On This Day: February 24

On This Day February 24

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Honus Wagner (a.k.a. “The Flying Dutchman”), one of the original five Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, who primarily played for his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, for 21 seasons. (d. 1955)

1921 – Actor Abe Vigoda, best known as mobster Sal Tessio in “The Godfather” and as NYPD detective Phil Fish in the sitcom “Barney Miller” (d. 2016)

1945 – Actor Barry Bostwick (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Spin City,” “Scandal”)

1947 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Edward James Olmos (“Blade Runner,” “Stand and Deliver,” “Battlestar Gallactica”) 

1950 – Blues-rock singer-songwriter George Thorogood (“Bad to the Bone,” “I Drink Alone”)

1955 – Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs (d. 2011)

1965 – Actress Kristin Davis (“Melrose Place,” “Sex and the City”)

1966 – Actor Billy Zane (“Dead Calm,” “The Phantom,” “Titanic,” “Tombstone”)

1977 – Five-division world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1836 – Under attack by soldiers of the Mexican Army, Colonel William Travis issues an urgent call for reinforcements on behalf of his Texan troops defending the Alamo in Bejar, Texas (San Antonio today).

1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives, which charges him with violating the Tenure of Office Act and bringing into “disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the United States.” Johnson, who assumed office after the Lincoln assassination, is acquitted three months later in the Senate.

1903 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signs a deal with the new government of Cuba to lease 45 square miles at the mouth of Guantanamo Bay for 2,000 gold coins a year.

1909 – The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded. In the mid-1950s, it becomes American Motors, best known for production of the Gremlin and Pacer.

1968 – The Tet Offensive ends as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops recapture the ancient capital of Hue from communist forces.

1981 – Socialite Jean Harris is convicted of murdering ex-lover Dr. Herman Tarnower, author of the bestselling “The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet,” concluding a sensational trial that ignited a national debate about whether Harris was a woman scorned or a victim of abuse.

1988 – The U.S. Supreme Court sides with Larry Flynt’s Hustler magazine by overturning a lower court decision to award the Reverend Jerry Falwell $200,000 for defamation.

1991 – After the six-week-long bombing campaign against Iraq and its armed forces known as Operation Desert Storm, U.S.-led coalition forces launch a massive ground offensive against Kuwait and Iraq.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – The Silhouettes are on top of the Billboard pop chart with “Get a Job.” Thanks to the band’s performances on “American Bandstand” and “The Dick Clark Show,” the single goes on to sell over a million copies.

1968 – French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat is in the middle of a five-week run atop the Billboard singles chart with his instrumental, “Love is Blue.” It is the only song by a French artist to ever top Hot 100.

1973 – Roberta Flack begins a five-week reign over the singles chart with “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” The song garners Flack the 1973 Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, with co-writers Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel earning the Song of the Year Grammy.

1975 – Led Zeppelin’s sixth studio album, “Physical Graffiti,” is released in the U.S. and immediately sees one million copies ship — a whopping order for Atlantic Records. The double album, which features the iconic photo of a New York City tenement on the cover, contains some of the band’s most memorable tracks, including “Kashmir,” “Ten Years Gone” and “In My Time of Dying.”

1982 – Winners at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards include John Lennon and Yoko Ono for Album of the Year (“Double Fantasy”), songwriters Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon for Song of the Year (“Bette Davis Eyes” performed by Kim Carnes), Sheena Easton for Best New Artist and Quincy Jones for Producer of the Year.

1990 – Singer-songwriter and pianist Johnnie Ray dies of liver failure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Ray is credited with 20 Top 40 singles between 1952 and 1960, including “Just Walking in the Rain.”

1990 – Paula Abdul and The Wild Pair enjoy their third and final week as Billboard chart-toppers with “Opposites Attract.”

1996 – “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men is the No. 1 single.

2001 – “Stutter,” by Joe featuring Mystikal, kicks off four weeks on top of the pop chart.

2007 – Nelly Furtado lands on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Say It Right.”

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On this Day: August 7

On this Day August 7

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1903 –  Paleontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey (d. 1972)

1904 – Nobel Peace Prize–winning academic and U.N. diplomat Ralph Bunche (d. 1971)

1942 – Pop-country singer B.J. Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” “Don’t Worry Baby”)

1942 – Grammy-winning writer and “A Prairie Home Companion” creator-host Garrison Keillor

1955 – Actor Wayne Knight, best known as Newman from the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld” 

1960 – Actor David Duchovny, best known for playing Special Agent Fox Mulder in “The X-Files”

1963 – Actor Harold Perrineau (“Oz,” “28 Weeks Later,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions,” “The Killing Jar,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lost”)

1975 – Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron (“The Devil’s Advocate,” “Mighty Joe Young,” “The Cider House Rules,” “Monster,” “North Country,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Atomic Blonde”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1782 – General George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the “Badge for Military Merit” — a decoration for valor consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk with the word “Merit” stitched across the face. Only three soldiers were awarded the badge before it fell into disuse. It was revived in 1932 as the Purple Heart, consisting of a bust of Washington below a coat of arms.

1959 – The sheaves of wheat image on the U.S. penny is replaced with the Lincoln Memorial. 

1959 – NASA launches the Explorer 6 satellite to study trapped radiation, galactic cosmic rays and geomagnetism in the upper atmosphere. It is the first spacecraft to transmit images of Earth from orbit.

1972 – Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Lefty Gomez and Early Wynn are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. 

1974 – After six years of planning and preparation, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit walks a tightrope a quarter mile above the streets of Manhattan between the World Trade Center towers.

1990 – President George H. W. Bush orders the launch of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepares American troops to join an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991.

2005 – Longtime ABC News anchor and reporter Peter Jennings loses his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

2005 – The seven-person crew of a small Russian submarine (Priz) is rescued by an unmanned British submersible that freed the sub after its propellers became entangled in fishing nets deep in Pacific waters.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1965 – “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits is the best-selling single in the U.S. It’s the band’s second Billboard No. 1.

1971 – The Bee Gees achieve a milestone when “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” becomes the trio’s first No. 1 single. The song holds the top spot for four weeks.

1976 – Heartbreak is the theme of another No. 1 single: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee, which remains on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.

1982 – “Eye of the Tiger,” from the movie “Rocky III,” is midway through a six-week domination of the pop chart. The track garners Survivor a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal.

1982 – Fleetwood Mac kicks off five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with “Mirage,” the band’s third chart-topping album, which contains the Top-20 hits “Hold Me” and “Gypsy.”

1993 – UB40 is mid-way through a seven-week occupation of the top spot on the singles chart with their cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” 

1999 – Christina Aguilera rules the pop chart with “Genie in a Bottle.” The track holds at No. 1 for five weeks.

2004 – “Slow Motion,” by rapper Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim, kicks off two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

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On this Day: August 2

On this Day August 2

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Carroll O’Connor, best known for playing Archie Bunker in the CBS sitcom “All in the Family” (d. 2001)

1932 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter O’Toole (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Lion in Winter,” “My Favorite Year”) (d. 2013)

1939 – Director Wes Craven, creator of the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise (d. 2015)

1945 – Golden Globe-winning actress Joanna Cassidy (“Blade Runner,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Body of Proof”)

1959 – Comedian, actress and former “SNL” cast member Victoria Jackson

1964 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker (“Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “Weeds”) 

1976 – Actor Sam Worthington (“Avatar,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Clash of the Titans,” “Wrath of the Titans”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1776 – The official signing of the Declaration of Independence takes place on this day, not July 4 as widely believed. John Hancock, president of the Congress, signs the engrossed copy with a bold signature. The other delegates, following custom, sign beginning at the right with the signatures arranged by states from northernmost New Hampshire to southernmost Georgia.

1790 – The first U.S. census is taken. It determines that there are nearly 4 million citizens in the 16 states and Ohio Territory. The U.S. has taken a census every 10 years since then.

1934 – With the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler becomes absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuhrer (“Leader”).

1943 – Almost two decades before becoming U.S. president, John F. Kennedy is commander of a U.S. Navy patrol torpedo boat (PT-109) in the Solomon Islands that is rammed by a Japanese destroyer and sliced in half. Two crewmen are killed, but 11 survive due largely to Lt. Kennedy’s dramatic rescue efforts.

1985 – Wind gusts from a severe thunderstorm are blamed for the crash of Delta Airlines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 jumbo jet, at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport that leaves 137 people dead. 

1990 – Iraqi troops invade Iraq’s tiny, oil-rich neighbor, Kuwait, quickly capturing Kuwait City and establishing a provincial government. The move leads to “Operation Desert Storm,” a massive U.S.-led military offensive aimed at ousting Iraqi forces to prevent further invasion into nearby Saudi Arabia. 

1992 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee becomes the first woman ever to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – Robert Zimmerman legally changes his name to Bob Dylan. Twenty-six years later, the legendary singer-songwriter is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1969 – The one-hit wonder duo of Zager and Evans dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “In The Year 2525.” The single remains at No. 1 for six weeks.

1975 – “One of These Nights,” from the Eagles’ album of the same name, is the No. 1 single, becoming the band’s second chart-topper after “Best of My Love.”

1980 – “Magic,” by Olivia Newton-John, kicks off four weeks as a Billboard chart-topper. The song is from the movie “Xanadu.”

1986 – Peter Cetera has the hottest single with “Glory Of Love,” the theme from the film “Karate Kid Part II.” 

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You,” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112, is in the midst of an 11-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

2001 – New Orleans International Airport is re-named Louis Armstrong Airport in honor of the New Orleans-born trumpet player, singer and bandleader during a week marking what would have been his 100th birthday.

2003 – “Crazy in Love,” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, is in the midst of an eight-week ride at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart.

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