On This Day: April 8

On This Day April 8

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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. 

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On this Day: May 29

On this Day May 29

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1917 – 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy, known as JFK (d. 1963)

1930 –  Entertainer and comic actor Bob Hope, who frequently traveled overseas to perform for American troops (d. 2003)

1947 – Actor Anthony Geary, best known for playing Luke on the ABC soap, “General Hospital”

1953 – Former Oingo Boingo frontman-turned-Grammy and Emmy-winning composer Danny Elfman (“Beetlejuice,” “Batman,” The Simpsons,” “Edward Scissorhands”)

1958 – Golden Globe-winning actress Annette Bening (“The Grifters,” “Bugsy,” “The American President,” “American Beauty,” “Being Julia,” “The Kids Are All Right”)

1961 – Oscar and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge (“Come to My Window,” “I’m the Only One”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1953 – Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa guide from Nepal, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.

1973 – Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles.

1988 – President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union as he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

1979 – “America’s sweetheart,” actress Mary Pickford, dies at the age of 86. She is considered one of Hollywood’s first true movie stars

2005 – At the age of 23, Danica Patrick becomes the first female driver to take the lead in the Indianapolis 500. Although she ultimately finishes in fourth place, Patrick’s stellar performance earns her Rookie of the Year honors and a place in the history books alongside Janet Guthrie, who exactly 28 years earlier – on May 29, 1977 – became the first woman to drive in the Indy 500.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – Ricky Nelson reaches the top of the singles chart with “Travelin’ Man.”

1965 – “Help Me, Rhonda,” by the Beach Boys, is the most popular single in the U.S.

1971 – The Rolling Stones achieve their sixth No. 1 U.S. single with “Brown Sugar.” The track, off the band’s “Sticky Fingers” album, sticks to the top spot for two weeks.

1976 – Diana Ross claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks with “Love Hangover.”

1982 – The Paul McCartney-Stevie Wonder duet, “Ebony and Ivory,” is midway through a seven week domination of the pop chart.

1993 – “That’s The Way Love Goes,” by Janet Jackson, is the No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for eight weeks and goes on to win a Grammy  Award for Best R&B Song.

2004 – Usher claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Burn.”

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