NFL – Time Rewind

On This Day January 15

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On This Day April 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1921 – Professional baseball and basketball player-turned-actor Chuck Connors (“The Rifleman”) (d. 1992)

1929 – Actor Max von Sydow (“The Seventh Seal,” “The Exorcist,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “Pelle The Conqueror,” “Minority Report,” “Game of Thrones”) (d. 2020)

1932 – Golden Globe Award-winning actor Omar Sharif (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago,” “Funny Girl”) (d. 2015)

1936 – Pro Football Hall of Famer, retired NFL coach and sportscaster John Madden

1952 – Actor, producer and martial artist Steven Seagal (“Above the Law,” “Under Siege,” “Executive Decision,” “The Patriot”)

1959 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter and music producer Babyface, born Kenneth Edmonds

1984 – Singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore (“Candy,” “A Walk to Remember,” “Tangled,” “This Is Us”)

1988 – Actor Haley Joel Osment (“Forrest Gump,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Pay It Forward,” “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” “Entourage”)

History Highlights

1790 – President George Washington signs a bill establishing the U.S. Patent system as a means of protecting the rights of inventors for their creations.

1849 – New York mason Walter Hunt is granted U.S. Patent #6,281 for his safety pin invention, which he fashioned from a single piece of wire.

1866 – A major step toward protecting the welfare of animals is taken on this day when philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh establishes the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

1912 – The luxury liner Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on its fateful voyage to New York.

1953 – The first color 3-D movie opens in New York. It’s “House of Wax,” starring Vincent Price and directed by André De Toth. In addition to sparking the 3-D movie craze of the 1950s, this motion picture also launches Price’s long and successful career as a star of the horror genre.

1963 – All 129 crewmen die when the nuclear submarine USS Thresher sinks some 300 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while conducting drills.

1971 – The U.S. table tennis team begins a week-long visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the invitation of China’s communist government. The well-publicized trip is part of the PRC’s efforts to build closer diplomatic relations with the United States.

Musical Milestones

1954 – “Wanted,” by Perry Como, begins an eight-week run on top of the pop chart.

1965 – Freddie and the Dreamers, known for their unique dance gyrations while performing, hold the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m Telling You Now.”

1970 – Paul McCartney issues a press statement — more of a self-interview — announcing the breakup of The Beatles. McCartney wrote, “I have no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John (Lennon).”

1971 – Motown sensation The Temptations have the No. 1 single with “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me).”

1976 – The biggest-selling live album in rock history hits the top of the U.S. album chart and remains there for 10 weeks. It’s “Frampton Comes Alive!” by British singer-songwriter Peter Frampton. An estimated 11 million copies have been sold worldwide.

1993 – One-hit-wonder Snow is in the middle of seven weeks atop the pop chart with “Informer.”

1999 – The female trio TLC kicks off four weeks as chart-toppers with “No Scrubs.”

On This Day March 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1944 – Actor Ken Howard (“1776,” “The White Shadow,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Crossing Jordan”) (d. 2016)

1948 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Dianne Wiest (“Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Parenthood,” “The Lost Boys,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “In Treatment,” “Law & Order”)

1955 – Grammy-winning country singer and actress Reba McEntire, who starred in her own sitcom, “Reba,” from 2001-07

1970 – Actor Vince Vaughn (“Swingers,” “Wedding Crashers,” “The Break-Up,” “The Internship,” “True Detective”)

1981 – Actress Julia Stiles (“Save the Last Dance,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Dexter”)

1986 – Grammy and Golden Globe-winning pop superstar and actress Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

History Highlights

1834 – The U.S. Congress censures President Andrew Jackson over his refusal to turn over documents regarding his dealings with the Bank of the United States.

1881 – The Greatest Show on Earth is born when P.T. Barnum and James Bailey merge their circus troupes.

1915 – The first American is killed during World War I, before the U.S. had even entered the conflict. Leon Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer from Massachusetts, drowns when a German U-boat (submarine) torpedoes the British steamship RMS Falaba off the coast of England. The vessel was on its way from Liverpool to West Africa when the Germans attacked. The sinking is reported by American media as the “Thrasher Incident.”

1969 – Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States and one of the most highly decorated American generals of World War II, dies at the age of 78.

1979 – The worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history takes place at the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, PA. A mechanical failure in the Unit 2 reactor, compounded by human error, forces thousands to evacuate and triggers a public backlash against the nuclear power industry.

1984 – Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay outrages fans and local officials when he moves the NFL franchise to Indianapolis in the middle of the night with no public announcement.

Musical Milestones

1958 – Composer William Christopher “W.C.” Handy, regarded as the “Father of the Blues,” dies in New York City.

1964 – “She Loves You,” by The Beatles, tops the U.S. pop chart. It is the second of three consecutive singles that keep The Beatles at No. 1 from the beginning of February through the beginning of May of that year.

1970 – “Bridge over Troubled Water,” by Simon & Garfunkel, sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1981 – Kim Carnes delivers new music to the Billboard singles chart in the form of “Bette Davis Eyes,” which reaches No. 1 that May and holds there for nine weeks.

1981 – “Rapture,” by Blondie featuring Debbie Harry, becomes the first rap song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track, off the band’s “Autoamerican” album, claims the top spot for two weeks.

1987 – Club Nouveau’s cover of the Bill Withers soul classic, “Lean On Me, ” wraps up two weeks as a No. 1 single.

1992 – Vanessa Williams rules the singles chart for five weeks beginning this day with “Save the Best for Last.”

1998 – Will Smith wraps up a three-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It.”

2001 – Sean Combs, the Grammy-winning artist formerly known as both Puffy and Puff Daddy, tells MTV that he now wants to be known as P. Diddy. In August 2005, he changes his stage name to simply Diddy.

2009 – “Right Round,” by Flo Rida featuring Kesha, tops the pop chart.

On This Day March 3

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Celebrity Birthdays

1847 – Scientist-inventor Alexander Graham Bell, best known for developing the telephone (d. 1922)

1911 – Actress Jean Harlow, often referred to as the “Original Blonde Bombshell” (d. 1937)

1920 – Actor James Doohan, best known as starship engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott from the “Star Trek” TV and movie series (d. 2005)

1945 – Oscar-winning director George Miller, best known for the “Mad Max” movie franchise and the animated film “Happy Feet”

1947 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jennifer Warnes (“Right Time of the Night,” “Up Where We Belong,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”)

1958 – Golden Globe-winning actress Miranda Richardson (“Blackadder,” “The Crying Game,” “The Apostle,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Made in Dagenham”)

1962 – Heisman Trophy-winning retired NFL running back Herschel Walker

1966 – Rapper Tone Loc, born Anthony Smith (“Wild Thing,” “Funky Cold Medina”)

1982 – Actress Jessica Biel (“7th Heaven,” “Ulee’s Gold,” “Summer Catch,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Blade: Trinity”)

History Highlights

1820 – Congress passes the Missouri Compromise, temporarily resolving the first serious political clash between slavery and antislavery interests by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

1887 – Anne Mansfield Sullivan begins teaching six-year-old Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing at 19 months of age. Under Sullivan’s tutelage, including her pioneering “touch teaching” techniques, the previously uncontrollable Keller thrived, eventually graduating from college and becoming an international lecturer and activist.

1923 – The first edition of Time magazine is published. The 32-page issue features former U.S. House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon on the cover.

1931 – With the stroke of President Herbert Hoover’s pen, the United States officially adopts the “Star-Spangled Banner” as its national anthem.

1950 – Marilyn Monroe makes her first screen appearance when the musical comedy “Love Happy,” starring the Marx Brothers, opens in movie theaters.

1952 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a New York state law (Feinberg Law) that prohibits communists from teaching in public schools. Coming at the height of the Red Scare in the U.S., the high court’s decision was further proof that many Americans feared possible subversive communist activity within their borders.

1991 – In what’s believed to be the first viral video, amateur video footage captures the beating of African American motorist Rodney King by four Los Angeles police officers, igniting outrage over alleged police brutality and social inequalities in LA’s black community. The cops are later tried and acquitted, which triggers riots.

Musical Milestones

1951 – “If,” by Perry Como, claims a six-week hold on the top spot on the singles chart.

1973 – Roberta Flack rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” which remains a chart-topper for four weeks. The track goes on to garner Flack Grammys in 1974 for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance as well as a Song of the Year Grammy for its writers, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox.

1973 – At the 15th Annual Grammy Awards, Roberta Flack wins Song of the Year and Record of the Year honors for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” as well as Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo for her duet with Donny Hathaway, “Where Is The Love.” Harry Nilsson wins the Best Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for “Without You.”

1984 – “Jump,” by Van Halen, begins its second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track, off the band’s “1984” album, remains at No. 1 for five weeks.

1990 – Janet Jackson begins three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Escapade,” off her “Rhythm Nation 1814” album.

2001 – “Stutter,” by Joe featuring Mystikal, holds the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day February 5

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Celebrity Birthdays

1919 – Comedian-actor-TV host Red Buttons (d. 2006)

1934 – Retired Major League Baseball superstar Hank Aaron, who was first to break Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs

1942 – Retired Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach

1948 – Actress Barbara Hershey (“Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Beaches,” “Falling Down,” “Black Swan”)

1948 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Tom Wilkinson (“The Full Monty,” “In the Bedroom,” “Michael Clayton,” “Duplicity,” “The Debt,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”)

1948 – Actor, screenwriter and director Christopher Guest (“This is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride,” “Waiting for Guffman”)

1962 – Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (“Single White Female,” “Dolores Claiborne,” “The Hateful Eight”)

1964 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Laura Linney (“Kinsey,” “Primal Fear,” “The Truman Show,” “Wild Iris, “Frasier,” “John Adams”)

History Highlights

1937 – President Franklin Roosevelt announces a controversial plan to expand the Supreme Court, allegedly to make it more efficient. Critics accuse him of trying to “pack” the court to neutralize those justices hostile to his New Deal.

1971 – Apollo 14’s lunar module, the Antares, touches down on the surface of the moon in the region known as Fra Mauro, the intended landing site of the aborted Apollo 13 mission. While on the moon, Commander Alan Shepard practices his golf swing by hitting two balls.

1972 – Bob Douglas (1882-1979), considered the “Father of Black Professional Basketball,” becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

1988 – Two federal grand juries in Florida announce the indictments of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and 16 associates on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.

1993 – Just two weeks after his inauguration, President Bill Clinton signs the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It grants workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in order to recover from a serious medical condition, provide care for a seriously ill family member or care for a new child.

1994 – White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted in the murder of African-American civil rights leader Medgar Evers more than 30 years after the crime occurred.

Musical Milestones

1955 – Billboard magazine ranks “Hearts of Stone,” by the New Jersey trio The Fontane Sisters, the best-selling single in the U.S.

1957 – Way before the British Invasion, an American invasion is underway, as adoring fans welcome Bill Haley and His Comets of “Rock Around the Clock” fame to the U.K.

1966 – Petula Clark’s “My Love” is the No. 1 single. The track is Clark’s second chart-topper following her breakthrough hit, “Downtown.” She becomes the first British female artist to score two U.S. No. 1s.

1972 – Paul Simon’s first solo recording since the Simon & Garfunkel split, “Mother And Child Reunion,” is released and eventually climbs as high as No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1977 – “Torn Between Two Lovers” puts Mary MacGregor on top of the singles chart.

1983 – “Africa” becomes Toto’s first and only No. 1 single in the U.S. The track is from the band’s “Toto IV” album, which also contains the Top 5 hit “Rosanna.”

2000 – Australian pop duo Savage Garden is in the midst of a three-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Knew I Loved You.”

On This Day February 3

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Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Author-poet and art collector Gertrude Stein (“How to Write,” “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”) (d. 1946)

1894 – Artist Norman Rockwell, famous for his “Saturday Evening Post” cover illustrations of everyday American life (d. 1978)

1918 – Entertainer and “Rat Pack” member Joey Bishop (d. 2007)

1940 – Legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who spent 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants

1943 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Blythe Danner (“Butterflies are Free,” “Will & Grace,” “Meet the Parents”)

1950 – Actress Morgan Fairchild (“Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Murphy Brown”)

1956 – Tony-winning actor-comedian Nathan Lane (“The Producers,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Birdcage”)

History Highlights

1913 – The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, authorizing the federal government to impose and collect a nationwide income tax.

1966 – The Soviets achieve the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the moon with Luna 9. After touching down, the circular capsule opens like a flower and begins transmitting photographs and television images back to Earth.

1971 – New York City police officer Frank Serpico is shot during a Brooklyn drug bust and survives to expose corruption in the NYPD. Many believe the shooting was fellow officers trying to kill him. His experience is immortalized in the 1973 movie “Serpico,” starring Al Pacino.

1994 – President Bill Clinton lifts the 19-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam that was first imposed during the Vietnam War when North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon in South Vietnam.

2002 – The New England Patriots shock football fans everywhere by defeating the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to clinch their first Super Bowl victory. Super Bowl XXXVI was played at the Superdome in New Orleans before a crowd of nearly 73,000 people.

2005 – Alberto Gonzales wins U.S. Senate confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic attorney general despite protests over his record on torture.

Musical Milestones

1959 – Rock and Roll greats Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson are killed when their single-engine plane crashes in an Iowa cornfield during their Winter Dance Party tour. The tragedy is remembered as “The Day the Music Died.”

1968 – One-hit wonder The Lemon Pipers shake their way up to No. 1 on the singles chart with “Green Tambourine.”

1973 – Elton John scores his first No. 1 single in the U.S. with “Crocodile Rock,” from his “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player” album. The song holds the top spot for three weeks.

1979 – The Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) land on top of the Billboard album chart with “Briefcase Full of Blues.” The album contains their cover of “Soul Man,” which reaches No. 14 on the singles chart, and “Rubber Biscuit,” which climbs as high as No. 37.

1990 – Michael Bolton begins his third and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.”

2007 – Beyoncé rules the singles chart with “Irreplaceable,” which holds at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

On This Day January 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Actor Lloyd Bridges (“Sea Hunt,” “Airplane!” “East of Eden”) (d. 1998)

1929 – Nobel Peace Prize-winning civil rights leader and Baptist minister Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (d. 1968)

1937 – Oscar-winning actress Margaret O’Brien (“Jane Eyre,” “Meet Me in St. Louis”)

1951 – Singer, dancer, comedian and actress Charo, born María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baez

1957 – Actor-director Mario Van Peebles (“21 Jump Street,” “New Jack City,” “Baadasssss!”)

1968 – Emmy-winning actor Chad Lowe (“ER,” “Melrose Place,” “Life Goes On,” “Pretty Little Liars”)

1981 – Grammy-winning rapper Pitbull, born Armando Christian Pérez (“I Know You Want Me,” “Give Me Everything,” “Timber”)

1988 – Grammy-winning DJ Skrillex, born Sonny John Moore

History Highlights

1943 – The world’s largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, as the home of the U.S. Department of Defense, which was then known as the U.S. War Department.

1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.

1974 – Nostalgic sitcom “Happy Days,” starring Henry Winkler as super-cool biker Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli, premieres. Ron Howard co-stars as Fonzie’s friend, Richie Cunningham. The show, created by Garry Marshall, runs for 11 seasons and was one of the highest-rated series of the 1970s.

1981 – The award-winning dramatic police series “Hill Street Blues” debuts on NBC.

2009 – In what comes to be called the “Miracle on the Hudson,” a US Airways passenger jet makes an emergency landing in the frigid Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey after a bird strike disables its engines during take-off from LaGuardia Airport. All 155 passengers and crew of the Airbus A-320 survive, and pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is hailed as a hero. In 2016, the story is made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as “Sully.”

Musical Milestones

1966 – The Beatles have a No. 1 single with “We Can Work It Out.”

1972 – Don McLean’s classic track, “American Pie,” conquers the Billboard singles chart and holds the top spot for four weeks.

1977 – “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” by Leo Sayer is the hottest song on the radio.

1983 – “Down Under” puts Men At Work on top of the Billboard singles chart. It’s the second single from the Australian band’s “Business As Usual” album to reach No. 1.

1994 – Mariah Carey’s “Hero” marks its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2005 – “Let Me Love You,” by Mario, is in the middle of nine weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and later garners a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

On This Day January 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1876 – Author Jack London (“The Call of the Wild,” “White Fang”) (d. 1916)

1944 – Retired World Heavyweight Boxing champion Joe Frazier (d. 2011)

1951 – Conservative talk show host and Radio Hall of Famer Rush Limbaugh (d. 2021)

1951 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Kirstie Alley (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Cheers,” “Shoot to Kill,” “Look Who’s Talking”) (d. 2022)

1954 – Radio shock jock and former “America’s Got Talent” judge Howard Stern

History Highlights

1904 – Driving his “999” Arrow Racer, automotive pioneer Henry Ford sets a land speed record of 91.37 miles per hours on the frozen surface of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair.

1926 – The two-man comedy series “Sam ‘n’ Henry” debuts on Chicago radio station WGN. Two years later, after changing its name to “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” the show becomes one of the most popular radio programs in American history.

1932 – Hattie Wyatt Caraway, an Arkansas Democrat, becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1966 – The “Batman” television series debuts on ABC, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Episodes feature acclaimed guest stars playing the various villains that battle Batman for supremacy over Gotham City.

1969 – In the most celebrated performance of his prolific career, quarterback Joe Namath leads the New York Jets to a stunning 16-7 victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami.

1971 – The groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” premieres on CBS, about a working-class Queens, New York family grappling with various social issues. It stars Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, Jean Stapleton as his wife, Edith, Sally Struthers as their daughter, Gloria, and Rob Reiner as their son-in-law, Michael (“Meathead”). The show was the brainchild of acclaimed writer-producer Norman Lear.

1981 – A three-hour television movie serves as ABC’s pilot for the prime-time soap opera “Dynasty,” starring John Forsythe as oil tycoon Blake Carrington, Linda Evans as his wife, Crystal, and Joan Collins as Alexis, Carrington’s scheming ex-wife and business rival.

2010 – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The quake — the strongest to strike the region in more than 200 years — leaves about 250,000 people dead and some 895,000 Haitians homeless.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Go Away Little Girl,” by Steve Lawrence, begins two weeks on top of the singles chart.

1974 – Jim Croce starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.”

1974 – The Steve Miller Band has the No. 1 single in the U.S. with “The Joker,” off the album of the same name.

1980 – “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” by Rupert Holmes, is the most popular single in the U.S.

1985 – “Like a Virgin,” by Madonna, is in the middle of six-weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1991 – Madonna rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Justify My Love.”

2002 – “How You Remind Me,” by Nickelback, begins its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2003 – Maurice Gibb of the celebrated musical trio, the Bee Gees, dies of a heart attack at the age of 53 after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery at a Miami hospital.

2013 – The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury until his 1991 death sells at auction for £74,000 to a Russian businessman.

On This Day January 3

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Celebrity Birthdays

1892 – English writer and poet J. R. R. Tolkien (“The Hobbit,” “Lord of the Rings”) (d. 1973)

1926 – Record producer-arranger George Martin, known as the “Fifth Beatle” (d. 2016)

1930 – Actor-director Robert Loggia (“Scarface,” “Big,” “Jagged Edge,” “Independence Day,” “Lost Highway,” “The Sopranos”) (d. 2015)

1932 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Dabney Coleman, (“9 to 5,” “Tootsie,” “WarGames,” “Buffalo Bill,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Rules Don’t Apply”)

1950 – Actress Victoria Principal, best known for her role as Pam Ewing in the hit series “Dallas”

1956 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer-director Mel Gibson (“Mad Max,” “Braveheart,” the “Lethal Weapon” movie series, “The Patriot,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “The Beaver,” “Hacksaw Ridge”)

1981 – Star NFL quarterback Eli Manning of the New York Giants

History Highlights

1938 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his former law partner, Basil O’Connor, establish the March of Dimes (originally known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis) to battle polio, the disease FDR contracted at the age of 39 that prevented him from ever walking on his own again.

1961 – The U.S. severs diplomatic relations with Cuba two years after Fidel Castro seized control of the island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

1967 – Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who killed the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, dies of cancer in a Dallas hospital. The Texas Court of Appeals had recently overturned Ruby’s death sentence for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and was scheduled to grant him a new trial.

1969 – Apollo 8 astronauts William Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell grace the cover of TIME magazine as “Men of the Year” for becoming the first humans to orbit the moon. During their mission, the trio also captured the iconic “Earthrise” image of planet Earth hovering above the lunar surface. They were hailed for bringing a hopeful conclusion to 1968 — a year filled with social strife that included the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

1990 – Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S. military troops to face charges of drug trafficking.

1993 – The Buffalo Bills stage the greatest comeback in NFL history. Backup quarterback Frank Reich leads the Bills to an improbable 41-38 overtime victory over the Houston Oilers in an AFC wild card playoff game that would forever be known to football fans as “The Comeback.” In Houston, however, it was referred to as “The Choke.”

Musical Milestones

1970 – The Beatles record their last song as a group — George Harrison’s “I, Me, Mine” — which appears on the “Let It Be” album.

1970 – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” by B.J. Thomas, begins a four-week domination of the singles chart. The song is featured in the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

1976 – S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! Scotland’s Bay City Rollers hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Saturday Night.”

1981 – Less than four weeks after his assassination outside his Manhattan apartment building, John Lennon has the first No. 1 single of 1981 with “(Just Like) Starting Over.”

1987 – Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1987 – The Bangles claim the top spot on the singles chart with “Walk Like an Egyptian.”

1998 – Elton John’s tribute to the late Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997,” enters its 13th week as a No. 1 single.

2004 – OutKast rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hey Ya!” The track ultimately holds the top spot for nine weeks and goes on to win a Best Urban/Alternative Performance Grammy Award.

On This Day December 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1856 – 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (d. 1924)

1922 – Legendary Marvel Comics writer, editor and publisher Stan Lee, who co-created such iconic characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four (d. 2018)

1932 – Actress Nichelle Nichols, best known as Lieutenant Uhura from the “Star Trek” TV series and movies (d. 2022)

1934 – Actress Dame Maggie Smith, who plays Professor McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” movie series

1954 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Tony-winning actor-director-producer Denzel Washington (“St. Elsewhere,” “Glory,” “Malcolm X,” “Training Day,” “Antwone Fisher,” “American Gangster,” “Unstoppable,” “Flight,” “The Equalizer,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Fences”)

1973 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian-writer-TV host Seth Meyers (“Saturday Night Live,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers”)

1978 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning singer-songwriter and actor John Legend (“Ordinary People,” “All of Me,” “Glory”)

History Highlights

1895 – The world’s first commercial movie screening takes place at the Salon Indien of the Grand Cafe in Paris. Guests pay one franc to watch 10 short films produced by siblings Louis and Auguste Lumiere, who developed a camera-projector called the Cinematographe.

1938 – Silent-film star Florence Lawrence commits suicide in Beverly Hills at the age of 52. Though best known for roles in nearly 250 films, Lawrence also invented the first “auto signaling arm,” a mechanical turn signal, along with the first mechanical brake signal. However, because she never patented them, she never received credit for or profit from either one.

1945 – Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance. The words “under God” were added in 1954 in response to the anti-Communist (and thus anti-atheist) opinion sweeping the U.S. during the Cold War.

1958 – Known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants at New York’s Yankee Stadium in the first National Football League (NFL) sudden death overtime playoff game

1981 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.

Musical Milestones

1959 – “Why,” by teen idol Frankie Avalon, becomes the last No. 1 single of the 1950s. It holds the top spot for a week.

1968 – The Beatles land on top of the Billboard album chart with their self-titled “The Beatles,” better known as “The White Album” — produced while the band was falling apart. It becomes their 12th chart-topping album.

1968 – Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is in the midst of a seven-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100. The track is the Motown legend’s first No. 1 hit and the label’s best-selling single of the 60s.

1974 – Helen Reddy dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Angie Baby,” one of her best-selling singles. The track was written by Alan O’Day, most recognized for his 1977 smash “Undercover Angel.”

1983 – Dennis Wilson, the only real surfer in the band The Beach Boys, drowns at the age of 39 after a day of drinking and diving off Marina del Ray, California.

1985 – “Say You, Say Me,” by Lionel Richie, is midway through a four-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1996 – Toni Braxton dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Un-Break My Heart,” which remains a No. 1 single for 11 weeks.

2002 – Eminem rolls into an eighth week on top of the singles chart with “Lose Yourself,” which becomes the last No. 1 hit of 2002 and the first of 2003. It remains a chart-topper for a total of 12 weeks.