On This Day: February 10

On This Day February 10

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1883 – Actor Lon Chaney, Jr., who portrayed the legendary monsters of film, including the Mummy, Wolf Man, Frankenstein and Dracula (d. 1930)

1893 – Singer-comedian-actor Jimmy Durante (d. 1980)

1930 – Actor Robert Wagner (“It Takes a Thief,” “Hart to Hart,” “Austin Powers”) 

1937 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Roberta Flack (“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Where is the Love”) 

1950 – American Olympic gold medal swimmer Mark Spitz

1961 – ABC News’ “Good Morning America” co-host and former Clinton administration advisor George Stephanopoulos 

1964 – Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck 

1967 – Actress Laura Dern (“Mask,” “Blue Velvet,” “Wild at Heart,” “Jurassic Park,” “Rambling Rose,” “Enlightened,” “The Founder”) 

1974 – Actress Elizabeth Banks (“Catch Me if You Can,” “Seabiscuit,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “The Hunger Games” movie series, “Pitch Perfect”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1933 – The Postal Telegraph Company, based in New York City, introduces the first singing telegram.

1962 – American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier.

1967 – The 25th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified. It clarifies procedures for presidential succession along with provisions for the continuity of power in the event of a disability or illness of the president. 

1981 – A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino kills eight people and injures nearly 200 others. Investigators determine that the blaze was set by 23-year-old hotel employee Phillip Cline. He is convicted of eight counts of murder and sentenced to eight consecutive life terms without parole for the deaths, plus 15 years for first-degree arson.

1989 – Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party. 

1996 – World chess champion Garry Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200 million moves per second. Man was ultimately victorious over machine, however, as Kasparov bested Deep Blue in the match with three wins and two ties and took home the $400,000 prize.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – “Don’t,” by Elvis Presley & The Jordanaires, tops the singles chart and stays there for five weeks. The ballad, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller — the duo behind “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock” — becomes Elvis’ eleventh No. 1 single. 

1968 – The instrumental “Love Is Blue,” by one-hit wonder Paul Mauriat begins a five-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

1972 – A little-known rock musician named David Bowie appears at the Tolworth Toby Jug, a London pub, and assumes the persona of the now-legendary Ziggy Stardust before some 60 guests.

1979 – Rod Stewart has the hottest single in the U.S. with “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” The song holds the No. 1 spot for four weeks.

1990 – “Opposites Attract,” by Paula Abdul with The Wild Pair, starts a three-week run as the No. 1 single.

1993 – On a special edition of the Oprah Winfrey show, Michael Jackson gives the first television interview in 14 years, live from his Neverland Ranch. Taking place before allegations about sexual abuse surfaced, the MJ interview draws a worldwide audience of 90 million people.

2001 – “It Wasn’t Me,” by Shaggy, begins its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 

2004 – Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records release “The College Dropout,” Kanye West’s debut album. 

READ MORE
On this Day: August 31

On this Day August 31

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Comedic actor Buddy Hackett, born Leonard Hacker (“The Music Man,” “Loose Shoes,” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” “The Love Bug”) (d. 2003)

1928 – Oscar-winning actor James Coburn (“Our Man Flint,” “Affliction”) (d. 2002)

1945 – Singer-songwriter Van Morrison (“Brown Eyed Girl,” “Moondance”)

1945 – Grammy-winning violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman

1949 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Gere (“American Gigolo,” “An Officer and A Gentleman,” “Pretty Woman,” “Primal Fear,” “Chicago,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “Arbitrage”)

1970 – Singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson (“Only in My Dreams,” “Lost in Your Eyes,” “Shake Your Love”)

1971 – Actor-comedian Chris Tucker (“Def Comedy Jam,” “The Fifth Element,” the “Rush Hour” movie series, “Silver Linings Playbook”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1888 – A passerby in London’s East End discovers the mutilated body of prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, the first victim of serial killer Jack the Ripper.

1964 – California surpasses New York to become the most populated state in the U.S.

1972 – American swimmer Mark Spitz speeds his way to an unprecedented seven Gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. 

1980 – Representatives of Poland’s communist government agree to the demands of striking shipyard workers in Gdansk. Former electrician Lech Walesa leads the striking workers, who go on to form Solidarity, the first independent labor union to develop in a Soviet bloc nation.

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, and her companion, Dodi Al-Fayed, die in a Paris car crash while being pursued at high speed by photographers on motorbikes. The tragedy leaves the world shocked and saddened.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – The Supremes reign over the singles chart with “Where Did Our Love Go,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks. 

1974 – “(You’re) Having My Baby, by Paul Anka with Odia Coates, is in the middle of three weeks as a No. 1 single. It becomes Anka’s first chart-topper since “Lonely Boy” in 1959.

1976 – A judge rules that when George Harrison wrote “My Sweet Lord,” he plagiarized The Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine, written by Ronnie Mack. The crime costs the ex-Beatle $1.6 million for what the court calls “subconscious plagiarism.”

1985 – Huey Lewis and the News enjoy a second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Power of Love.” 

1991 – Metallica’s self-titled album, also known as “The Black Album,” kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard album chart and goes on to sell more than 16 million copies in the U.S. alone. It contains popular tracks including “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” “The Unforgiven,” “Sad But True” and “Enter Sandman.”

1996 – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” by Los del Rio, is in the midst of a 14-week domination of the pop chart. The track becomes an international hit and dance phenom. In 2002, VH1 dubbed Los del Rio the No. 1 Greatest One-Hot Wonder of All Time.

2002 – “Dilemma,” by Nelly and Kelly (Rowland), claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard singles chart.

READ MORE