On This Day: September 5

On This Day September 5

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1847 – Outlaw Jesse James (d. 1882)

1929 – Comedian-actor Bob Newhart (“The Bob Newhart Show,” “Newhart”)

1939 – Actor William Devane (“The Missiles of October,” “Knot’s Landing,” “Space Cowboys,” “24”)

1940 – Actress and 1960s-70s sex symbol Raquel Welch (d. 2023)

1945 – Singer-songwriter Al Stewart, best known for his 70s hits “Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages”

1946 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara (d. 1991)

1951 – Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Keaton, born Michael John Douglas (“Mr. Mom,” “Beetlejuice,” “Batman Returns,” “Pacific Heights,” “My Life,” “The Paper,” “Birdman, “Spotlight”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1836 – Sam Houston is elected president of the Republic of Texas, which earned its independence from Mexico in a successful military rebellion. He serves as president until 1838, then again from 1841 to 1844. Despite plans for retirement, Houston helps Texas win admission to the United States in 1845 and is elected as one of the state’s first two senators. 

1958 – Boris Pasternak’s romantic novel, “Doctor Zhivago,” is published in the United States. The book was banned in the Soviet Union, but goes on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 and is the basis of the Oscar-winning 1965 movie starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie.

1966 – The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Telethon debuts. The live fundraiser was hosted every Labor Day weekend through 2011 by comedian Jerry Lewis. 

1972 – The world watches in horror as news unfolds about a massacre at the Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, where Palestinian terrorists murder 11 Israeli athletes. Many cite this tragedy as ushering in the modern age of terrorism.

1975 – An assassination attempt against President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California is thwarted by a Secret Service agent who wrests a semi-automatic .45-caliber pistol from Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson. Fromme is paroled in 2009 after 34 years in prison.

1986 – A Pan Am flight from Bombay, India to New York (Pan Am Flight 73) is hijacked by four armed Palestinian men during a scheduled stop in Karachi, Pakistan. Twenty people are killed aboard the 747 jumbo jet — among them, flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, who is posthumously honored with India’s highest peacetime award for bravery for protecting many of the 360 survivors.

2006 – Katie Couric debuts as the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast, the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,” and draws an audience of 13.6 million viewers. Couric, who served as co-host of NBC’s “Today” show from 1991 to 2006, succeeded longtime anchor Dan Rather.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley surprises his mother with a gift of a pink Cadillac. The car remains in the Presley family for years, and eventually goes on display at Graceland. 

1964 – The Animals begin a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “House of the Rising Sun.” The track also soars to the top of the U.K. singles chart.

1966 – Taking a break from nearly four years of touring with The Beatles, John Lennon begins acting duties as Private Gripweed in the movie “How I Won The War.” The black comedy, directed by Richard Lester (director of The Beatles’ movies “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!”), was filmed in Germany and Spain.

1981 – Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks finds solo success, soaring to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “Bella Donna.” The album features the tracks “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (the Tom Petty duet), “Leather and Lace” (a duet with Don Henley) and “Edge of Seventeen.” 

1992 – Boyz II Men is in the midst of a 13-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “End of the Road.”

1998 – Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” from the movie “Armageddon,” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for four weeks. It is band’s only chart-topping single to date.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas continue their domination of the singles chart with “I Gotta Feeling,” which is in the midst of 14 weeks at No. 1.

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On this Day: June 23

On this Day June 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1927 – Tony-winning director and choreographer Bob Fosse (“Cabaret”) (d. 1987)

1929 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter June Carter Cash (d. 2003)

1948 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

1956 – Grammy-winning producer and former “American Idol” judge and musician Randy Jackson

1957 – Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning actress Frances McDormand (“Raising Arizona,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Fargo,” “Almost Famous,” “Olive Kitteridge”)

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz (“The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” “Curbside Prophet,” “You and I Both,” “I’m Yours”)

1984 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy (“Rockferry,” “Mercy”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1868 – Pennsylvania native Christopher Latham Sholes receives a patent for a page-numbering machine that leads to development of the first typewriter. His machine features the QWERTY keyboard that all of us still use today on our computers, smartphones and other devices for written communication.

1956 – Gamal Abdel Nasser is elected president of Egypt.

1969 – Warren Burger is sworn in as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by retiring chief justice Earl Warren.

1972 – President Richard Nixon’s advisor, H.R. Haldeman, tells the president to put pressure on the head of the FBI to “stay the hell out of this [Watergate burglary investigation] business.” In essence, Haldeman was telling Nixon to obstruct justice, which is one of the articles for which Congress threatened to impeach Nixon in 1974.

1989 – Moviegoers are introduced to the darker side of Batman when director Tim Burton’s interpretation opens in theaters, starring Michael Keaton as the “caped crusader” and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. “Batman” earns over $400 million at the box office—enough to impress even Bruce Wayne!

1992 – Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the “Teflon Don” after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering.

1995 – American physician and medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk, who pioneered the first safe and effective vaccine for polio, dies of heart failure at the age of 80.

2013 – Aerialist Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk a high wire across the Little Colorado River Gorge near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

2018 – Twelve members of a Thai soccer team and their coach become trapped in a flooded cave for more than two weeks until a harrowing rescue effort, covered by international media, that costs one diver his life.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1951 – “Too Young,” by Nat King Cole, begins a five-week run as the most popular single.

1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Ray Charles, is in the middle of a five-week domination of the singles chart.

1973 – George Harrison kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with “Living in the Material World,” which contains his chart-topping hit, “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”

1979 – Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” burns its way to the top of the singles chart. The song later garners Summer a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

1984 – Duran Duran kicks off two weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s first No. 1 in the U.S.

1990 – “It Must Have Been Love,” by Roxette, is the No. 1 single.

2001 – A new interpretation of LaBelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade,” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink, is in the middle of five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. This version was recorded for the soundtrack to the movie “Moulin Rouge!,” starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

2007 – “Umbrella,” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z, is in the midst of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

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