On This Day: January 23

On This Day January 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1737 – John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress and first to sign the Declaration of Independence (d. 1793) 

1919 – Comedian, writer and actor Ernie Kovacs (d. 1962)

1930 – Poet and playwright Derek Walcott, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 (d. 2017)

1933 – Tony-winning actress-dancer-singer Chita Rivera (“The Rink,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “West Side Story,” “Sweet Charity,” “Chicago”)

1944 – Golden Globe-winning actor Rutger Hauer (“Blade Runner,” “The Hitcher,” “Ladyhawke,” “Sin City,” “The Blood of Heroes,” “Batman Begins,” “Hobo with a Shotgun”) (d. 2019)

1951 – Retired pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who became a hero after safely landing a crippled passenger jet on the Hudson River in 2008, an event dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson”

1957 – Princess Caroline of Monaco

1964 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Mariska Hargitay, best known as Detective Olivia Benson in the NBC crime series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman physician in U.S. history when she earns a medical degree from the all-male Geneva Medical College in upstate New York, graduating at the top of her class at the age of 28. Blackwell devotes her life to advocating for women in the healthcare professions and, in 1868, opens a women’s medical college in New York City.

1957 – The Wham-O toy company introduces the first aerodynamic plastic disc known as the Frisbee, and forever changes outdoor recreation. The disc was the creation of Walter Frederick Morrison, who originally named it the Pluto Platter.

1968 – North Korea seizes the U.S. intelligence-gathering ship USS Pueblo and interrogates its 83 crew members claiming the vessel violated North Korean territorial waters while spying.

1973 – President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord had been reached in Paris to end the Vietnam War.

1975 – The ABC sitcom “Barney Miller” debuts. It’s about an NYPD precinct captain played by Hal Linden, and the shenanigans he endures with his detectives.

1976 – Singer, actor, athlete and civil rights activist Paul Robeson dies at the age of 77. 

1977 – The miniseries “Roots,” based on the book by Alex Haley, debuts. It runs for eight consecutive nights on ABC Television and becomes the single most-watched program in American history, drawing about 100 million viewers.

1997 – One day after her unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Madeline Albright is sworn in as America’s first female Secretary of State by Vice President Al Gore.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – Bert Kaempfert begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard pop chart with “Wonderland By Night.”

1965 – Petula Clark strolls to the top of the singles chart with “Downtown.” The recording features Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page on guitar. Page was a studio session player at the time.

1971 – “Knock Three Times,” by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for three weeks.

1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members at a ceremony in New York City. Inductees include Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. 

1988 – Michael Jackson owns the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100: “The Way You Make Me Feel,” off his “Bad” album.

2000 – Santana’s “Supernatural” reaches the top of Billboard album chart for the second time. The album, which contains the hit single “Smooth,” ultimately remains at No. 1 for 12 non-consecutive weeks and goes on to capture eight Grammy awards. 

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On This Day: January 14

On This Day January 14

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1875 – Physician/humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his “Reverence for Life” philosophy (d. 1965)

1919 – Radio-TV writer and “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney (d. 2011)

1938 – Grammy-winning pop singer Jack Jones (“The Love Boat” theme)

1941 – Academy Award-winning actress Faye Dunaway (“Bonnie and Clyde,” “Chinatown,” “Network”)

1963 – Director Steven Soderbergh (“Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Traffic,” “Ocean’s 11”)

1967 – Actress Emily Watson (“Breaking the Waves,” “War Horse”)

1968 – Hip-hop star and actor LL Cool J, born James Todd Smith

1969 – Actor Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development,” “Juno,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Up in the Air,” “Identity Thief,” “Zootopia”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1784 – The Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the Revolutionary War with Great Britain and establishing the United States of America as a free sovereign nation.

1943 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to travel on official business by airplane. Crossing the Atlantic aboard a Boeing 314 flying boat named the Dixie Clipper, Roosevelt heads to a World War II strategy meeting with European leaders Winston Churchill and Charles DeGaulle at Casablanca in North Africa.

1952 – NBC’s long-running morning news program, “Today,” premieres with host Dave Garroway, who calls it “a new kind of television.” 

1954 – America’s “power couple”—baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and screen sensation Marilyn Monroe—tie the knot. However, the marriage ends nine months later.

1957 – Oscar-winning actor Humphrey Bogart, best known for his roles in such film classics as “Casablanca,” “The African Queen” and “The Maltese Falcon,” dies of esophageal cancer at the age of 57.

1972 – Another NBC-TV premiere: the sitcom “Sanford and Son,” starring comedian Redd Foxx. The show runs for five seasons.

1978 – “De plane! De plane!” “Fantasy Island,” starring Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Rourke, premieres on ABC.

2006 – Academy Award-winning actress Shelley Winters (“The Diary of Anne Frank,” “A Patch of Blue,” “The Poseidon Adventure”) dies of heart failure at the age of 85.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees cling to the top of the Billboard singles chart with “I’m a Believer, which first reached No. 1 the week of December 31, 1966 and remains there for seven weeks.

1970 – Diana Ross makes her final appearance with The Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. During the show, Diana introduces her replacement, Jean Terrell, who goes on to lead the group to seven more Top 40 hits.

1978 – Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” — which contains the hits “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop” and “Go Your Own Way,” among other now-classic tracks — enters its 31st and final week on top of the U.S. album chart. It goes on to capture a Grammy for Album of the Year.

1978 – One-hit-wonder Player starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Baby Come Back.” 

1984 – The Paul McCartney-Michael Jackson duet, ” Say, Say, Say,” begins its sixth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 

1989 – The hottest single on the radio is “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown. 

1995 – “On Bended Knee” by Boyz II Men is in the midst of a six-week ride at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart.

2006 – Atlanta-based hip hop group D4L has the No. 1 single with “Laffy Taffy.”

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