On This Day: January 17

On This Day January 17

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1706 – U.S. Founding Father, statesman, publisher and inventor Benjamin Franklin (d. 1790)

1899 – American gangster Al Capone (d. 1947)

1922 – Actress-comedian Betty White, whose eight decades in show business included memorable roles in TV’s “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Saturday Night Live”) (d. 2021)

1927 – Singer-actress Eartha Kitt, best known for her rendition of “Santa Baby” and for playing Catwoman in the 60’s “Batman” TV series (d. 2007)

1931 – Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony-winning actor James Earl Jones, whose many performances include providing the voice of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” movie series and Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King”

1942 – Former World Heavyweight Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (d. 2016)

1957 – Comedian and “Family Feud” host Steve Harvey

1962 – Golden Globe-winning actor-comedian Jim Carrey (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Mask,” “Batman Forever,” “Liar Liar,” “The Truman Show,” “Man on the Moon,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”)

1964 – Former First Lady Michelle Obama

1971 – Rapper and singer-songwriter Kid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie

1980 – Actress-singer Zooey Deschanel (“All the Real Girls,” “Elf,” “The Happening,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “New Girl”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1916 – Golf great Walter Hagen and some 30 other pro golfers meet in New York City and form the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA). 

1950 – Eleven Boston bandits stage what comes to be called the “crime of the century,” the “perfect crime” and the “fabulous Brink’s robbery.” The group steals more than $2 million ($29 million today) from the Brink’s Armored Car depot in Boston. Six years later, the suspects are finally arrested — just days before the statute of limitations for the heist was to expire.

1953 – General Motors (GM) unveils a prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car (code-named EX-122) at the Motorama auto show in New York City. Named for a fast type of naval warship, Corvette would eventually become an iconic American muscle car that is still in production today.

1955 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), sets out to sea. Over the next several years, the vessel shatters all submerged speed and distance records.

1961 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his farewell address to the nation and warns against the accumulation of power by “the military-industrial complex.” 

1994 – A powerful earthquake rocks Los Angeles, leaving 57 people dead and causing billions of dollars in damage. The Northridge Quake, as it’s known, remains one of the most destructive in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album, featuring a stylized photo of the exploding Hindenburg airship on the cover, is released to a lackluster reception. The album, which includes the tracks “Good Times Bad Times” and “Dazed and Confused,” eventually climbs to No. 10 and helps shape the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal.

1970 – The Doors play the first of four shows at the Felt Forum in New York City. The performances are recorded for an eventual live compilation album.

1976 – Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs” reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and goes on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year. Ironically, Manilow did not write this song. It was penned by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys.

1987 – “Shake You Down,” by Gregory Abbott, is the No. 1 single. 

1990 – The Four Seasons, The Platters, The Four Tops, Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, and The Who are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the fifth annual awards presentation in New York.

1998 – The Australian pop duo Savage Garden kicks off two weeks as Billboard chart-toppers with “Truly Madly Deeply.”

2004 – OutKast is in the middle of a nine-week domination of the pop chart with “Hey Ya!”

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On This Day: December 22

On This Day December 22

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Lady Bird Johnson, former U.S. First Lady and wife of 36th President Lyndon Johnson (d. 2007)

1915 – Actress Barbara Billingsley, who played housewife June Cleaver on TV’s “Leave It to Beaver” (d. 2010)

1917 – Longtime “Match Game” host Gene Rayburn, born Eugene Jelyevich (d. 1999)

1936 – Emmy-winning actor Hector Elizondo (“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,” “Pretty Woman,” “Chicago Hope,” “Last Man Standing,” “The Princess Diaries”)

1945 – Emmy-winning TV journalist and former ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer

1949 – Singer-songwriter and Bee Gees band member Robin Gibb (d. 2012)

1949 – Singer-songwriter and Bee Gees band member Maurice Gibb (d. 2003)

1962 – Tony-winning actor Ralph Fiennes, born Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (“Schindler’s List,” “The English Patient,” the “Harry Potter” movie series, “Red Dragon,” “The Constant Gardener,” “In Bruges,” “The Reader,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Menu”)

1989 – Singer-songwriter-actress and youngest “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks (“Tattoo,” “No Air,” “Battlefield”)

1993 – Grammy-winning pop singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor (“All About That Bass,” “Lips Are Moving,” “Dear Future Husband,” “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” “No”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1900 – The first car manufactured under the Mercedes name (Mercedes 35 hp) is delivered to its buyer — Emil Jellinek, an Austrian car racer and automotive executive.

1952 – General Motors completes a production-ready prototype of the first Corvette (EX-122) to display three weeks later at GM’s Motorama auto show in New York City. It becomes Chevrolet’s flagship sports car and remains a fixture of automotive culture.

1956 – Colo, the first gorilla born in captivity, enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, weighing slightly more than three pounds. Beloved the world over, Colo dies just weeks after her 60th birthday, on January 17, 2017. Colo is credited with helping the Columbus Zoo establish its reputation as a global leader in gorilla breeding, care, habitat and conservation.

1978 – Serial killer John Wayne Gacy confesses to murdering over two dozen boys and young men and burying their bodies under his suburban Chicago home.

1984 – Bernhard Goetz, a 37-year-old white man, shoots four black teenagers on a New York City subway train after they surround him and ask for $5. Goetz is heralded as a hero and dubbed the “Subway Vigilante.”

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – “Telstar,” by The Tornados, soars to the top of the singles chart, becoming the first major hit on the American chart by a British band.

1979 – Rupert Holmes begins a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”

1979 – Pat Benatar’s breakthrough single, “Heartbreaker,” lands on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbs as high as No. 23. The Grammy-winning rocker produces 16 more hits through the 1980s.

1984 – Madonna kicks off six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Like a Virgin.”

1990 – “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” by Stevie B, is the No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for four weeks.

2001 – Nickelback sets out on a four-week domination of the singles chart with “How You Remind Me.”

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