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On this Day May 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Film, stage and TV actor Joseph Cotten (“The Philadelphia Story,” “Citizen Kane,” “Journey Into Fear”) (d. 1994)

1909 – Golden Globe-winning actor James Mason (“North by Northwest,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” “A Star is Born,” “Lolita”) (d. 1984)

1918 – Country Music Hall of Fame artist Eddy Arnold (d. 2008)

1937 – Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, born Maria Jana Korbelova, the first woman to serve in that Cabinet position

1948 – Ambient music composer-producer Brian Eno

1952 – Actor-writer Chazz Palminteri (“A Bronx Tale,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “The Usual Suspects”)

1981 – Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow Soprano in the HBO series “The Sopranos”

History Highlights

1896 – Seventy-three people are killed and homes and businesses are leveled when a powerful tornado churns through Sherman, Texas. The twister is believed to be a rare F5 tornado, with winds exceeding 260 miles per hour.

1930 – Ellen Church, a registered nurse and licensed pilot, becomes the world’s first airline stewardess, working Boeing Air Transport’s (predecessor to United Airlines) Oakland, California to Chicago route.

1940 – A new chapter in women’s fashion is written with the introduction of the nylon stocking, which lands on store shelves across New York City. By the end of the day, shoppers purchase 780,000 pairs. By the end of 1940, more than 64 million pairs of nylons sell. However, the following year, with the U.S. drawn into World War II, the three most common sheer stocking materials — silk, nylon, and rayon — are sacrificed to the war effort.

1963 – The final Mercury mission begins with the launch of Faith 7. Astronaut Gordon Cooper becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space. He orbits Earth 22 times in 34 hours and 20 minutes — the longest U.S. space flight at that time.

1972 – Alabama Governor George Wallace is shot and paralyzed while campaigning in Maryland for the U.S. presidency.

1988 – More than eight years after intervening in Afghanistan to support the pro-communist government, Soviet troops begin to withdraw. 

2009 – After decades of environmental damage and legal wrangling, General Electric (GE) finally begins its government-mandated effort to clean the Hudson River. Between 1947 and 1977, GE dumped an estimated 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the waterway.

Musical Milestones

1961 – Del Shannon begins his fourth and final week as a chart-topper with “Runaway.”

1965 – Herman’s Hermits begin the third and final week on top of the pop chart with “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” — the band’s first No. 1 hit in the U.S.

1967 – Paul McCartney meets American photographer Linda Eastman for the first time, during a Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O’Nails nightclub in London. They marry less than two years later.

1971 – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young score their second No. 1 album with “4 Way Street,” consisting of live recordings from shows at the Fillmore East in New York and The Forum in Los Angeles.

1976 – The Sylvers burn up the singles chart when their disco hit, “Boogie Fever,” reaches No. 1.

1982 – Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney begin a seven-week hold on to the top of the Billboard singles chart with “Ebony and Ivory.”

1993 – “That’s the Way Love Goes,” by Janet Jackson, is the No. 1 single and maintains that spot for eight weeks. The track goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.

1999 – Ricky Martin burns up the Billboard Hot 100 with “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” which is in the middle of five weeks as a No. 1 single.

2010 – “OMG,” by Usher featuring will.i.am, begins four non-sequentional weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track is Usher’s ninth chart-topper and the second will.i.am collaboration.

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