On This Day: February 26

On This Day February 26

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1802 – French Romantic poet-author Victor Hugo (“Les Misérables,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”) (d. 1885)

1829 – Entrepreneur Levi Strauss, best known for his blue jeans manufacturing company (d. 1902)

1916 – Actor-comedian Jackie Gleason (“Cavalcade of Stars,” “The Jackie Gleason Show,” “The Honeymooners,” “The Hustler,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Nothing in Common”) (d. 1987)

1920 – Emmy-winning actor Tony Randall, born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg, best known for playing fussy Felix Unger in the sitcom “The Odd Couple” (d. 2004)

1928 – Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Fats Domino, born Antoine Domino, Jr., who sold more records than any 1950s-era rocker except Elvis Presley (d. 2017)

1932 – Legendary country singer Johnny Cash, known as “The Man in Black” (d. 2003)

1953 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Michael Bolton (“Fool’s Game”, “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”)

1971 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter and actress Erykah Badu (“On & On,” “The Cider House Rules”) 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1919 – The U.S. Congress passes an act establishing the Grand Canyon as a National Park in Arizona. 

1929 – The U.S. Congress establishes Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

1934 – President Franklin Roosevelt orders the creation of a Communications Commission, which would become the FCC later that year by an act of Congress.

1972 – A mining dam collapses, sending millions of gallons of black coal wastewater across a wide area of Logan County, West Virginia. The Buffalo Creek Disaster claims 125 lives and leaves 4,000 people homeless.

1993 – Six people are killed and more than 1,000 others are injured when a bomb, planted inside a parked van, explodes in the garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. The blast leaves a crater 150 feet wide and causes the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors. Six terrorists are eventually captured, tried and convicted for the attack.

1998 – A jury finds Oprah Winfrey not guilty in a $10 million defamation lawsuit brought by Texas cattle ranchers. The plaintiffs had accused the talk show host of harming the U.S. beef industry with a 1996 broadcast about mad cow disease. Exiting the courtroom, Winfrey exclaims, “Free speech not only lives, it rocks!”

2012 – Trayvon Martin, an African-American teen, is fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman while walking home from a Sanford, Florida convenience store. The killing sparks a national outcry over race relations and self-defense gun laws, as Martin was unarmed when he was shot.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1966 – “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” by Nancy Sinatra, marches to the top of the Billboard singles chart where it spends a week.

1977 – The most popular single on the radio is “New Kid in Town,” off the Eagles’ “Hotel California” album. 

1983 – “Baby Come to Me,” by Patti Austin and James Ingram, enters its second and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and holds the top spot for 37 weeks. The blockbuster album gives us hits including “Thriller,” “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” It goes on to capture a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

1994 – Céline Dion is midway through a four-week domination of the singles chart with “The Power of Love,” her first Billboard No. 1.

2004 – Mario wraps up nine weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with his Grammy-nominated “Let Me Love You.”

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On This Day: December 6

On This Day December 6

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1900 – Actress Agnes Moorehead (“Citizen Kane,” “The Magnificent Ambersons,” “All That Heaven Allows,” “Show Boat,” “Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” “Bewitched”) (d. 1974)

1920 – Jazz-classical pianist-composer Dave Brubeck (“In Your Own Sweet Way,” “The Duke,” “Take Five”) (d. 2012)

1948 – Actress JoBeth Williams (“Stir Crazy,” “Poltergeist,” “The Big Chill,” “The Day After,” “Adam,” “Baby M”)

1955 – Comedian-actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Wright

1962 – Actress Janine Turner (“Northern Exposure,” “Strong Medicine”)

1967 – Emmy-winning producer-director Judd Apatow (“Freaks and Geeks,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “This Is 40,” “Trainwreck”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1865 – The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery. It provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

1884 – Workers place a nine-inch aluminum tip atop a white marble tower, completing construction of the iconic Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. At the time, the structure was the tallest building in the world, standing 555 feet, 5.125 inches.

1923 – Calvin Coolidge, known by many as America’s “Silent President,” delivers the first presidential radio address—the State of the Union—which is transmitted to listeners in six cities.

1947 – President Harry Truman dedicates the Florida Everglades as a national park.

1955 – The federal government standardizes the size of license plates throughout the U.S.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1968 – The Rolling Stones release “Beggars Banquet,” an album that represents a return to roots rock for the band following the psychedelic pop of their 1967 release, “Their Satanic Majesties Request.”

1969 – “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” by Steam, is the most popular song in the U.S. The track holds the top spot for two weeks.

1975 – “Still Crazy After All These Years” becomes Paul Simon’s first solo production to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1986 – Peter Cetera and Amy Grant are on top of the singles chart with “The Next Time I Fall.”

1988 – Grammy-winning Rock And Roll Hall of Famer Roy Orbison (“Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” “Oh, Pretty Woman”) — recognized for his distinctive, impassioned voice, complex compositions and dark emotional ballads — dies of a heart attack at the age of 52.

1997 – Elton John’s musical tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, “Candle in the Wind 1997” (also known as “Goodbye England’s Rose”), is in the middle of a 14-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2003 – “Stand Up,” by Ludacris featuring Shawnna, captures the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the first chart-topper for Ludacris.

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On this Day: June 15

On this Day June 15

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1937 – Country music singer-songwriter Waylon Jennings (d. 2002)

1954 – Actor and comedian Jim Belushi (“Curly Sue,” “According to Jim”)

1963 – Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Helen Hunt (“Mad About You,” “Twister,” “As Good As It Gets”)

1964 – Actress-producer Courteney Cox (“Friends,” “Scream,” “Cougar Town”)

1969 – Rapper-turned-actor and filmmaker Ice Cube, born O’Shea Jackson (“Straight Outta Compton,” “Boyz n the Hood,” “Friday, “Three Kings,” “Barbershop,” “21 Jump Street”)

1973 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris (“Doogie Howser, M.D.,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1215 – Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta (“Great Charter”). The document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws.

1846 – Representatives of the United States and Great Britain sign the Oregon Treaty, establishing the boundary between the U.S. and Canada.

1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper, born a slave in Thomasville, Georgia, becomes the first black cadet to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

1917 – Two months after America formally enters World War I Congress passes the Espionage Act. The measure makes it a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the U.S. armed forces’ prosecution of the war effort or to promote the success of the country’s enemies.

1934 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park is established, straddling North Carolina and Tennessee.

1955 – The Eisenhower administration stages the first Operation Alert (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess America’s preparations for a nuclear attack.

1969 – The variety show “Hee Haw” premieres on CBS and continues through 1971 before starting a 21-year run in syndication. The show centered around country music and rural culture.

1986 –  Auto racing legend Richard Petty makes the 1,000th start of his National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) career, becoming the first driver to do so.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1963 – Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto begins a three-week domination of the U.S. pop chart with “Sukiyaki.” Two decades later, in 1981, the band A Taste of Honey — which gave us the disco hit “Boogie Oogie Oogie” — releases its English-language version of the song and takes it to No. 3 on the pop chart.

1965 – Bob Dylan records one of the defining songs of his career: “Like a Rolling Stone.” The track is credited with transforming Dylan’s image from folk singer to rock star, and is considered one of the most influential compositions in postwar popular music. “Rolling Stone” magazine named it the best song of all time.

1974 – One-hit wonder Bo Donaldson claims a two-week hold on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero.”

1985 – “Around the World in a Day,” by Prince and the Revolution, begins its third and final week atop the Billboard album chart. The album contains the hits “Paisley Park and “Raspberry Beret.”

1989 – Nirvana’s debut album, “Bleach,” is released in the U.S., but doesn’t gain much traction until after the grunge band’s “Nevermind” album is released three years later.

1996 – “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald, dies at the age of 79.  Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century, winning 13 Grammy awards and selling more than 40 million albums.

2002 – Ashanti’s debut single, “Foolish,” is in the midst of a 10-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. Her accompanying music video features actor Terrence Howard.

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