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On This Day November 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1840 – Artist Claude Monet (d. 1926)

1900 – Oscar- and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Copland (“Fanfare for the Common Man,” “El Salón México,” “Appalachian Spring”) (d. 1990)

1921 – Actor Brian Keith (“The Parent Trap,” “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” “Family Affair,” “The Wind and the Lion”) (d. 1997)

1948 – Charles, Prince of Wales

1951 – Singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop (“On and On”, “It Might Be You”)

1954 – New age music composer-pianist Yanni, born Yiannis Chryssomalis

1954 – Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the first African American woman to hold that position

1964 – Rapper Reverend Run, born Joseph Simmons, of the legendary 80s rap group Run-D.M.C.

History Highlights

1851 – Harper & Brothers publishes Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale,” a treasured piece of American literature about the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, whose commander, Captain Ahab, goes on an obsessive quest for a white whale.

1941 – The Alfred Hitchcock romantic thriller “Suspicion” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. The film is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but loses to “How Green Was My Valley.” However, Fontaine wins a Best Actress Oscar — the only Oscar performance ever in a Hitchcock movie.

1969 – Apollo 12 clears the launch pad at Cape Kennedy in Florida on its way to America’s second manned moon landing.

1970 – A chartered jet carrying most of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team crashes while preparing to land in Huntington, West Virginia, killing 37 players, the coach, doctors, the university athletic director, flight crew and 25 team boosters. The tragedy remains the worst sports-related air disaster in U.S. history. It inspired the 2006 movie, “We Are Marshall,” starring Matthew McConaughey.

1972 – Wall Street hits record territory when the Dow Jones Industrial Average tops the 1,000 mark for the first time.

1982 – Lech Walesa, leader of communist Poland’s outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after 11 months of internment near the Soviet border.

2006 – State officials close the last two of Texas’ beloved Pig Stands, the only remaining pieces of the nation’s first drive-in restaurant empire. The owners had filed for bankruptcy and owed the state more than $200,000 in back-taxes.

Musical Milestones

1952 – The U.K.’s first Official Singles Chart debuts, published in the New Musical Express (NME). The No. 1 single is “Here In My Heart,” by American singer Al Martino.

1960 – Ray Charles has the No. 1 single with “Georgia on My Mind.” In 1979, the state of Georgia adopts it as the official state song.

1970 – “I’ll Be There,” by The Jackson 5, begins its fifth and final week on top of the pop chart.

1981 – An Aussie invasion of sorts takes place as Australian acts make up four of the day’s Top-10 singles in the U.S., led by Olivia Newton-John with “Physical” (No. 3). Other acts are Little River Band, Air Supply and Rick Springfield.

1987 – The soundtrack from the movie “Dirty Dancing” shimmies its way to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, where it remains for 18 weeks. It goes on to sell 32 million copies worldwide and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.

1998 – Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks. Her only chart-topper, the track goes on to clinch Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.

2009 – Jason Derulo owns the top spot on the singles chart with “Whatcha Say,” which holds at No. 1 for a week.

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