Pearl Harbor – Time Rewind

On This Day February 19

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On This Day December 8

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Celebrity Birthdays

1894 – Humorist James Thurber, best known for his short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (d. 1961)

1925 – Entertainer and Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr. (d. 1990)

1930 – Oscar-winning actor Maximilian Schell (“Judgment at Nuremberg,” “The Man in the Glass Booth,” “Julia,” “Deep Impact”) (d. 2014)

1939 – Flute virtuoso Sir James Galway

1943 – Singer-songwriter and The Doors frontman Jim Morrison (d. 1971)

1947 – Allman Brothers Band co-founder Gregg Allman (d. 2017)

1953 – Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger (“The Natural,” “9 1/2 Weeks,” “Batman,” “Final Analysis,” “L.A. Confidential,” “8 Mile”)

1961 – Author and political commentator Ann Coulter

1964 – Golden Globe-winning actress Teri Hatcher (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Desperate Housewives”)

1966 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor

1982 – Hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj, born Onika Tanya Maraj

History Highlights

1881 – A fire at the Ringtheater in Vienna, Austria, kills more than 600 people and injures hundreds of others. The luxurious, ornate theater hosted the most popular performances of that time.

1941 – One day after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt convinces Congress to declare war on Japan, thrusting the U.S. into World War II.

1982 – “Sophie’s Choice,” directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Meryl Streep as a Holocaust survivor, opens in U.S. movie theaters. Streep goes on to capture a Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe Award for her performance.

1987 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the first treaty between the two superpowers to reduce their massive nuclear arsenals.

1991 – The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1993 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law, creating the world’s largest free-trade zone. The pact eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Musical Milestones

1962 – “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” by The Four Seasons, is in the midst of a five-week run on top of the singles chart. It is the New Jersey band’s second chart-topper after “Sherry,” which held the No. 1 spot for five weeks in September and October of that year.

1979 – Styx has its first and only No. 1 single with “Babe,” which remains a chart-topper for two weeks.

1980 – John Lennon is shot and killed outside his New York City apartment building by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman. The beloved ex-Beatle is just 40 years old.

1982 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter Marty Robbins dies at the age of 57. Best known for his 1959 hit “El Paso,” Robbins was also a race car driver on the NASCAR circuit.

1984 – “Out of Touch” by Daryl Hall & John Oates tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks.

1990 – One-hit-wonder Stevie B kicks off four weeks on top of the pop chart with “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” officially making that the final No. 1 single of 1990.

2001 – “Family Affair,” by Mary J. Blige, begins its sixth and final week as a Billboard chart-topper.

On This Day December 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1915 – Tony and Emmy-winning actor Eli Wallach (“The Misfits,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Nuts,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) (d. 2014)

1932 – Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn (“The Exorcist,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”)

1947 – Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench

1949 – Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter and actor Tom Waits (“Jersey Girl,” “Hold On,” “One From the Heart”)

1956 – Basketball Hall of Famer and former Indiana Pacers coach/legendary Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird

1979 – Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Love Song,” “King of Anything”)

History Highlights

1941 – Japanese forces launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thrusting the U.S. into World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt calls it “a date which will live in infamy.”

1963 – Decades before the DVR and years before the first Super Bowl, instant replay is used for the first time during an Army-Navy college football game. As the CBS broadcast replays Rollie Stichweh’s winning touchdown, commentator Lindsey Nelson tells viewers, “Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!”

1972 – Apollo 17 hurtles toward space, carrying a three-man crew to the last moon landing of the Apollo program.

1982 – The nation’s first execution by lethal injection takes place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Charles Brooks, Jr. was convicted of kidnapping and murdering an auto mechanic.

1993 – Colin Ferguson opens fire on a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter train after it pulls out of New York’s Penn Station, killing six and injuring 19. Other passengers overpower Ferguson when he stops to reload his pistol. The incident comes to be known as the Long Island Rail Road Massacre.

2001 – The heist film “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts, and directed by Steven Soderbergh, opens in theaters. It is a remake of the 1960 movie of the same name that starred “Rat Pack” members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., along with Angie Dickinson.

Musical Milestones

1963 – The Singing Nun begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Dominique,” which goes on to sell 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and win a Grammy for the year’s best Gospel song.

1974 – One-hit wonder Carl Douglas chops his way to the top of the singles chart with “Kung Fu Fighting.” The song, which holds at No. 1 for two weeks, sells 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1985 – “Broken Wings,” by Mr. Mister, begins two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – U2 conquer the Billboard album chart with “Achtung Baby,” featuring “One,” “Mysterious Ways,” “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and other popular tracks.

2002 – Eminem is in the midst of a 12-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose Yourself.” The track, from his “8 Mile” movie soundtrack, becomes the first rap song to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also garners Eminem two Grammys.

On this Day June 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Former U.S. boxing heavyweight champion James Braddock (d. 1974)

1909 – Oscar-winning actress Jessica Tandy (“Firefox,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Batteries Not Included”) (d. 1994)

1917 – Legendary entertainer and “Rat Pack” member Dean Martin (“Memories Are Made of This,” “That’s Amore,” “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “Volare,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” (d. 1995)

1940 – Grammy-winning pop, blues and soul-singing superstar and “The Voice UK” coach Tom Jones (“What’s New Pussycat,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “She’s a Lady”)

1952 – Actor Liam Neeson (“The Mission,” “Schindler’s List,” “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” the “Taken” film series, “Michael Collins,” “Love Actually,” “Cold Pursuit”)

1958 – Grammy-winning pop sensation Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson (d. 2016)

1981 – Retired tennis star-turned reality TV personality Anna Kournikova

1988 – Actor Michael Cera (“Arrested Development,” “Superbad,” “Juno,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Twin Peaks”)

History Highlights

1913 – A team of four Alaskans stages the first successful ascent of Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), the highest point on the American continent at 20,310 feet.

1937 – Known as the “Blonde Bombshell” and the “Platinum Blonde,” and considered one of the most gifted and blatantly sensual Hollywood stars of the 1930s, actress Jean Harlow dies of uremic poisoning (acute kidney failure) at the age of 26.

1942 – Six months after Japan’s devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway ends with a U.S. victory over Japan in one of the most decisive naval showdowns of World War II. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet destroys four Japanese aircraft carriers and loses only one of its own — the USS Yorktown — turning the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy.

1955 – The TV game show “The $64,000 Question” premieres on CBS, hosted by Hal March.

1965 – In Griswold v. Connecticut, the U.S. Supreme Court guarantees the right to privacy, including the freedom from government intrusion into matters of birth control.

1975 – Sony revolutionizes home entertainment when it introduces consumers to the Betamax videocassette recorder.

Musical Milestones

1963 – Four weeks after recording it, The Rolling Stones release their debut single, “Come On.” It’s the cover of a 1961 Chuck Berry song. The track climbs as high as No. 20 on the U.K. singles chart.

1969 – “The Johnny Cash Show” debuts on ABC. It features musical guests like Louis Armstrong, Arlo Guthrie, Glen Campbell and Linda Ronstadt before going off the air in 1971.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the middle of a five-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – Elton John’s “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, becoming the first album ever to do so. It spawns the hit single, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight.”

1975 – “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” by John Denver, is the No. 1 single.

1977 – Led Zeppelin play the first of six sold out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden during their 11th and final North American tour. The most expensive ticket costs $10.50.

1986 – Madonna’s “Live to Tell,” off her “True Blue” album, becomes the pop superstar’s third No. 1 single.

2003 – “21 Questions,” by 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

2012 – Bob Welch, an early member of Fleetwood Mac and who enjoyed a successful solo career with hits like “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes,” dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 66.