On this Day May 31 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1819 – Poet Walt Whitman (d. 1892) 1908 – Actor Don Ameche ( “Trading Places,” “Cocoon”) (d. 1993) 1930 – Oscar-winning actor-director Clint Eastwood (“A Fistful of Dollars,” “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and the “Dirty Harry” movies, “Unforgiven,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Mystic River,” “Gran Torino,” “American Sniper,” “Sully”) 1938 – Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary 1943 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, who was a star quarterback for the New York Jets 1949 – Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Tom Berenger (“Platoon,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Rough Riders,” “Training Day,” “Inception,” “Hatfields & McCoys”) 1960 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian-writer Chris Elliott (“The David Letterman Show,” “Get a Life,” “Groundhog Day,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “How I Met Your Mother”) 1961 – Actress Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future” trilogy, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Caroline in the City”) 1965 – Actress-model Brooke Shields (“Pretty Baby,” “The Blue Lagoon,” “Endless Love,” “Suddenly Susan”) 1976 – Golden Globe-winning actor Colin Farrell (“Tigerland,” “American Outlaws,” “Phone Booth,” “Minority Report,” “In Bruges,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Crazy Heart,” “Miami Vice,” “True Detective”) History Highlights 1790 – The first U.S. copyright law is enacted to protect books, maps and other original materials. 1889 – Heavy rains cause the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pennsylvania and claiming the lives of more than 2,200 people. 1911 – An estimated 100,000 people gather in Belfast, Ireland for the launch of the RMS Titanic into the River Lagan. The ill-fated passenger liner, still missing its distinctive smokestacks, is towed to a berth where its engines, stacks and superstructure are installed and the interior is fitted out. Less than a year later, in one of the world’s greatest disasters, the ship sinks on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 passengers are crew are killed. 1921 – In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a White mob begins a horrific two-day attack on Black residents of the city’s thriving Greenwood district, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing at least 300 Black Americans. Long misrepresented as a race riot rather than mass murder, the Tulsa Race Massacre becomes one of the bloodiest incidents of racial violence in American history. 1962 – The architect of the Holocaust is executed in Israel. Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer who organized Adolf Hitler’s “final solution of the Jewish question,” hangs for his crimes against humanity. 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is completed. Built after the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States, it is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world. 1996 – Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres is narrowly defeated in national elections by Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Musical Milestones 1966 – British vocalist Lulu and actor Sidney Poitier begin shooting scenes for the movie “To Sir, With Love” at England’s Pinewood Studios. Poitier plays a teacher in London’s tough East End and Lulu is one of his students. 1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the midst of a five-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 1975 – Freddy Fender claims the No. 1 slot on the singles chart with “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” 1980 – “Funkytown,” by Lipps Inc., is the No.1 single and holds the top spot for four weeks. The track, off the band’s “Mouth to Mouth” album, is considered the swan song for the disco era. 1997 – The sibling trio, Hanson, rules the pop chart with “MMMBop.” 2000 – Soul singer Johnnie Taylor dies of a heart attack shortly after his 62nd birthday. Taylor had been a member of The Highway QCs and The Five Echoes, and in 1957, replaced Sam Cooke in The Soul Stirrers. He is best known for his 1976 chart-topper, “Disco Lady.” 2008 – “Lollipop,” by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. READ MORE
On this Day May 2 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1903 – Internationally acclaimed pediatrician-author Dr. Benjamin Spock (“Baby and Child Care”) (d. 1998) 1907 – Actor-comedian Pinky Lee, born Pincus Leff, who hosted the children’s TV program “The Pinky Lee Show” in the early 1950s. (d. 1993) 1924 – Actor Theodore Bikel (“The Defiant Ones,” “The African Queen,” “Fiddler on the Roof”) (d. 2015) 1936 – Pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck (“Release Me,” “After the Lovin’”) 1946 – Pop singer Lesley Gore (“It’s My Party,” “You Don’t Own Me”), born Lesley Sue Goldstein (d. 2014) 1952 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Christine Baranski (“Cybill,” “The Birdcage,” “Bowfinger,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Good Wife,” “Mamma Mia!” “Into the Woods, “Trolls,” “The Good Fight”) 1955 – Fashion designer Donatella Versace 1972 – Pro wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (“The Mummy Returns,” “Walking Tall,” “Tooth Fairy,” “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, “Pain and Gain,” “San Andreas,” “Baywatch”) History Highlights 1918 – General Motors (GM), which goes on to become the world’s largest automotive firm, acquires Chevrolet Motor Company. 1933 – The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when the Scottish newspaper Inverness Courier reports the account of a local couple that claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” 1939 – Legendary New York Yankee Lou Gehrig ends his record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games played by benching himself. 1945 – The curtain comes down on Germany in the waning days of World War II, as Russia’s Red Army announces the capture of Berlin. 1952 – The Jet Age begins as the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the British-built de Havilland Comet, makes its 24-hour maiden flight from London, England to Johannesburg, South Africa. Despite the aircraft’s overall success and longevity, the first Comets suffered from structural problems and experienced a number of accidents through the mid-1950s. 1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York City. 2011 – The world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden — mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America — is killed by U.S. forces during a raid on his compound hideout in Pakistan. After undergoing extensive training, U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six carried out the mission, codenamed Operation Neptune Spear. Musical Milestones 1960 – Elvis Presley’s “Stuck on You” remains stuck on top of the singles chart for a second consecutive week. It will hold that spot for another two weeks. 1964 – “Can’t Buy Me Love,” by The Beatles, begins its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single. 1970 – The Jackson 5 wrap up two weeks at No. 1 on the pop chart with “ABC.” Two months before it became a chart-topper, the band performed the song on “American Bandstand.” 1981 – Sheena Easton lays claim to the top spot on the singles chart with “Morning Train (Nine to Five).” 1987 – “(I Just) Died in Your Arms,” by Cutting Crew, is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1998 – The Minneapolis-based R&B trio, Next, is in the midst of a five-week domination of the Billboard pop chart with “Too Close.” 2003 – The Dixie Chicks appear naked on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, with slogans such “Traitors,” “Hero,” “Boycott,” “Saddam’s Angels” and “Proud Americans” across their bodies. The slogans represent the reactions the trio received following singer Natalie Maines’ anti-George W. Bush comments. 2009 – The Black Eyed Peas dominate the pop chart with “Boom Boom Pow.” The track is the band’s first No. 1, and it remains a chart-topper for 12 weeks. READ MORE