Oklahoma City – Time Rewind

On This Day April 19

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On this Day July 16

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Celebrity Birthdays

1887 – Major League Baseball player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (d. 1951)

1907 – Popcorn pioneer Orville Redenbacher (d. 1995)

1907 – Actress Barbara Stanwyck (“Double Indemnity,” “Sorry, Wrong Number”) (d. 1990)

1911 – Actress-dancer-singer Ginger Rogers, who often collaborated with entertainer Fred Astaire (d. 1995)

1952 – Composer and drummer for The Police, Stewart Copeland

1963 – Actress Phoebe Cates (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Gremlins”)

1967 – Comedian-actor and “SNL” alum Will Ferrell (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights,” “Blades of Glory,” “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”)

1971 – Actor-singer Corey Feldman (“Stand By Me,” “The Goonies,” “Lost Boys,” “Gremlins,” “The ‘Burbs”)

History Highlights

1790 – President George Washington signs into law the Residence Act, which grants him the authority to select a new site for a capital of the United States on the east bank of the Potomac River.

1935 – The first parking meter in the U.S. — Park-O-Meter No. 1 — is installed at the intersection of First Street and Robinson Avenue in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The device was the creation of Carl Magee (pictured), founder of the Oklahoma News newspaper, who was determined to alleviate parking congestion. Magee saw the meter, and the threat of being ticketed, as a way to prevent drivers from leaving their cars parked endlessly on the street.

1945 – The nuclear age begins as the so-called “Trinity Test” is conducted. Part of the Manhattan Project, the world’s first successful test of an atomic bomb takes place during the early morning hours in the desert at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

1951 – J. D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” is published and becomes one of the best known works in American literature. To date, more than 65 million copies have been sold.

1969 – Apollo 11 roars from its launch pad at Cape Kennedy, Florida on the first manned mission to the moon. Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin set out to fulfill a national objective declared by President John F. Kennedy in May of 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return safely to Earth.

1999 – A single-engine plane piloted by publisher and presidential son John F. Kennedy, Jr. crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, killing Kennedy, 38, his wife Carolyn, 33, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, 34. Five days later, underwater divers discover all three bodies still strapped into their seats.

Musical Milestones

1966 – “Hanky Panky,” by Tommy James & the Shondells, begins two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the same duo that penned the hits “Be My Baby” and “Leader of the Pack.”

1966 – Guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker form Cream, generally regarded as rock music’s first “supergroup.” The band breaks up about two years later, but not before cranking out classic recordings like “Sunshine of Your Love,” “Badge,” “Strange Brew” and “White Room.”

1972 – After 16 years as their lead singer, Motown legend Smokey Robinson leaves The Miracles (originally named the Five Chimes) for a solo career.

1977 – The hottest single belongs to then-teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy: “Da Doo Ron Ron.”

1981 – One of America’s great musical storytellers, Grammy-winning folk-rock singer Harry Chapin (“Cat’s in the Cradle,” “Taxi”), dies in a Long Island, New York car crash.

1983 – The Police enter their second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Every Breath You Take,” which remains a chart-topper for eight weeks.

1994 – All-4-One is in the middle of an 11-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Swear.”

2005 – Mariah Carey rules the singles chart with “We Belong Together,” which holds at No. 1 for 14 nonconsecutive weeks. The track is from her tenth studio album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

On this Day June 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1731 – First U.S. First Lady, Martha Washington (d. 1802)

1904 – Olympic Gold-winning swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller, best known for his portrayal of Tarzan in the 1930s and 40s movies (d. 1984)

1937 – Actress Sally Kellerman (“M*A*S*H,” “Brewster McCloud”)

1941 – Actor Stacy Keach (“Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer,” “Titus”)

1941 – Legendary Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts

1944 – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Golden Globe, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch (d. 2012)

1955 – Emmy-winning comedian-actor Dana Carvey (“Saturday Night Live,” the “Wayne’s World” movie series)

1977 – Actor Zachary Quinto (“Heroes,” “Star Trek,” “American Horror Story”)

1978 – Actor Justin Long (“Galaxy Quest,” “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” “Live Free or Die Hard”)

History Highlights

1865 – Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, signs the surrender terms offered by Union negotiators. Smith’s surrender effectively dissolves the last Confederate army, formally ending the Civil War — the bloodiest four years in U.S. history.

1924 – President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizen Act, granting automatic American citizenship to Native Americans born in the United States.

1935 – Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ends his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs.

1941 – Another baseball legend, Lou Gehrig, dies of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a rare type of paralysis commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

1953 – Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is crowned in Westminster Abbey during the first televised coronation ceremony.

1979 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit a communist country when he tours his native Poland.

1989 – Moviegoers discover a darker side of comedian-actor Robin Williams when “Dead Poets Society” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Williams as an unconventional prep school English teacher. The performance garners Williams a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

1997 – Timothy McVeigh, a former U.S. Army soldier, is convicted on 11 counts of murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He is later sentenced to death.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Ray Charles kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard pop chart with “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” The track also reaches No. 1 on the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.

1973 – Paul McCartney and Wings dominate two separate music charts: “Red Rose Speedway” is the No. 1 album while one of the tracks on it, “My Love,” is the No. 1 single.

1979 – “Hot Stuff,” by Donna Summer, captures the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

1984 – “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” by Deniece Williams, begins its second and final week at No. 1. The song is from the “Footloose” movie soundtrack, which sits at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1990 – Madonna begins her third and final week on top of the pop chart with “Vogue.” The song and accompanying video, directed by David Fincher, celebrate voguing — a style of dance popularized in New York’s mostly gay ballroom club scene of the 1980s that mimics fashion-shoot poses.

2001 – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their cover of Labelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade.” This reinterpretation, for the “Moulin Rouge!” movie soundtrack, holds the top spot for five weeks.

2008 – Legendary singer-guitarist Bo Diddley dies of heart failure at the age of 79. Born Ellas Otha Bates, Diddley helped shape the transition of blues to rock and roll, and influenced artists including Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and U2.