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On this Day May 29

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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

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

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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