Nobel – Time Rewind

On This Day January 15

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On This Day April 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Nobel Prize-winning radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi (d. 1937)

1908 – Pioneering broadcast journalist and longtime CBS correspondent Edward R. Murrow (d. 1965)

1917 – Legendary Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, affectionately known as “The First Lady of Song” (d. 1996)

1932 – Basketball Hall of Famer and former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, born Meadow Lemon III (d. 2015)

1940 – Oscar, Tony and Emmy-winning actor Al Pacino (“The Godfather” movie series, “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” ” …And Justice for All,” “Scarface,” “Scent of a Woman,” “Carlito’s Way,” “The Devil’s Advocate,” “The Insider,” “Oceans Thrteen,” “Danny Collins,” “The Irishman,” “Hunters”)

1946 – Actress Talia Shire, best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in “The Godfather” films and Adrian Balboa in the “Rocky” series

1964 – Emmy-winning actor-producer-comedian Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons,” “The Birdcage,” “Mystery Men,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” “The Smurfs,” “Brockmire”)

1969 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Renée Zellweger (“Jerry McGuire,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Me Myself and Irene,” “Chicago,” “Cold Mountain,” “Cinderella Man”)

History Highlights

1901 – The first license plate is affixed to an automobile, as New York becomes the first state to require tags.

1945 – A milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe is achieved when U.S. and Russian troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting Nazi Germany in two.

1980 – President Jimmy Carter informs the nation that eight U.S. servicemen were killed in the collision of two military aircraft to be used to rescue 52 Americans held hostage in Iran. Those hostages are finally freed the following January, on the day Ronald Reagan is inaugurated president.

1983 – Soviet leader Yuri Andropov personally invites American fifth-grader Samantha Smith of Maine to visit his country after reading her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war. She makes the trip that summer and becomes an honorary ambassador for peace at a time when U.S.-Soviet relations were strained during the Cold War. Sadly, Smith dies in a plane crash two years later.

1990 – The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery places the Hubble Space Telescope, a long-term space-based observatory, into a low orbit around Earth. Hubble — named after astronomer Edwin Hubble — continues to provide astronomers with an unparalleled view of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe.

1995 – Oscar-winning entertainer Ginger Rogers, best known for her films with dance partner Fred Astaire, dies at the age of 83.

Musical Milestones

1956 – Rock and Roll King Elvis Presley signs a seven-year movie contract with Paramount Pictures.

1960 – Elvis Presley gets stuck on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks with “Stuck On You.” It’s his first hit single following his two-year stint in the U.S. Army.

1970 – The Jackson 5 give The Beatles’ “Let It Be” the boot and claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks with “ABC.”

1981 – Daryl Hall and John Oates begin their third and final week as chart-toppers with “Kiss On My List.”

1987 – U2 begin a nine-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “The Joshua Tree,” which packs chart-topping tracks including “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” It goes on to capture Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

1990 – The Fender Stratocaster that rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival is auctioned off for a record $330,000. His two-hour set at the 1969 rock festival included a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”

1992 – “Jump,” by hip hop duo Kris Kross, grabs the top spot on the singles chart and remains there for eight weeks.

1998 – Next has the No. 1 single with “Too Close.” The track remains on top of the pop chart for five weeks.

2007 – Leukemia claims the life of 69-year-old Bobby “Boris” Pickett, best known for his hit novelty song “Monster Mash,” which still gets radio airplay every Halloween.

On This Day March 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1793 – American statesman Sam Houston, best known for his role in bringing Texas into the United States as a constituent state (d. 1863)

1904 – Children’s book author and illustrator Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel (“If I Ran the Zoo,” “Horton Hears a Who!” “If I Ran the Circus,” “The Cat in the Hat,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” “Green Eggs and Ham”) (d. 1991)

1917 – Actor Desi Arnaz, best known for playing Ricky Ricardo in the sitcom “I Love Lucy,” which starred his wife, Lucille Ball (d. 1986)

1931 – Former Soviet President and Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev

1942 – Rock-punk singer-songwriter-guitarist Lou Reed, originally of the 60s band Velvet Underground and solo artist (“Walk on the Wild Side”) (d. 2013)

1950 – Pop sensation Karen Carpenter of the 70s sibling duo Carpenters (d. 1983)

1962 – Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi (“Dead or Alive”, “Livin’ On A Prayer”, “You Give Love A Bad Name”, “Blaze Of Glory”), born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.

1968 – Actor Daniel Craig, best known for playing British spy James Bond

1980 – Actress-comedian Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” “How To Be Single”)

History Highlights

1836 – The Republic of Texas declares its independence from Mexico. A convention of American Texans meets at Washington-on-the-Brazos (today commonly referred to as “the birthplace of Texas”) and confirms Sam Houston as the commander in chief of all Texan forces.

1925 – State and federal highway officials create the United States’ first system of numbered interstate highways.

1933 – The horror film “King Kong,” about the giant ape that runs loose across Manhattan, opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Screenings sell out for the first four days.

1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.

1955 – Nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous act of civil disobedience, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus. Colvin was traveling home from school when the driver ordered her and three fellow Black students to give up their row of seats to a White passenger.

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the NBA by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a match against the New York Knicks.

1965 – “The Sound of Music,” starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about the Von Trapp family, opens in New York. The movie goes on to capture five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise).

1972 – NASA launches Pioneer 10 — the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and the first to make direct observations and capture close-up images of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.

1978 – Three months after his death, grave robbers steal the corpse of silent film legend Charlie Chaplin from a Swiss cemetery and demand $600,000 for its safe return.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Walk Like a Man,” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. It is the band’s third chart-topping hit.

1967 – The Beatles win three Grammys for records issued the previous year: Best Song for “Michelle,” Best Vocal Performance for “Eleanor Rigby” and Best Cover Artwork for the album design of “Revolver” by Klaus Voormann.

1974 – “Seasons in the Sun,” by one-hit wonder Terry Jacks, claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stays there for three weeks.

1974 – At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder captures five honors: Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording for “Innervisions,” Best R&B Song and Best Vocal for “Superstition,” and Pop Vocal Performance for “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.”

1974 – Roberta Flack wins Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammys for “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” The track also garners a Song of the Year Grammy for its writers, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox.

1985 – “Careless Whisper,” by Wham! featuring George Michael, begins its third and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart.

1985 – Sheena Easton becomes the first musical artist ever to land Top 10 hits on the pop, R&B, country, dance and adult contemporary charts when “Sugar Walls,” written by Prince, reaches No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. That is the song that sparked the Parental Advisory music labeling system (listen carefully to the lyrics and you’ll know why).

1999 – Acclaimed British pop vocalist Dusty Springield (“I Only Want To Be With You,” “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”) dies at the age of 59 following a five-year battle with breast cancer.

2002 – “Always on Time,” by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, enters its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day February 27

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Celebrity Birthdays

1902 – Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck (“The Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” “Of Mice and Men”) (d. 1968)

1930 – Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward (“The Three Faces of Eve,” “Rachel Rachel,” “Summer Wishes,” “Winter Dreams,” “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge”)

1932 – Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor (“National Velvet,” “A Place in the Sun,” “Giant,” “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof,” “Butterfield 8,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”) (d. 2011)

1940 – Actor Howard Hesseman, best known for playing DJ Johnny Fever on the 1970s TV sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati”

1980 – Presidential daughter and businesswoman Chelsea Clinton

1981 – Pop and classical singer-songwriter Josh Groban, who has performed at both the Olympics and the Super Bowl

1983 – Actress Kate Mara (“Brokeback Mountain,” “We Are Marshall,” “Shooter,” “The Open Road,” “Transcendence,” “Fant4stic” “House of Cards”)

History Highlights

1827 – Masked and costumed students dance through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the first of the city’s traditional Mardi Gras celebrations. Early French settlers introduced the original Mardi Gras festivities to New Orleans until Spanish governors banned them in the 1700s. Once Louisiana became part of the U.S., laws prohibiting masks and public dancing were rescinded.

1922 – The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for female suffrage, is declared constitutional by unanimous vote of all eight members of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1936 – Shirley Temple receives a new contract from 20th Century Fox that pays the seven-year-old star an unprecedented $50,000 per film. Over the course of the 1930s, the box office success of her more than 40 films helps Fox weather the Depression.

1951 – On the heels of FDR’s four successive presidential terms, Congress ratifies the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1, limiting the tenure of presidential office to two terms.

1964 – The Italian government announces that it is accepting suggestions on how to save the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapsing.

1991 – During the Persian Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated.”

Musical Milestones

1954 – Doris Day has the No. 1 single with “Secret Love” from the movie “Calamity Jane.”” The recording goes on to capture an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

1961 – “Pony Time” by Chubby Checker gallops away as the No. 1 single for three weeks.

1971 – Five months after her death, Janis Joplin begins nine weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with her second and final solo studio album, “Pearl,” which contains her smash “Me and Bobby McGee.”

1980 – The first and last Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording goes to Gloria Gaynor for “I Will Survive,” unofficially marking the end of the disco era.

1988 – George Michael kicks off two weeks on top of the singles chart with “Father Figure,” off his debut studio album, “Faith.”

1993 – Whitney Houston wraps up a 14-week reign over the pop chart with “I Will Always Love You,” a song written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973.

1999 – “Angel of Mine,” by Monica, is in the midst of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day February 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1898 – Race car driver and Ferrari Motor founder Enzo Ferrari (d. 1988)

1931 – Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison (“The Bluest Eye,” “Song of Solomon,” “Beloved”) (d. 2019)

1950 – Golden Globe-winning actress Cybill Shepherd (“The Last Picture Show,” “Taxi Driver,” “Moonlighting,” “Cybill”)

1954 – Golden Globe-winning actor John Travolta (“Welcome Back, Kotter,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Get Shorty,” “Broken Arrow,” “Face/Off,” “Hairspray”)

1964 – Actor-director Matt Dillon (“Rumble Fish,” “The Outsiders,” “The Flamingo Kid,” “Drugstore Cowboy,” “In & Out,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Crash,” “You, Me and Dupree”)

1965 – Grammy-winning hip-hop pioneer Dr. Dre, born Andre Young

1968 – Actress Molly Ringwald (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story,” “The Stand”)

History Highlights

1885 – Writing under the pen name Mark Twain, author Samuel Clemens publishes “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” At the surface of Twain’s novel is the journey of a boy named Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, who travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. However, at its core, the literary classic is a satirical look at racism, religion and other social attitudes of the time. It remains one of the most beloved, and most banned, books in American history.

1929 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces the winners of the first Academy Awards to the press. Emil Jannings is the first Best Actor and Janet Gaynor the first Best Actress. Three months later, a black-tie banquet honoring the winners is held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with 270 guests paying $5 apiece to attend.

1930 – Peering through a powerful telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, formerly the ninth planet in our solar system.

1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” dies of throat cancer at the age of 62.

1970 – Five members of The Chicago Seven are found guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

1977 – The space shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight,” sitting on top of a Boeing 747 to determine how well the two vehicles flew together.

Musical Milestones

1956 – The Platters serve up the No. 1 single in America: “The Great Pretender.”

1956 – “Rock Around the Clock,” by Bill Haley and His Comets, becomes the first rock and roll LP to make the U.S. pop album charts.

1959 – At the Atlantic Records studio in New York, Ray Charles records “What’d I Say,” considered one of the greatest soul/R&B records ever produced. The track paves the way for Charles to break into mainstream pop music.

1967 – “Kind of a Drag,” by The Buckinghams, begins two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1982 – Cher makes her Broadway acting debut in “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.”

1995 – TLC marks its fourth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Creep.”

2006 – “Check On It,” by Beyoncé featuring Bun B and Slim Thug, is in the midst of a five-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

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 December 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1830 – Poet Emily Dickinson (d. 1886)

1922 – Writer Agnes Nixon, the creative force behind groundbreaking soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” which introduced social awareness to daytime television (d. 2016)

1952 – Actress Susan Dey (“The Partridge Family,” “L.A. Law”)

1957 – Actor Michael Clarke Duncan (“The Green Mile,” “The Whole Nine Yards”) (d. 2012)

1960 – Emmy-winning actor-director Kenneth Branagh (“Henry V,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Hamlet,” “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “As You Like It,” “Thor,” “My Week with Marilyn,” “Dunkirk,” “Murder on the Orient Express”)

1961 – Singer-actress Nia Peeples (“Fame,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Pretty Little Liars”)

1964 – Celebrity chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay

1985 – Actress-singer Raven-Symoné, born Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (“The Cosby Show,” “That’s So Raven,” “The Cheetah Girls”)

History Highlights

1898 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War. It effectively dissolves the Spanish empire with the United States taking over much of Spain’s overseas holdings. Puerto Rico and Guam are ceded to the U.S., the Philippines is purchased for $20 million, and Cuba becomes a U.S. protectorate.

1901 – The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. Named after Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize is still considered the most prestigious international honor. Notable winners throughout the years have included Marie Curie, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others.

1907 – An American scientist wins the Nobel Peace Prize for the first time. It’s University of Chicago physics professor Albert Michelson, known for his research into the speed of light and optics.

1950 – Diplomat, scholar and activist Dr. Ralph Bunche, a key member of the United Nations for more than two decades, becomes the first African-American awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation efforts between Israel and neighboring Arab states in the late 1940s.

1999 – “The Cider House Rules,” starring Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Michael Caine, opens in movie theaters. Oscars go to Caine for Best Supporting Actor and John Irving for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Musical Milestones

1927 – The Grand Ole Opry produces its first radio broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee.

1966 – The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. Costing about $60,000 to produce, it is the most expensive pop song ever recorded up to that time.

1967 – Soul legend Otis Redding dies in a Wisconsin plane crash three days after recording his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” He is just 26 years old.

1967 – Doors frontman Jim Morrison becomes the first rock star arrested on stage during a performance. It happens in New Haven, Connecticut. Following a backstage altercation with a police officer that maced him, Morrison taunts police during his set and is taken into custody. Angry fans riot.

1977 – Debby Boone continues to light up the pop chart with “You Light Up My Life,” which begins its ninth out of 10 weeks as a No. 1 single.

1983 – “Say Say Say,” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, starts a six-week hold on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – Boyz II Men dominate the pop chart for a second straight week with “On Bended Knee.”

On This Day November 4

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Celebrity Birthdays

1879 – American cowboy-vaudeville performer-actor Will Rogers (d. 1935)

1916 – Legendary broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite, longtime anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” who was dubbed “the most trusted man in America” (d. 2009)

1918 – Oscar-winning actor-comedian Art Carney, best known as Ed Norton in the 1950s sitcom “The Honeymooners” (d. 2003)

1925 – Emmy-winning actress Doris Roberts (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) (d. 2016)

1937 – Actress Loretta Swit, best remembered for her role as “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the popular TV series “M*A*S*H”

1946 – Former First Lady Laura Bush

1960 – Emmy and Grammy-winning comedian Kathy Griffin

1961 – Actor Ralph Macchio (“Eight is Enough,” “The Karate Kid,” “My Cousin Vinny”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey (“Dazed and Confused,” “Lone Star,” “Contact,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Interstellar,” “True Detective”)

1969 – Grammy-winning rapper-songwriter-producer Sean Combs, previously known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and, later, Diddy

History Highlights

1922 – British archaeologist Howard Carter and his crew discover the entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.

1924 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected as the first female governor in the United States, winning a special election to succeed her husband, who died just a year and 10 months into his term. Ross remains the only woman ever to have served as a Wyoming governor.

1939 – America’s first air-conditioned car goes on display at the 40th National Automobile Show in Chicago. The mechanical refrigeration unit of the 1940 Packard 180 prototype automatically switched to heating in winter and therefore was not called an air conditioner, but rather a “Weather Conditioner.” It was a $279 option that Packard stopped offering after 1942.

1948 – The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to T.S. Eliot “for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry.”

1952 – The National Security Agency (NSA) is established by order of President Harry Truman to coordinate communications intelligence work across the entire federal government.

1979 – An angry mob of young Islamic revolutionaries storms the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran and takes 90 Americans hostage. Two weeks later, about half are released. The remaining hostages are held captive for the next 14 months in what is known as the Iran Hostage Crisis.

1990 – “Dances With Wolves,” starring Kevin Costner as an American Civil War-era soldier who forms a bond with a tribe of Sioux Indians, premieres in Los Angeles. The movie, which also marks Costner’s directorial debut, goes on to capture seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and proves the Western genre is not dead.

1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated. The 73-year-old leader was walking to his car following a peace rally in Tel Aviv when he was shot by a 27-year-old Israeli extremist who is arrested at the scene of the shooting, and later confesses to the crime.

2008 – Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) defeats Senator John McCain (R- Arizona) to become the 44th U.S. president and the first African American elected to the White House.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Lulu is in the middle of a five-week domination of the pop chart with the theme song from the movie “To Sir, With Love,” starring Sidney Poitier.

1972 – “I Can See Clearly Now” puts Johnny Nash on top of the Billboard singles chart and keeps him there for four weeks.

1978 – Anne Murray’s “You Needed Me” becomes her first and only No. 1 single.

1989 – With “Sacrifice,” Elton John becomes only the third artist to score 50 chart singles in the U.K. The others were Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. “Sacrifice” reaches No. 1 in the U.K. and France, but only climbs to No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1989 – “Listen to Your Heart,” by the Swedish duo Roxette, grabs the top spot on the Billboard singles chart.

1995 – Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Carey makes her directorial debut with the accompanying music video.

2000 – Christina Aguilera wraps up four weeks as a chart-topper with “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You).”

2006 – “Money Maker,” by Ludacris featuring Pharrell, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day September 29

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Celebrity Birthdays

1907 – Entertainer Gene Autry, born Orvon Grover Autry, affectionately known as “The Singing Cowboy” (d. 1998)

1929 – NFL coach Bum Phillips, most associated with the former Houston Oilers (d. 2013)

1935 – Rock and Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On,” “Great Balls of Fire”)

1942 – Jazz-rock violinist-composer Jean Luc Ponty

1942 – Actress Madeline Kahn, born Madeline Gail Wolfson, best known for her roles in the Mel Brooks comedies “Blazing Saddles,” “High Anxiety” and “Young Frankenstein” (d. 1999)

1943 – Nobel Laureate Lech Walesa, former Polish president and leader of Poland’s Solidarity movement

1948 – Emmy-winning former “Today Show” co-host and “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” host Bryant Gumbel

1980 – Actor Zachary Levi (“Less Than Perfect,” “Chuck,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “Tangled,” “Thor: The Dark World”)

History Highlights

1941 – The Babi Yar massacre of nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women, and children begins on the outskirts of Kiev in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine. The two-day bloodbath becomes a symbol of Jewish suffering in the Holocaust.

1966 – General Motors rolls out the sporty Chevy Camaro in an effort to go head-to-head with the popular Ford Mustang, which debuted two years earlier.

1988 – NASA launches the so-called “Return to Flight Mission” — the first space shuttle launch since the devastating Challenger explosion that claimed the lives of all seven crew members in January 1986. STS-26 marks the seventh flight for shuttle Discovery.

1988 – Stacy Allison of Portland, Oregon, becomes the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.

1995 – President Bill Clinton posthumously awards voting rights advocate Willie Velasquez the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Velasquez and the organizations he founded are credited with dramatically increasing political awareness and participation among the Hispanic communities of the Southwestern U.S.

2005 – New York Times reporter Judith Miller is released from a federal detention center after agreeing to testify in the investigation into the leaking of the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame.

2008 – Congress fails to pass a $700 billion bank bailout plan, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting nearly 780 points — at the time, the largest single-day point loss in history. The free fall follows the bankruptcies of Wall Street brokerage firm Lehman Brothers, Savings and Loan bank Washington Mutual and the Fed’s pledge to extend an $85 billion bailout for insurance provider AIG.

Musical Milestones

1962 – “Sherry,” by The Four Seasons, is in the middle of a five-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1973 – Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band” is the No. 1 single.

1976 – Enjoying a little target practice during his own birthday party, rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shoots his bass player, Norman “Butch” Owens, in the chest. Twice! Owens survives and sues Lewis.

1979 – The Knack begin their fifth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “My Sharona.”

1984 – Prince and the Revolution rule the singles chart with “Let’s Go Crazy,” from the soundtrack to the movie “Purple Rain.” The track holds the top spot for two weeks.

1990 – The hard rock band Nelson begins one week atop the pop chart with “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection.”

2004 – Keith Moon’s five-piece silver Premier drum kit, custom-made for The Who drummer in 1968, sells for £120,000 ($215,772 U.S.) at Christie’s auction house in London to an American collector, setting a world auction record for a set of drums.

2007 – “Stronger,” by Kanye West, is the No. 1 single.

On This Day September 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1897 – Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner (“‘The Sound and the Fury,” “As I Lay Dying”) (d. 1962)

1929 – Emmy-winning TV journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news broadcast and who appeared as a host of numerous TV programs, including “Today,” “The ABC Evening News,” “20/20” and “The View” (d. 2022)

1944 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Douglas (“The Streets of San Francisco,” “The China Syndrome,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Wall Street,” “The War of the Roses,” “Falling Down,” “The American President,” “Wonder Boys,” “Last Vegas”)

1947 – Supermodel-actress Cheryl Tiegs, remembered for adorning covers of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue” and for her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster, which became an iconic image of 1970s pop culture

1951 – Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies

1952 – Actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident (“Superman,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Deathtrap,” “The Remains of the Day”) (d. 2004)

1961 – Actress Heather Locklear (“TJ Hooker,” “Melrose Place,” “Spin City”)

1968 – Grammy-winning actor-rapper Will Smith (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” “Ali,” “I, Robot,” “I Am Legend,” “Hancock,” “After Earth,” “Suicide Squad,” “King Richard”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Entrapment,” “Traffic,” “Chicago,” “Oceans Twelve,” “The Terminal”)

History Highlights

1957 – Nine Black students (the “Little Rock Nine”) enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas escorted by the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to block federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order.

1959 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kicks off two days of meetings with President Dwight Eisenhower at Camp David. The two men reach general agreement on several issues, but a spy plane incident in May 1960 crushes any hopes for further improvement in U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy gives his “Sword of Damocles” speech before the United Nations General Assembly. He outlines the threat nuclear weapons had on the world, and challenges the Soviet Union to a “peace race…until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.”

1963 – The first in a series of 1960s teen beach movies is launched when “Beach Party,” starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, opens in U.S. theaters.

1978 – Tragedy erupts in the skies over San Diego as a small Cessna aircraft being used for flying lessons collides with a Pacific Southwest Airlines 727 (PSA Flight 182). The accident kills 153 people, including seven on the ground, and 22 homes where the burning jet fell are damaged or destroyed.

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in as the first female associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1997 – NBC’s prime time medical drama “ER,” which supercharged George Clooney’s acting career, opens its fourth season with live performances — first for East coast viewers and a second time for its West coast audience. The episode, entitled “Ambush,” draws a record 42.7 million viewers, becoming the series’ highest rating ever. “ER” aired for a total of 15 seasons, making it the longest-running primetime medical drama.

Musical Milestones

1965 – The Beatles get animated — literally — as they join the Saturday morning cartoon lineup in ABC’s “The Beatles,” which runs for three seasons. While authentic Beatles music was used in the show, the speaking parts were recorded by voice actors.

1967 – The Beatles begin recording the Paul McCartney song “The Fool on the Hill” at Abbey Road Studios. John and George play harmonicas, Paul plays a recorder and handles lead vocals while Ringo plays drums.

1970 – “The Partridge Family,” starring Oscar-winner Shirley Jones and her actual stepson, teen heartthrob David Cassidy, premieres on ABC. Inspired by real-life vocal group The Cowsills, the show runs for 96 episodes through September 1974.

1982 – The Steve Miller Band works some magic on the singles chart by making “Abracadabra” return to the No. 1 spot where it had been three weeks earlier before Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” bumped it.

1993 – “Dreamlover,” by Mariah Carey, is in the midst of an eight-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

1999 – TLC top the pop chart with “Unpretty,” the trio’s fourth No. 1 single. It goes on to receive Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is the No. 1 single.