On This Day: February 3

On This Day February 3

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Author-poet and art collector Gertrude Stein (“How to Write,” “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”) (d. 1946)

1894 – Artist Norman Rockwell, famous for his “Saturday Evening Post” cover illustrations of everyday American life (d. 1978)

1918 – Entertainer and “Rat Pack” member Joey Bishop (d. 2007)

1940 – Legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who spent 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants

1943 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Blythe Danner (“Butterflies are Free,” “Will & Grace,” “Meet the Parents”)

1950 – Actress Morgan Fairchild (“Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Murphy Brown”) 

1956 – Tony-winning actor-comedian Nathan Lane (“The Producers,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Birdcage”) 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1913 – The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, authorizing the federal government to impose and collect a nationwide income tax. 

1966 – The Soviets achieve the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the moon with Luna 9. After touching down, the circular capsule opens like a flower and begins transmitting photographs and television images back to Earth.

1971 – New York City police officer Frank Serpico is shot during a Brooklyn drug bust and survives to expose corruption in the NYPD. Many believe the shooting was fellow officers trying to kill him. His experience is immortalized in the 1973 movie “Serpico,” starring Al Pacino.

1994 – President Bill Clinton lifts the 19-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam that was first imposed during the Vietnam War when North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon in South Vietnam.

2002 – The New England Patriots shock football fans everywhere by defeating the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to clinch their first Super Bowl victory. Super Bowl XXXVI was played at the Superdome in New Orleans before a crowd of nearly 73,000 people.

2005 – Alberto Gonzales wins U.S. Senate confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic attorney general despite protests over his record on torture.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1959 – Rock and Roll greats Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson are killed when their single-engine plane crashes in an Iowa cornfield during their Winter Dance Party tour. The tragedy is remembered as “The Day the Music Died.”

1968 – One-hit wonder The Lemon Pipers shake their way up to No. 1 on the singles chart with “Green Tambourine.”

1973 – Elton John scores his first No. 1 single in the U.S. with “Crocodile Rock,” from his “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player” album. The song holds the top spot for three weeks.

1979 – The Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) land on top of the Billboard album chart with “Briefcase Full of Blues.” The album contains their cover of “Soul Man,” which reaches No. 14 on the singles chart, and “Rubber Biscuit,” which climbs as high as No. 37.

1990 – Michael Bolton begins his third and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.”

2007 – Beyoncé rules the singles chart with “Irreplaceable,” which holds at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

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On This Day: January 4

On This Day January 4

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1643 – Scientist Sir Isaac Newton, credited with developing the principles of modern physics (d. 1727) 

1809 – Scientist Louis Braille, who created a touch-based reading system for the blind (d. 1852)

1930 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Retired Miami Dolphins coach and Don Shula

1937 – Actress Dyan Cannon (“Honeysuckle Rose,” “Deathtrap,” “That Darn Cat,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal”)

1957 – Grammy-winning country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member Patty Loveless (“Timber I’m Falling in Love,” “Chains,” “You Can Feel Better”)

1960 -Rock singer-songwriter and former R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe (“Orange Crush,” “Losing My Religion,” “Everybody Hurts”)

1965 – Emmy-winning actress Julia Ormond (“Legends of the Fall,” “First Knight,” “Sabrina,” “The Barber of Siberia,” “Temple Grandin,” “My Week With Marilyn”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1958 – Sputnik 1, the Soviet satellite responsible for triggering the Space Race between the superpowers, burns up while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere after three months in orbit. 

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson uses his State of the Union address to outline ambitious plans for a “Great Society,” which include knocking down racial barriers and freeing Americans from what he calls the “crushing weight of poverty.”

1974 – President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over tape recordings and documents that had been subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee. 

1995 – The 104th Congress becomes the first held entirely under Republican control since the Eisenhower era some 40 years earlier.

1996 – General Motors (GM) takes the wraps off a prototype of its EV1 electric car, which the automaker only makes available in Arizona and California — and exclusively for lease — as GM considered the development of electric vehicle technology to be ongoing.

1999 – Europe is united with a common currency when the euro is introduced as a financial unit in corporate and investment markets. Eleven European Union (EU) nations adopt the currency in hopes of increasing European integration and economic growth. 

2007 – Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the U.S. House.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1936 – Billboard magazine publishes its first list of best-selling pop records covering the week that ended December 30, 1935. Big band violinist Joe Venuti and his Orchestra have the first No. 1 with “Stop Look and Listen.”

1964 – Bobby Vinton begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “There! I’ve Said It Again.” 

1975 – Elton John rules the U.S. pop chart with his version of The Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”

1986 – Lionel Richie is mid-way through a four-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Say You, Say Me,” from his “Dancing on the Ceiling” album.

1997 – Toni Braxton has the first No. 1 single of 1997 with “Un-Break My Heart,” which remains a Billboard chart-topper for 11 weeks. The song goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

2003 – “Lose Yourself,” by Eminem, maintains its grip on the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100. The track is from the movie “8 Mile,” in which Eminem stars.

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