hit “Short People” and movie soundtracks including the animated blockbuster “Toy Story” series and “Monsters, Inc.”

1949 – Singer, actor and multi-instrumentalist Paul Shaffer, best known as the bandleader for David Letterman’s late-night TV shows

1950 – Golden Globe-winning actor Ed Harris (“The Right Stuff,” “The Abyss,” “Pollack,” “Apollo 13,” “The Rock,” “The Truman Show,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Man on a Ledge,” “Westworld”)

1959 – Actor-producer Judd Nelson (“The Breakfast Club,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “New Jack City,” “Suddenly Susan”)

1962 – Comedian, director and former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart

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ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits

Elvis Presley

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

Fire in the Grove

John C. Esposito

The Serial Killer Files

Harold Schechter

The Breakfast Club

Starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason and Ally Sheedy, and directed by John Hughes

The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History

Chris Smith and Jon Stewart

On This Day November 27

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Beatles release the “Magical Mystery Tour” album, which introduces fans to hits like “Hello, Goodbye,” “Penny Lane” and “All You Need is Love.”

1968 – Steppenwolf’s self-titled debut album, featuring “Born to Be Wild” and “The Pusher,” is certified gold with sales in excess of 500,000 copies. Both tracks are also part of the soundtrack to the 1969 cult classic, “Easy Rider.”

1970 – George Harrison releases “All Things Must Pass,” which contains the hit singles “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life,” as well as songs such as “Isn’t It a Pity” and the title track that had been rejected for Beatles productions. The triple album becomes the best selling album by any solo Beatle.

1982 – Lionel Richie’s “Truly” begins two weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1993 – Meat Loaf is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” the first single from his album “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.”

1999 – “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas is mid-way through a 12-week domination of the pop chart. The song goes on to capture three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

History Highlights

1910 – The largest railway station in the world — Pennsylvania Station — opens in Midtown Manhattan, establishing itself as an architectural and transportation marvel. However, the complex is demolished in 1963 due to declining rail travel and eventually becomes the site of the sports and entertainment venue, Madison Square Garden.

1965 – Detroit Red Wing Gordie Howe scores his 600th goal in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. Howe is the first (until Wayne Gretzky) NHL player to score 600 times in a career.

1971 – The Soviet Union’s unmanned Mars 2 spacecraft becomes the first man-made object to reach the surface of the Red Planet.

1973 – The U.S. Senate votes to confirm Gerald Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro Agnew, who resigned amid charges of financial misconduct.

1978 – Gay rights activist Harvey Milk and openly gay San Francisco Mayor George Moscone are murdered by former by City Supervisor Dan White. White receives a five-year prison sentence for the killings. Unable to resume a normal life following his release, he takes his own life in 1986.

Celebrity Birthdays

1940 – Martial artist and actor Bruce Lee (d. 1973)

1941 – Country music singer Eddie Rabbitt (“I Love a Rainy Night,” “Drivin’ My Life Away,” “You and I”) (d. 1998)

1942 – Pioneering rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix (d. 1970)

1955 – Science educator-TV host Bill “The Science Guy” Nye

1957 – Diplomat, author and presidential daughter Caroline Kennedy

1964 – Actress Robin Givens (“Head of the Class,” “Sparks”)

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Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles

Steppenwolf

American Experience: The Rise and Fall of Penn Station

PBS

Milk

Starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin, and directed by Gus Van Sant

Tao of Jeet Kune Do: New Expanded Edition

Bruce Lee

Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World

Bill Nye

On this Day August 10

Musical Milestones

1963 – ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder is just 13 when “Fingertips Part 2” reaches the top of the Billboard singles chart and holds there for three weeks. He becomes the youngest musician ever with a No. 1 hit.

1974 – “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” by Roberta Flack, tops the pop chart. Later, it receives three Grammy nominations.

1976 – Elton John plays the first of 10 sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The $1.25 million generated from the shows breaks a record set by The Rolling Stones in 1975.

1985 – “Shout,” by Tears For Fears, is midway through a three-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” by Bryan Adams, is the No. 1 single. It appears on the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” soundtrack.

2002 – In her third marriage, Lisa Marie Presley ties the knot with actor Nicolas Cage at a resort in Hawaii. Presley was previously married to musician Danny Keough and pop sensation Michael Jackson. Cage files for divorce four months later.

2008 – Soul singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes dies of a stroke at his home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 65. Hayes won an Oscar for the 1971 smash “Theme From Shaft” and was the voice of Chef from the animated TV series “South Park.”

History Highlights

1846 – The Smithsonian Institution is founded in Washington, D.C. as an establishment dedicated to the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

1948 – The first reality TV show premieres before most Americans even own a TV. “Candid Camera,” with host Allen Funt, filmed pranks as they played out on unsuspecting victims who often didn’t realize they were being duped until they heard the show’s tagline: “Smile! You’re on Candid Camera.”

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act into law, paving the way for a major expansion of federal housing programs.

1977 – After terrorizing New York City for more than a year, serial killer David Berkowitz — the self-proclaimed “Son of Sam” — is arrested.

1978 – Three teenage girls die after their 1973 Ford Pinto is rammed from behind by a van and bursts into flames on an Indiana highway. The fatal crash is one of a series of Pinto fires caused by rear-end collisions that eventually leads to a massive recall by Ford and at least one multi-million-dollar lawsuit.

1993 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second female U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. president (d. 1964)

1928 – Grammy-winning country music singer and Jimmy Dean Sausage Co. founder Jimmy Dean (d. 2010)

1950 – Grammy-winning R&B, jazz and pop vocalist Patti Austin (“Every Home Should Have One,” “Do You Love Me,” “Baby, Come to Me”)

1959 – Actress Rosanna Arquette (“Desperately Seeking Susan,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Crash”)

1960 – Actor-director-producer Antonio Banderas (“Assassins,” “Evita,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “Philadelphia,” “Desperado,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Spy Kids,” “Shrek,” “Puss in Boots”)

1972 – Actress-model Angie Harmon (“Baywatch Nights,” “Law & Order,” “Rizzoli & Isles”)

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The Definitive Collection

Stevie Wonder

Songs From The Big Chair

Tears For Fears

Candid Camera: Greatest Moments

Peter Funt and Allen Funt

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Desperately Seeking Susan

Starring Rosanna Arquette, Madonna and Aidan Quinn

The Mask of Zorro

Starring Antonio Banderas, Anthony HopkinsCatherine Zeta-Jones, and directed by Martin Campbell

On this Day June 9

Musical Milestones

1958 – The hottest single in the U.S. is “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley. The novelty hit holds the No. 1 spot for six weeks.

1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Ray Charles, is in its second week as a No. 1 single. It retains the top spot for five weeks. Across the pond, the track hits the top of the U.K. singles chart that July and holds there for two weeks.

1972 – Elvis Presley plays his first concert in New York City — the first of four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. The performances are recorded for later release on the “Elvis As Recorded at Madison Square Garden” album.

1972 – One month after auditioning for Columbia Records, Bruce Springsteen is signed by the label and begins assembling his E Street Band. His debut album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” comes out in January 1973.

1979 – The Bee Gees reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the ninth time with “Love You Inside Out.” It becomes the sibling trio’s final chart-topper.

1984 – Cyndi Lauper begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Time After Time,” off her debut album, “She’s So Unusual.” The track earns a Song of the Year Grammy nomination.

1990 – “Hold On,” by Wilson Phillips, clinches the top spot on the pop chart. The track goes on to win the Billboard Music Award for 1990 Hot 100 Single of the Year and is nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy.

1998 – The Ronettes (“Be My Baby,” “Walking In The Rain”) appear in court for their lawsuit against producer Phil Spector, whom they allege breached their 34-year-old contract by failing to pay royalties since 1963. Although The Ronettes win the case, the New York State Court of Appeals later overturns the decision, saying Spector had unconditional rights to their recordings.

2001 – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink have the No. 1 single with their cover of Labelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade.”

History Highlights

1934 – Donald Duck makes his debut in the Walt Disney short film, “The Wise Little Hen.”

1954 – In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether communism has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces. Welch’s rebuke effectively derails McCarthy’s campaign to stoke the anticommunist hysteria of America’s ‘Red Scare’.

1973 – Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948. Secretariat runs the 1.5-mile race in 2:24, a world record that many believe will never be broken.

1980 – Comedian Richard Pryor suffers third-degree burns over more than half of his body while freebasing cocaine.

1993- The so-called “Hollywood Madam,” Heidi Fleiss, is arrested and charged in connection with a high-class prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clients, including actor Charlie Sheen. A jury convicts Fleiss on three counts of pandering, for which she receives a three-year sentence. That conviction is overturned in 1996, but a federal tax-evasion case the next year leads to a 20-month prison sentence.

2006 – The animated feature film “Cars,” produced by Pixar Animation Studios, opens in U.S. theaters, starring Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and Paul Newman in his final acting role, as Doc Hudson.

Celebrity Birthdays

1891 – Composer-songwriter Cole Porter, whose music dominated Broadway from the 1930s to the 1950s (d. 1964)

1915 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist, songwriter and electric guitar designer Les Paul, born Lester William Polsfuss (d. 2009)

1934 – Stand-up comedian and actor Jackie Mason

1934 – Grammy Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Jackie Wilson (“Lonely Teardrops,” “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”) (d. 1984)

1961 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael J. Fox (“Family Ties,” the “Back to the Future” movie series, “Teen Wolf,” “Spin City”)

1963 – Golden Globe-winning actor Johnny Depp (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Edward Scissorhands,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Rango,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald”)

1981 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Natalie Portman (“Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace,” “Garden State,” “Closer,” “Black Swan,” “Jackie”)

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Timeless: The All Time Greatest Hits

Bee Gees

She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

Neal Gabler

The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse

Lawrence Scanlan

Back to the Future

Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover, and directed by Robert Zemeckis

Edward Scissorhands

Starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest, and directed by Tim Burton

On this Day June 7

Musical Milestones

1963 – Four weeks after recording it, The Rolling Stones release their debut single, “Come On.” It’s the cover of a 1961 Chuck Berry song. The track climbs as high as No. 20 on the U.K. singles chart.

1969 – “The Johnny Cash Show” debuts on ABC. It features musical guests like Louis Armstrong, Arlo Guthrie, Glen Campbell and Linda Ronstadt before going off the air in 1971.

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

1975 – Elton John’s “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, becoming the first album ever to do so. It spawns the hit single, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight.”

1975 – “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” by John Denver, is the No. 1 single.

1977 – Led Zeppelin play the first of six sold out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden during their 11th and final North American tour. The most expensive ticket costs $10.50.

1986 – Madonna’s “Live to Tell,” off her “True Blue” album, becomes the pop superstar’s third No. 1 single.

2003 – “21 Questions,” by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

2012 – Bob Welch, an early member of Fleetwood Mac and who enjoyed a successful solo career with hits like “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes,” dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 66.

History Highlights

1913 – A team of four Alaskans stages the first successful ascent of Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), the highest point on the American continent at 20,310 feet.

1937 – Known as the “Blonde Bombshell” and the “Platinum Blonde,” and considered one of the most gifted and blatantly sensual Hollywood stars of the 1930s, actress Jean Harlow dies of uremic poisoning (acute kidney failure) at the age of 26.

1942 – Six months after Japan’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway ends with a U.S. victory over Japan in one of the most decisive naval showdowns of World War II. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet destroys four Japanese aircraft carriers and loses only one of its own — the USS Yorktown — turning the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy.

1955 – The TV game show “The $64,000 Question” premieres on CBS, hosted by Hal March.

1965 – In Griswold v. Connecticut, the U.S. Supreme Court guarantees the right to privacy, including the freedom from government intrusion into matters of birth control.

1975 – Sony revolutionizes home entertainment when it introduces consumers to the Betamax videocassette recorder.

Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Former U.S. boxing heavyweight champion James Braddock (d. 1974)

1909 – Oscar-winning actress Jessica Tandy (“Firefox,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Batteries Not Included”) (d. 1994)

1917 – Legendary entertainer and “Rat Pack” member Dean Martin (“Memories Are Made of This,” “That’s Amore,” “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “Volare,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” (d. 1995)

1940 – Grammy-winning pop, blues and soul-singing superstar and “The Voice UK” coach Tom Jones (“What’s New Pussycat,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “She’s a Lady”)

1952 – Actor Liam Neeson (“The Mission,” “Schindler’s List,” “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” the “Taken” film series, “Michael Collins,” “Love Actually,” “Cold Pursuit”)

1958 – Grammy-winning pop sensation Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson (d. 2016)

1981 – Retired tennis star-turned reality TV personality Anna Kournikova

1988 – Actor Michael Cera (“Arrested Development,” “Superbad,” “Juno,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Twin Peaks”)

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The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track

Philippe Margotin & Jean-Michel Guesdon

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

Elton John

Harlow in Hollywood: The Blonde Bombshell in the Glamour Capital, 1928-1937

Darrell Rooney and Mark A. Vieira

The Battle of Midway

Craig L. Symonds

Dino: The Essential Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Schindler's List

Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes, and directed by Steven Spielberg

On this Day May 19

Musical Milestones

1958 – The “South Pacific” movie soundtrack, featuring the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, is No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1960 – Disc jockey Alan Freed (a.k.a. “Moondog”), who introduced radio listeners across the U.S. to the music that came to be called “rock ‘n roll,” is indicted along with seven others by a federal grand jury in connection with a scandal over payola — the practice of accepting cash and gifts from music promoters in exchange for playing their records.

1973 – Stevie Wonder scores his third No. 1 single with “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” which later garners him a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

1979 – “Reunited,” by Peaches & Herb, is in the midst of a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1979 – Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America” — featuring the hits “The Logical Song,” “Goodbye Stranger” and “Take the Long Way Home” — reaches the top of the Billboard album chart and stays there for four weeks. The album goes on to capture two Grammy Awards.

1984 – Lionel Richie wraps up the second of two weeks as king of the pop chart with “Hello.”

1990 – Madonna starts a three week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Vogue,” off her “I’m Breathless” album.

2001 – Janet Jackson is queen of the pop chart as “All For You” achieves its sixth week as a No. 1 single.

History Highlights

1749 – England’s King George II grants the Ohio Company of Virginia a charter of 200,000 acres stretching out from the forks of the Ohio River on the present site of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1921 – Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act (also known as the Immigration Act of 1921), establishing national quotas on the immigration of foreigners into the U.S.

1935 – T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. He is just 46. The legendary war hero, author, and archaeological scholar succumbed to to severe brain injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident six days earlier. His death eventually led to development of the crash helmet. Lawrence was famously portrayed in the Oscar-winning 1962 movie, “Lawrence of Arabia,” by actor Peter O’Toole.

1962 – Marilyn Monroe takes center stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden as she sings “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. About 15,000 people are on hand for the star-studded gala that takes place 10 days before JFK’s actual birthday.

2006 – Amid a firestorm of publicity and controversy, director Ron Howard’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s mega-bestselling thriller, “The Da Vinci Code,” debuts in theaters, starring Tom Hanks.

2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320 on a routine flight from Paris to Cairo, disappears over the Mediterranean Sea with 66 passengers and crew. It takes weeks to find signs of the wreckage, and while terrorism is suspected initially, investigators conclude that the aircraft broke up in midair after a fire broke out in the cockpit and quickly spread.

Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Religious leader and civil rights activist Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little (d. 1965)

1934 – Journalist, author and former PBS anchor and political debate moderator Jim Lehrer (d. 2020)

1941 – Screenwriter-producer-director Nora Ephron (“Silkwood,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Julie & Julia”) (d, 2012)

1944 – Actor Peter Mayhew, best known for playing Chewbacca in the “Star Wars” movie franchise (d. 2019)

1945 – Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Pete Townshend, lead guitarist of legendary rock band The Who

1946 – Wrestler-actor Andre the Giant, whom most remember from his role as the giant in the movie “The Princess Bride (d. 1993)

1951 – Joey Ramone, born Jeffrey Ross Hyman, guitarist and lead singer of the punk rock band The Ramones (“Blitzkrieg Bop,” “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” “Rockaway Beach”) (d. 2001)

1952 – Singer, model and actress Grace Jones (“Pull Up to the Bumper,” “I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango),” “Private Life,” “Slave to the Rhythm”)

1992 – Grammy-winning pop vocalist Sam Smith (“Latch,” “Lay Me Down,” “Stay With Me”)

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Talking Book

Stevie Wonder

Breakfast in America

Supertramp

Lawrence of Arabia

Starring Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn, and directed by David Lean

My Story

Marilyn Monroe

Sleepless in Seattle

Starring Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks and Bill Pullman, and directed by Nora Ephron

The Best of The Who: The Millennium Collection

The Who

On this Day May 14

Musical Milestones

1968 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney are guests on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Joe Garagiola guest-hosting for Johnny Carson. The conversation includes some light-hearted banter about meditation, the forming of Apple Corps. and songwriting.

1977 – Leo Sayer has the No. 1 hit for a week with “When I Need You.”

1988 – Led Zeppelin band members reunite for the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden in New York, appearing with Jason Bonham, son of John Bonham, on drums. Other performing acts include Foreigner, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King.

1988 – “Anything for You” by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine begins a two-week run on top of the singles chart.

1998 – Known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “The Chairman of the Board,” legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies at the age of 82. His entertainment career spanned half a century and left such an impression in American culture that “Rolling Stone” magazine labeled him “indisputably the 20th century’s greatest singer of popular song.”

2005 – Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” is in the midst of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

History Highlights

1804 – The Lewis & Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to make the journey.

1904 – The Third Olympiad of the modern era, and the first Olympic Games to be held in the United States, opens in St. Louis, Missouri. However, it is far from the international affair of more recent deacdes. Only 12 countries attend, with Americans accounting for 523 of the 630 participating athletes.

1948 – British rule in Palestine comes to an end as the Jewish National Council proclaims the establishment of the State of Israel. Within hours, Arab forces attack the fledgling nation.

1955 – The Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that puts the Soviets in command of the armed forces of its partners. The move is aimed at counterbalancing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Pact officially disbands in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

1969 – After nine years of production, the last Chevy Corvair rolls off the assembly line. That’s the rear-engine compact car that consumer advocate Ralph Nader took to task citing safety concerns.

1973 – Skylab, America’s first space station, is successfully launched on a mission to observe and photograph the sun as well as to study the biological effects of life in space.

Celebrity Birthdays

1936 – Singer Bobby Darin (“Splish Splash,” “Mack the Knife,” “If I Were a Carpenter”) (d. 1973)

1944 – Filmmaker George Lucas, the creative mastermind behind the “Star Wars” franchise as well as “American Graffiti” and other movies

1952 – Singer-songwriter and Talking Heads founder David Byrne

1952 – Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the “Back to the Future” movie series, “Forrest Gump,” “Contact,” “Cast Away,” “The Polar Express”)

1961 – Actor Tim Roth (“Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Rob Roy,” “Everyone Says I Love You”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Notes On A Scandal,” “The Aviator,” “Blue Jasmine”)

1984 – Philanthropist and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

1993 – Actress Miranda Cosgrove (“School of Rock,” “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly,” “Despicable Me”)

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The Very Best of Leo Sayer

Leo Sayer

Ultimate Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Stephen E. Ambrose

Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel

Anita Shapira

American Graffiti

Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ronny Howard, Harrison Ford and Paul Le Mat, and directed by George Lucas

Elizabeth

Starring Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush and Christopher Eccleston, and directed by Shekhar Kapur