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On This Day March 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1751 – Fourth U.S. President and “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison (d. 1836)

1912 – Former First Lady Pat Nixon (d. 1993)

1926 – Comedian, actor, singer and former Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon host Jerry Lewis, born Joseph Levitch (d. 2017)

1941 – TV game show host Chuck Woolery (“Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection,” “Scrabble”)

1949 – Actor Erik Estrada, who rose to fame in the NBC police drama “CHiPs”

1949 – Actor Victor Garber (“Titanic,” “Alias” “Assassins,” “Argo”)

1954 – Singer-songwriter Nancy Wilson of the sibling rock duo Heart

1967 – Actress Lauren Graham (“Gilmore Girls,” “Bad Santa,” “The Pacifier,” “Because I Said So,” “Evan Almighty,” “Parenthood”)

History Highlights

1802 – President Thomas Jefferson signs legislation establishing the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York to train officers for the United States Army. The Academy’s motto is “Duty, Honor, Country.”

1850 – The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel about adultery and betrayal in colonial America, is published and vaults the struggling author to fame. The work is considered a masterpiece of American literature and a classic moral study.

1968 – American ground troops kill an estimated 300 unarmed Vietnamese villagers in what would become known as the “My Lai Massacre,” the most publicized atrocity of the Vietnam War.

1985 – Islamic militants kidnap American journalist Terry Anderson in Beirut, Lebanon and hold him hostage for nearly seven years.

2008 – The first domino falls in what comes to be known as the Great Recession — the worst panic to grip Wall Street since the Great Depression of the early 1930s. Bear Stearns, the 85-year-old investment bank, is acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. at the dramatically deflated price of $2 per share.

Musical Milestones

1968 – Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” sits on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first posthumous single in U.S. history to do so.

1970 – Motown singer Tammi Terrell — who had 10 hit duets with Marvin Gaye, including “Your Precious Love,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — dies of a brain tumor at the age of 24. Terrell’s battle with cancer began in 1967, when she collapsed in Gaye’s arms during a performance.

1974 – Terry Jacks begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Seasons in the Sun.”

1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” is in the midst of a seven-week ride as the most popular single in the U.S. 

1991 – “Someday,” by Mariah Carey, is in its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

1996 – The Mariah Carey-Boyz II Men duet, “One Sweet Day,” concludes an incredible 16-week ride on top of the singles chart. The track earns Grammy nominations for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Record of the Year.

2002 – “Ain’t It Funny,” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

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