Margaret Thatcher – Time Rewind

On This Day April 8

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On This Day November 22

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Celebrity Birthdays

1899 – Singer-songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, known for such standards as “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Rockin’ Chair” and “Lazy River” (d. 1981)

1921 – Stand-up comedian-actor Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen (“Easy Money,” “Caddyshack,” “Back to School”) (d. 2004)

1932 – Actor Robert Vaughn, from the 1960s TV spy series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (d. 2016)

1943 – Tennis legend and LGBTQ advocate Billie Jean King, who famously defeated Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” matchup

1958 – Actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “True Lies,” “Freaky Friday,” “Scream Queens”)

1961 – Actress Mariel Hemingway (“Lipstick,” “Manhattan,” “Personal Best,” “Star 80”)

1967 – Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo (“You Can Count on Me,” “Collateral,” “13 Going on 30,” Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Zodiac,” “The Avengers,” “Now You See Me,” “Spotlight”)

1984 – Tony-winning actress Scarlett Johansson (“Lost in Translation,” “The Nanny Diaries,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “The Avengers,” “Hitchcock”)

History Highlights

1963 – Americans are horrified as President John F. Kennedy is gunned down by a sniper while his motorcade passes through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

1975 – Ten years after its theatrical release, “Dr. Zhivago” premieres on television, as NBC pays $4 million for the broadcast rights.

1984 – Fred Rogers of the PBS children’s show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” donates his famous cardigan sweater to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

1986 – Twenty-year-old Mike Tyson knocks out 33-year-old Trevor Berbick in just five minutes and 35 seconds to become the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history.

1988 – With members of the U.S. Congress and national media looking on, Northrup officials roll out the first B-2 (stealth) bomber at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft remains the most advanced bomber in U.S. military service.

1990 – Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister in British history, announces her resignation after 11 years in office.

Musical Milestones

1957 – Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel take the stage as ‘Tom and Jerry’ on “American Bandstand” with host Dick Clark. They perform “Hey Schoolgirl,” a song that reaches No. 54 on the Billboard pop chart and sells 100,000 copies.

1968 – The Beatles release their now-classic double LP “The Beatles” (also known as “The White Album”) in the U.K. Among the featured tracks: “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Dear Prudence,” “Helter Skelter,” “Blackbird,” “Back In The USSR” and George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

1969 – The Fifth Dimension enjoy their third and final week as Billboard chart-toppers with “Wedding Bell Blues.”

1975 – KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s The Way (I Like It)” is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart.

1986 – “Human,” by The Human League, begins a week as a Billboard chart-topper.

1997 – INXS frontman Michael Hutchence is found dead in a Sydney, Australia hotel room after reportedly hanging himself. He was 37.

2003 – The Beyoncé-Sean Paul duet, “Baby Boy,” remains firmly planted atop the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day October 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the “Iron Lady” (d. 2013)

1941 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Paul Simon, formerly of the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel (“The Sound of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “My Little Town”)

1959 – Entertainer Marie Osmond, who started out as half of the Donnie & Marie singing-dancing family act.

1962 – Actress Kelly Preston (“Twins,” “Mischief,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Jack Frost,” “For Love of the Game”) (d. 2020)

1971 – Comedic actor Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his portrayal of unorthodox fictional film characters Ali G, Borat and Brüno.

History Highlights

1792 – The cornerstone is laid for a presidential residence in the newly designated capital city of Washington. Eight years later, John Adams becomes the first U.S. president to reside in the executive mansion, which is referred to as the White House beginning in 1812 because of its white-gray sandstone exterior.

1943 – With World War II raging, the government of Italy declares war on Nazi Germany, its former Axis partner, and joins the battle on the side of the Allies.

1967 – The Anaheim Amigos lose to the Oakland Oaks, 134-129, in the inaugural game of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In its first season, the ABA consists of 11 teams. In 1976, the ABA merges with the National Basketball Association (NBA), with only four teams remaining intact: the Americans (later renamed the New Jersey Nets), the Spurs, the Nuggets and the Pacers.

1974 – TV host Ed Sullivan, who introduced American viewers to Elvis Presley and The Beatles, among other up-and-coming entertainers, dies of cancer at the age of 73.

1977 – Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa passenger jet and demand the release of 11 imprisoned members of Germany’s Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, also known as the Red Army Faction.

1999 – A Colorado grand jury investigating the highly publicized case of murdered child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is dismissed, and the Boulder County district attorney announces no indictments will be made due to insufficient evidence.

2010 – Thirty-three miners are rescued after being trapped half a mile below ground for more than two months in a northern Chile mine collapse. The miners survive longer than anyone else trapped underground in recorded history. Their rescue is described in one media account as “a feat of engineering and a triumph of faith.”

Musical Milestones

1963 – The term “Beatlemania” is coined after the Fab Four’s first appearance on the “Sunday Night at The London Palladium” TV show, which is broadcast live to more than 15 million viewers.

1970 – The ashes of rock legend Janis Joplin are scattered at Stinson Beach in Marin County, California. The singer died of an accidental drug overdose at a Hollywood hotel nine days earlier. She was 27.

1973 – Cher begins her second and final week on top of the pop chart with “Half-Breed.” The track is her second chart-topper as a solo performer.

1979 – Michael Jackson reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough,” from his “Off The Wall” album. The song garners MJ his first solo Grammy Award.

1984 – Stevie Wonder scores his seventh No. 1 single with “I Just Called To Say I Love You,” from “The Woman in Red” soundtrack. The track holds the top spot for three weeks and garners Wonder a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for Best Original Song.

1990 – George Michael rules the Billboard singles chart with “Praying For Time,” the final solo No. 1 of his career.

2008 – Beatles drummer Ringo Starr announces through a video on his website that he no longer has time to sign autographs and asks fans not to send him any mail at all.

On this Day May 4

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Celebrity Birthdays

1928 – Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (d. 2006)

1929 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Audrey Hepburn (“Roman Holiday,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”) (d. 1993)

1937 – Musician Dick Dale, known as the “King of the Surf Guitar” (d. 2019)

1939 – Actor Paul Gleason (“All My Children,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Trading Places,” “Die Hard”) (d. 2006)

1941 – Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist-author George Will

1947 – Emmy-winning actor Richard Jenkins (“Six Feet Under,” “The Visitor,” “Burn After Reading,” “White House Down,” “Olive Kitteridge,” “The Shape of Water”)

1953 – Golden Globe-winning actress-singer Pia Zadora (“Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”)

1959 – Grammy-winning country music singer and actor Randy Travis (“On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever Amen,” “Deeper Than a Holler,” “Three Wooden Crosses”)

1970 – Actor Will Arnett (“Arrested Development,” “30 Rock,” “Let’s Go To Prison,” “Blades of Glory,” “The Lego Movie”)

History Highlights

1932 – Mobster Al Capone begins serving an 11-year sentence for income tax evasion in a federal prison in Atlanta.

1961 – Civil rights activists calling themselves the “Freedom Riders” decide to test a recent Supreme Court decision prohibiting racial segregation in interstate travel. They set out on a dangerous journey aboard buses from Washington, D.C. through the Deep South to New Orleans, defying segregated restrooms, restaurants and bus station waiting areas along the way.

1970 – Four students are killed, nine others wounded when National Guard troops open fire during a Vietnam War protest at Kent State University in Ohio. Guardsmen fire 67 rounds in 13 seconds. The tragedy sends shockwaves across the U.S. and around the world.

1977 – British journalist David Frost sits down with former President Richard Nixon for the first of four revealing television interviews. Nixon apologizes for putting “the American people through two years of needless agony” during the Watergate scandal.

1979 – Britain’s Conservative Party leader, Margaret Thatcher, becomes that nation’s first female prime minister.

2008 – The term “May the 4th be with you,” a tribute to the popular Star Wars phrase, “May the force be with you,” becomes a part of pop culture as it begins to be used among members of Star Wars-related Facebook groups that turn it into a celebration of the beloved sci-fi franchise. In 2011 and 2012, Star Wars Day is observed by fans in Toronto during a festival that draws significant media coverage. In 2013, just months after purchasing Lucasfilm, Disney officially recognizes May 4 as Star Wars Day, and its marketing of new movies, TV shows and merchandise continues to explode today.

Musical Milestones

1959 – The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presents the first Grammy Awards with ceremonies held simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles. Among the awards handed out, “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” (better known as “Volare”) wins both song and record of the year for composer Domenico Modugno.

1968 – Bobby Goldsboro is in the middle of a five-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Honey.”

1973 – Led Zeppelin opens its 1973 North American tour in Atlanta. Billed as “the biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States,” the group would gross more than $4 million from it.

1974 – The soundtrack to the motion picture “The Sting,” featuring Marvin Hamlisch’s interpretation of ragtime music by Scott Joplin, begins a five-week run at No. 1 on the album chart.

1974 – Grand Funk Railroad chugs its way to the top of the Billboard singles chart with “The Loco-Motion.”

1985 – “We Are The World,” the musical collaboration produced under the baton of Quincy Jones as a fundraiser for African famine relief, begins its fourth and final week as a chart-topper.

1990 – Madonna kicks off the North American leg of her 57-date Blond Ambition World Tour with a performance in Houston, Texas at The Summit (now Lakewood Church). Years later, Rolling Stone magazine would call the tour “the Greatest Concert of the 1990s.”

2002 – Ashanti has the No. 1 single in the U.S. with “Foolish.” The single remains on top of the pop chart for 10 weeks.