On This Day January 23 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1737 – John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress and first to sign the Declaration of Independence (d. 1793) 1919 – Comedian, writer and actor Ernie Kovacs (d. 1962) 1930 – Poet and playwright Derek Walcott, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 (d. 2017) 1933 – Tony-winning actress-dancer-singer Chita Rivera (“The Rink,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “West Side Story,” “Sweet Charity,” “Chicago”) 1944 – Golden Globe-winning actor Rutger Hauer (“Blade Runner,” “The Hitcher,” “Ladyhawke,” “Sin City,” “The Blood of Heroes,” “Batman Begins,” “Hobo with a Shotgun”) (d. 2019) 1951 – Retired pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who became a hero after safely landing a crippled passenger jet on the Hudson River in 2008, an event dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson” 1957 – Princess Caroline of Monaco 1964 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Mariska Hargitay, best known as Detective Olivia Benson in the NBC crime series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” History Highlights 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman physician in U.S. history when she earns a medical degree from the all-male Geneva Medical College in upstate New York, graduating at the top of her class at the age of 28. Blackwell devotes her life to advocating for women in the healthcare professions and, in 1868, opens a women’s medical college in New York City. 1957 – The Wham-O toy company introduces the first aerodynamic plastic disc known as the Frisbee, and forever changes outdoor recreation. The disc was the creation of Walter Frederick Morrison, who originally named it the Pluto Platter. 1968 – North Korea seizes the U.S. intelligence-gathering ship USS Pueblo and interrogates its 83 crew members claiming the vessel violated North Korean territorial waters while spying. 1973 – President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord had been reached in Paris to end the Vietnam War. 1975 – The ABC sitcom “Barney Miller” debuts. It’s about an NYPD precinct captain played by Hal Linden, and the shenanigans he endures with his detectives. 1976 – Singer, actor, athlete and civil rights activist Paul Robeson dies at the age of 77. 1977 – The miniseries “Roots,” based on the book by Alex Haley, debuts. It runs for eight consecutive nights on ABC Television and becomes the single most-watched program in American history, drawing about 100 million viewers. 1997 – One day after her unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Madeline Albright is sworn in as America’s first female Secretary of State by Vice President Al Gore. Musical Milestones 1961 – Bert Kaempfert begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard pop chart with “Wonderland By Night.” 1965 – Petula Clark strolls to the top of the singles chart with “Downtown” and remains there for two weeks. The recording features Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page on guitar. Page was a studio session player at the time. 1971 – “Knock Three Times,” by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for three weeks. 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members at a ceremony in New York City. Inductees include Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. 1988 – Michael Jackson owns the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100: “The Way You Make Me Feel,” off his “Bad” album. 2000 – Santana’s “Supernatural” reaches the top of Billboard album chart for the second time. The album, which contains the hit single “Smooth,” ultimately remains at No. 1 for 12 non-consecutive weeks and goes on to capture eight Grammy awards. READ MORE
On This Day December 23 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1943 – Emmy-winning actor Harry Shearer, the voice talent behind several characters on “The Simpsons” 1946 – Emmy-winning actress Susan Lucci, best known as Erica Kane on the ABC soap “All My Children” 1949 – Guitarist and singer-songwriter Adrian Belew 1964 – Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder 1971 – Actor and 1980s teen idol Corey Haim (“Lucas,” “Silver Bullet,” “Murphy’s Romance,” “The Lost Boys,” “License to Drive,” “Dream a Little Dream”) (d. 2010) History Highlights 1783 – Following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, General George Washington resigns as commander in chief of the Continental Army and retires to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia. 1888 – Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, uses a razor to sever part of his left ear. He later documents the event in a painting titled “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.” Over years, however, a variety of new theories have emerged about this incident. 1913 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act into law establishing the Federal Reserve (The Fed), which continues to serve as the nation’s central banking system today and is responsible for executing monetary policy. 1947 – John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley with Bell Laboratories unveil their invention of the transistor, which revolutionizes communications and electronics. 1968 – The crew and captain of the American intelligence gathering ship USS Pueblo are released after 11 months imprisonment by the North Korean government. 1986 – Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager complete the first non-stop flight around the world without refueling. They set a new world record of 216 hours of continuous flying in the experimental aircraft Voyager. 1993 – The movie “Philadelphia,” starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, and directed by Jonathan Demme, opens in U.S. theaters. It is the first major Hollywood film to address the HIV/AIDS crisis and garners Hanks a Best Actor Oscar and Bruce Springsteen a Best Original Song Oscar for his track, “Streets of Philadelphia.” Musical Milestones 1957 – “You Send Me” sends Sam Cooke to the top of the Billboard Top 100 (what the singles chart was called before becoming the Hot 100) for two weeks. 1967 – “Magical Mystery Tour,” by The Beatles, hits the U.S. album chart, introducing fans to such classic tracks as “Hello, Goodbye,” “All You Need is Love” and “Penny Lane.” 1967 – The Monkees begin their fourth and final week as chart-toppers with “Daydream Believer,” their last No. 1 hit in the U.S. 1977 – Folk singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, known for hits like “Wild World,” “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken,” formally changes his name to Yusef Islam. 1989 – “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for four weeks, becoming the last No. 1 single of the 80s and first of the 90s. The track also goes on to capture a Record of the Year Grammy Award. 1995 – The Mariah Carey-Boyz II Men duet “One Sweet Day” begins its fourth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It remains a chart-topper for 16 weeks. 2000 – Destiny’s Child holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Independent Women Part I,” from the soundtrack to the 2000 “Charlie’s Angels” movie starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Luci Liu. 2006 – “Irreplaceable,” by Beyoncé, is in the second of its 10-week ride atop the singles chart, making it the final hit of 2006 and the first of 2007. READ MORE
On this Day July 8 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1935 – Pop singer-actor Steve Lawrence, best known as half of the “Steve and Eydie duo with his wife, Eydie Gormé 1944 – Actor Jeffrey Tambor (“…And Justice For All,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Arrested Development”) 1951 – Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston (“Prizzi’s Honor,” “The Grifters,” “The Addams Family,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”) 1958 – Golden Globe-winning actor Kevin Bacon (“Footloose,” “Apollo 13,” “The River Wild,” “A Few Good Men,” “Mystic River,” “The Following”) 1961 – Country music singer-songwriter and actor Toby Keith (“Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!”) 1962 – Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne, best known for her 1995 hit “One of Us” 1970 – Rock singer-songwriter Beck, born Bek David Campbell 1998 – Actor Jaden Smith (“The Pursuit of Happyness,” “The Karate Kid,” “After Earth”) History Highlights 1776 – The Liberty Bell rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. 1947 – Reports are broadcast that a “flying disc” has crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico, however U.S. Air Force officials claim it is a weather balloon. The incident triggers conspiracy theories about a government coverup and accounts of aliens and UFOs that are still debated today. 1959 – American troops suffer their first casualties in the Vietnam War with the deaths of Maj. Dale R. Buis and Master Sgt. Chester M. Ovnand. 1960 – An emerging Cold War détente between the United States and Soviet Union suffers a setback when the Soviets charge U.S. Air Force and CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers with espionage. The move comes two months after the Soviets shoot Powers down while flying a secret spy mission. 1994 – Kim Il-Sung, the communist dictator of North Korea since 1948, dies of a heart attack at the age of 82. Hoping to reunify Korea by force, Kim launched an invasion of South Korea in 1950, igniting the Korean War, which ended in a stalemate in 1953. Musical Milestones 1957 – “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” by Elvis Presley begins a seven-week run on top of the singles chart. Two months earlier, Elvis was king of the pop chart with “All Shook Up,” which spent eight weeks at No. 1. 1958 – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards the first official Gold album (for achieving sales of $1 million). It goes to the cast album for the stage production of “Oklahoma!” featuring Gordon MacRae. 1967 – The Monkees begin a 29-date concert tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as the opening act. However, Hendrix is dropped after eight performances because the producers felt his act was not suitable for their “teeny-bopper” audiences. 1970 – “The Everly Brothers Show” starts an 11-week prime-time run on ABC- TV. 1972 – Bill Withers scores the first and only No. 1 hit of his career when “Lean On Me” reaches the top of the pop chart. It holds that position for three weeks. 1978 – Gerry Rafferty’s “City To City” reaches the top of the Billboard album chart, dethroning the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack which occupied that spot for nearly six months. 1989 – “Good Thing,” by Fine Young Cannibals, begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track is the second chart-topper from the band’s “The Raw & The Cooked” album. Three months earlier, “She Drives Me Crazy” claimed the top spot. 1995 – TLC flows to the top of the Billboard pop chart with “Waterfalls.” The song remains at No. 1 for seven weeks. 2000 – Enrique Iglesias begins his third and final week on top of the singles chart with “Be With You.” READ MORE
On this Day July 27 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1922 – Emmy and Peabody Award-winning TV writer-producer Norman Lear (“All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” “Good Times”) 1944 – Singer Bobbie Gentry, who claimed Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance honors for the 1967 hit “Ode to Billie Joe” 1948 – Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming 1949 – Singer Maureen McGovern, the talent behind the 1973 hit “The Morning After” from the movie “The Poseidon Adventure” 1972 – Comedian-actress and “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph (“50 First Dates,” “Grown-ups,” “Bridesmaids”) 1977 – Golden Globe-winning actor Jonathan Rhys Myers (“Prozac Nation,” “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Match Point,” “Elvis”) History Highlights 1940 – Bugs Bunny makes his debut in the Merrie Melodies cartoon “A Wild Hare,” and remains an American cultural icon all these decades later. 1953 – After three years of combat, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end. 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act into law, requiring cigarette makers to print health warnings on every pack of smokes. 1974 – The Watergate scandal boils over as the House Judiciary Committee recommends that President Richard Nixon be impeached and removed from office for obstruction of justice. 2003 – Entertainer Bob Hope—known for his decades of overseas tours to perform for American troops and who hosted 18 Oscar ceremonies and received five honorary awards from the Academy—dies at the age of 100. Musical Milestones 1940 – “Billboard” magazine publishes its first music popularity chart. The No. 1 song for the week ending July 27, 1940 is “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with vocals provided by Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers. 1959 – Paul Anka is in the middle of four weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Lonely Boy.” 1963 – Jan & Dean ride the tide through a second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Surf City.” It’s the first surf song to become a national chart-topper. 1974 – “Annie’s Song,” a tribute to his wife, propels John Denver to the top of the singles chart. 1976 – Nearly four years after U.S. immigration officials threaten to deport him, John Lennon acquires his green card. It allows Lennon to settle in the U.S., where he lived, raised a son and remained until his tragic death on December 8, 1980. 1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams kicks off seven weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track appears on the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” movie soundtrack as well as on Adams’ sixth studio album, “Waking Up the Neighbours.” 1996 – The No. 1 song in the U.S. is “You’re Makin’ Me High”/”Let It Flow,” by Toni Braxton. The track holds the top spot for a week. 2002 – Rap sensation Nelly rules the Billboard pop chart with “Hot in Herre,” which remains a chart-topper for seven weeks. READ MORE