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On this Day July 31

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Celebrity Birthdays

1945 – Singer-songwriter and former Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch (d. 2012)

1956 – Actor Michael Biehn (“Logan’s Run,” “The Terminator”)

1958 – Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks owner and panelist on ABC’s “Shark Tank”

1962 – Actor Wesley Snipes (“Mo’ Better Blues,” “New Jack City,” “Passenger 57,” “Demolition Man,” “Money Train,” “Blade”) 

1965 – British author J.K. Rowling, best known for her “Harry Potter” series 

1979 – Actor-comedian-author B.J. Novak (“The Office,” “Inglorious Basterds,” “Saving Mr. Banks”) 

History Highlights

1941 – Hermann Göring, writing under instructions from German dictator Adolf Hitler, orders Reinhard Heydrich, SS general and Heinrich Himmler’s No. 2 man, “to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.”

1961 – The first tie in All-Star Game history takes place at Fenway Park in Boston when the game is stopped in the ninth inning because of rain. Players included such future Hall of Famers as Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Stan Musial, Harmon Killebrew, Nellie Fox, Willie Mays and Yogi Berra. The next tie to occur during a playing of the Midsummer Classic would be in 2002.

1964 – Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon. 

1971 – Humans take the first drive on the moon, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin cruise the dusty and bumpy surface in their lunar rover vehicle (LRV). It marks NASA’s first use of an LRV, which, among other tasks, enabled the astronauts to collect 179 pounds of lunar rocks and soil to be studied back on Earth.

1975 – Former Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of a suburban Detroit restaurant, never to be seen or heard from again. In 1982, he is officially declared dead. 

1981 – Cries of “play ball” echo throughout American ballparks after a seven-week players’ strike centered around compensation for free agents ends.

Musical Milestones

1968 – The Beatles begin a two-day recording session at London’s Trident Studios to produce “Hey Jude.”

1971 – James Taylor has the No. 1 single with “You’ve Got a Friend,” written by Carole King, which goes on to capture Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year).

1976 – Jazz and soul singer-guitarist George Benson’s “Breezin’” begins two weeks on top of the Billboard album chart. 

1993 – UB40 is on top of the singles chart with their cover of Elvis Presley’s “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love.” The song remains at No. 1 for seven weeks. Elvis’ original version from 1961 only got as high as No. 2.

1999 – Christina Aguilera kicks off five weeks at No. 1 the Billboard Hot 100 with “Genie in a Bottle.”

2004 – Usher wraps up two weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with Confessions Part II.

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