radio – Time Rewind

On This Day April 25

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On This Day April 1

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Celebrity Birthdays

1929 – Actress Jane Powell (“A Date With Judy,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”) (d. 2021)

1932 – Actress-singer Debbie Reynolds (“Singin’ in the Rain,” “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” “Tammy and the Bachelor”) (d. 2016)

1939 – Golden Globe-winning actress Ali MacGraw (“Love Story,” “The Getaway,” “Convoy,” ” The Winds of War”)

1953 – Director Barry Sonnenfeld (“The Addams Family,” “Addams Family Values,” “Get Shorty,” the “Men in Black” trilogy)

1961 – Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who won international acclaim after performing “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables” during a 2009 audition for “Britain’s Got Talent”

1973 – Emmy-winning MSNBC host, commentator and author Rachel Maddow

History Highlights

1582 – This date marks the first known celebration of April Fool’s Day, also known in some circles as All Fools’ Day. In 1700, English pranksters begin to popularize the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on one other.

1918 – Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) is founded through a merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). It takes its place beside the British navy and army as a separate military branch with its own ministry.

1946 – An undersea earthquake off the coast of Alaska triggers a massive tsunami that kills 159 people in Hawaii.

1963 – Two daytime dramas with a medical theme are launched by competing networks. ABC’s longest-running soap, “General Hospital,” premieres as the brainchild of the husband and wife writing team of Frank and Doris Hursley. And NBC broadcasts the first episode of “The Doctors,” which enjoys a nearly 30-year run until the network pulls the plug in 1982.

1970 – President Richard Nixon signs legislation banning cigarette commercials on radio and TV. The ban takes effect in January 1971. However, Big Tobacco soon realizes that the move would free funds to advertise in other media.

1972 – The first strike in Major League Baseball (MLB) history is triggered by the expiration of the league’s three-year pension agreement. The strike lasts 12 days and causes the cancellation of 86 games, throwing the season into flux.

1976 – Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne form Apple Computer, That July, they begin to sell the Apple I personal computer kits that were hand-built by Wozniak. Apple is incorporated in January 1977, but without Wayne, who sells his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800.

Musical Milestones

1966 – The Troggs record “Wild Thing” at Regent Sound Studio in London. The track, recorded in one complete take (Take 2), climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that July and holds there for two weeks.

1972 – The band America gallops to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with “A Horse with No Name,” the single that gave us such unique lyrics as “the heat was hot” and “there ain’t no one for to give you no pain.”

1978 – The Bee Gees hold at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Night Fever.”

1984 – One day before his 45th birthday, Marvin Gaye — considered one of Motown’s renaissance men — is fatally shot by his father after a violent argument. Gaye’s biggest hits include “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),” “What’s Going On,” “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing.”

1989 – “Eternal Flame,” by The Bangles, is the No. 1 single. The track, off the girl group’s “Everything” album, also goes on to reach No. 1 on pop charts in eight other countries, including Australia and the U.K.

1995 – With the release of “Me Against the World,” Tupac Shakur becomes the first male solo artist to have a No. 1 album on the Billboard chart while in prison. The album goes on to become a hip-hop classic.

2000 – “Say My Name,’ by Destiny’s Child featuring Beyoncé, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

2006 – Sean Paul grabs the top spot on the singles chart for a week with “Temperature.”

On This Day March 4

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Celebrity Birthdays

1678 – Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric Antonio Vivaldi (d. 1741)

1938 – Actress Paula Prentiss (“The Black Marble,” “The Stepford Wives,” “The Parallax View”)

1941 – Movie director Adrian Lyne (“Fatal Attraction,” “9½ Weeks,” “Flashdance,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Unfaithful”)

1954 – Actress Catherine O’Hara (“SCTV,” “Beetlejuice,” the “Home Alone” movies, “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show”)

1958 – Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton, best known for playing Debra Barone in the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”

1961 – Actor Steven Weber (“The Kennedys of Massachusetts,” “Wings,” “The Shining,” “Once and Again,” “NCIS: New Orleans”)

History Highlights

1925 – The second inauguration of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge is the first to be nationally broadcast. More than 20 radio stations carry the event to an estimated 23 million listeners, including many children whose school auditoriums were specially equipped with speakers.

1933 – During the height of the Great Depression, an estimated 150,000 spectators gather on the east grounds of the U.S. Capitol as Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd U.S. president. FDR tells Americans, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

1933 – Newly inaugurated President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints Frances Perkins Secretary of Labor, making her the first female member of the U.S. cabinet.

1960 – Actress Lucille Ball divorces her husband and collaborator, Desi Arnaz, after 20 tumultuous years of marriage. The breakup of the couple, stars of the hit sitcom “I Love Lucy” and owners of Desilu Studios, becomes one of the highest-profile divorces in American history at that time.

1974 – People magazine makes its debut on American newsstands, featuring actress Mia Farrow on the cover.

1989 – Time, Inc. and Warner Communications announce plans to merge into the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate.

1994 – Comedic actor John Candy (“Splash,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Uncle Buck,” “Home Alone”) dies of a heart attack at 43 while filming a movie in Mexico.

2005 – Billionaire mogul Martha Stewart is released from a federal prison in West Virginia after serving five months and paying a $30,000 fine for lying and obstructing justice in a 2001 stock sale. Stewart serves five months of home confinement at her Bedford, New York estate and then faces two years probation.

Musical Milestones

1963 – The Beach Boys release “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” which climbs as high as No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. The The song features Brian Wilson’s lyrics set to the music of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen.”

1966 – During an interview with the British newspaper London Evening Standard, John Lennon says of The Beatles: “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” The remark sets off an international furor when reprinted a few months later in an American teen magazine, with some radio stations refusing to play Beatles records and others burning them.

1967 – “Beggin’,” the 33rd hit single for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, lands on the Billboard pop chart, eventually climbing to No. 16.

1967 – “Ruby Tuesday,” by The Rolling Stones, begins a week as the No. 1 single. Brian Jones plays recorder on the track while the double bass is played jointly by bassist Bill Wyman pressing the strings against the fingerboard and Keith Richards bowing the strings.

1978 – Andy Gibb sails to the top of the singles chart with “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water.” The song remains at No. 1 for two weeks.

1989 – Debbie Gibson starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Lost in Your Eyes.”

1995 – Madonna is in the midst of a seven-week ride at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Take a Bow,” off her “Bedtime Stories” album.

2000 – Nashville-based country music band Lonestar claims the top spot on the pop chart with “Amazed.” The single holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

2006 – “Check on It,” by Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug, begins its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day January 30

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Celebrity Birthdays

1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), 32nd U.S. president (d. 1945)

1930 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Gene Hackman (“The French Connection,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Superman,” “Reds,” “Unforgiven,” “The Firm,” “Crimson Tide,” “Get Shorty,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”)

1937 – Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “Julia,” “The Bostonians,” “Mrs. Dalloway,” “Howard’s End,” “Girl, Interrupted”)

1941 – Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who previously served as Defense Secretary under President George H. W. Bush

1951 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Phil Collins, formerly of the rock band Genesis (“In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” “One More Night,” “Sussudio,” “Two Hearts,” “Another Day in Paradise”)

1974 – Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale (“Empire of the Sun,” “American Psycho,” “The Machinist,” “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Fighter,” “American Hustle,” “The Big Short,” “Vice”)

History Highlights

1933 – Adolf Hitler is appointed and sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

1933 – “The Lone Ranger” debuts on Detroit radio station WXYZ, introducing listeners to the legendary “masked rider of the plains.” The show remains on Detroit radio until the mid 1940s. The three main actors who played the Lone Ranger were George Seaton (in 1933), Earle Graser (1933-1941), and Brace Beemer (1941-1954).

1948 – Mohandas Gandhi (also known as Mahatma Gandhi), the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement and a global advocate for non-violent civil disobedience, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic.

1956 – Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed by an unidentified white supremacist in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. No one is injured, and shortly after the attack, King preaches non-violence to a crowd that had gathered near the site of the blast.

1972 – In Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators are shot and killed by British Army paratroopers in an event that becomes known as “Bloody Sunday.” The protesters, all Northern Catholics, were marching in opposition to the British policy of internment of suspected Irish nationalists.

1994 – American speed skater Dan Jansen sets a new world record of 35.76 at the World Sprint Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Musical Milestones

1961 – “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” by The Shirelles, begins two weeks on top of the pop chart. Co-written by legendary singer-songwriter Carole King, the recording is the first by an African American girl group to reach No. 1.

1969 – The Beatles entertain for the last time in public when they play a free rooftop concert above the London headquarters of Apple Records. Throngs of passersby gather below to take in the music.

1973 – Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss make their first appearance as KISS at the Popcorn Pub in Queens, New York (later known as Coventry). About 10 guests attend and, according to Simmons, the band earned $50 for playing two sets.

1982 – “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, becomes the duo’s fourth single to top the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – The Australian rock band INXS rules the singles chart for a week with “Need You Tonight.” The track, from the “Kick” album, is the group’s only No. 1 in the U.S.

1999 – Britney Spears kicks off two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “…Baby One More Time,” her debut single.

2010 – Ke$ha is in the midst of a nine-week reign over the pop chart with “Tik Tok.”

On This Day January 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1919 – Actor Robert Stack (“The Untouchables,” “Unsolved Mysteries”) (d. 2013)

1931 – Actor and “The Match Game” panelist Charles Nelson Reilly (d. 2007)

1961 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, best known for her role as Elaine in the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld”

1964 – Actress Penelope Ann Miller (“Biloxi Blues,” “Kindergarten Cop”)

1966 – Actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey, best known as “McDreamy” from the hit TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy”

1977 – Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “Troy”)

History Highlights

1910 – Radio pioneer and electron tube inventor Lee de Forest demonstrates the world’s first radio broadcast to the public in New York City. He successfully broadcasts a live performance of Enrico Caruso from The Metropolitan Opera.

1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic-bodied automobile that is 30 percent lighter than ordinary cars.

1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American U.S. cabinet member, as President Lyndon Johnson appoints him secretary of the newly created Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency that develops and implements national housing policy and enforces fair housing laws.

1982 – Air Florida Flight 90 — a Boeing 737 jet — takes off from Washington National Airport and suddenly plummets into the 14th Street Bridge, plowing through cars and sliding into the icy waters of the Potomac River. The crash kills 78 people, including four motorists.

1982 – At nearly the same time as the Air Florida disaster, on the other side of D.C., a Metro Rail commuter train derails, killing three people.

1999 – After 13 seasons, NBA superstar Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls announces his retirement from professional basketball, for the second time, in front of a crowd at Chicago’s United Center.

Musical Milestones

1962 – Chubby Checker returns to the top of the singles chart with “The Twist.” The song first reached No. 1 in September 1960, becoming the only record in American chart history to top the singles survey on two separate occasions.

1968 – Country music legend Johnny Cash goes to California’s Folsom Prison to bring his unique style of music to inmates. The concert is recorded and later released as a live album, propelling the Man in Black into musical stardom.

1969 – Elvis Presley begins a 10-day recording session that would produce his final No. 1 single, “Suspicious Minds.” The tracks are recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis, marking Presley’s first hometown recording since his Sun Records days in 1956.

1973 – Carly Simon starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the album chart with “No Secrets,” which contains her smash single “You’re So Vain.”

1996 – The Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men collaboration “One Sweet Day” is mid-way through an unprecedented 16-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

2001 – Destiny’s Child, featuring Beyonce, has the No. 1 single with “Independent Women, Part I.”

On This Day January 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1876 – Author Jack London (“The Call of the Wild,” “White Fang”) (d. 1916)

1944 – Retired World Heavyweight Boxing champion Joe Frazier (d. 2011)

1951 – Conservative talk show host and Radio Hall of Famer Rush Limbaugh (d. 2021)

1951 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Kirstie Alley (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” “Cheers,” “Shoot to Kill,” “Look Who’s Talking”) (d. 2022)

1954 – Radio shock jock and former “America’s Got Talent” judge Howard Stern

History Highlights

1904 – Driving his “999” Arrow Racer, automotive pioneer Henry Ford sets a land speed record of 91.37 miles per hours on the frozen surface of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair.

1926 – The two-man comedy series “Sam ‘n’ Henry” debuts on Chicago radio station WGN. Two years later, after changing its name to “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” the show becomes one of the most popular radio programs in American history.

1932 – Hattie Wyatt Caraway, an Arkansas Democrat, becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1966 – The “Batman” television series debuts on ABC, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Episodes feature acclaimed guest stars playing the various villains that battle Batman for supremacy over Gotham City.

1969 – In the most celebrated performance of his prolific career, quarterback Joe Namath leads the New York Jets to a stunning 16-7 victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami.

1971 – The groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” premieres on CBS, about a working-class Queens, New York family grappling with various social issues. It stars Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, Jean Stapleton as his wife, Edith, Sally Struthers as their daughter, Gloria, and Rob Reiner as their son-in-law, Michael (“Meathead”). The show was the brainchild of acclaimed writer-producer Norman Lear.

1981 – A three-hour television movie serves as ABC’s pilot for the prime-time soap opera “Dynasty,” starring John Forsythe as oil tycoon Blake Carrington, Linda Evans as his wife, Crystal, and Joan Collins as Alexis, Carrington’s scheming ex-wife and business rival.

2010 – A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The quake — the strongest to strike the region in more than 200 years — leaves about 250,000 people dead and some 895,000 Haitians homeless.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Go Away Little Girl,” by Steve Lawrence, begins two weeks on top of the singles chart.

1974 – Jim Croce starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.”

1974 – The Steve Miller Band has the No. 1 single in the U.S. with “The Joker,” off the album of the same name.

1980 – “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” by Rupert Holmes, is the most popular single in the U.S.

1985 – “Like a Virgin,” by Madonna, is in the middle of six-weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart.

1991 – Madonna rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Justify My Love.”

2002 – “How You Remind Me,” by Nickelback, begins its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single.

2003 – Maurice Gibb of the celebrated musical trio, the Bee Gees, dies of a heart attack at the age of 53 after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery at a Miami hospital.

2013 – The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury until his 1991 death sells at auction for £74,000 to a Russian businessman.

On This Day December 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1821 – Clara Barton, Civil War volunteer nurse who founded the American Red Cross (d. 1912)

1899 – Legendary Oscar-winning actor Humphrey Bogart (“Casablanca,” “Maltese Falcon,” “The African Queen,” “Key Largo”) (d. 1957)

1924 – Emmy-winning “The Twilight Zone” creator-writer Rod Serling (d. 1975)

1946 – Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett (“Margaritaville,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise”) (d. 2023)

1948 – Grammy-winning country music singer Barbara Mandrell (“Sleeping Single in a Double Bed,” “Years”)

1949 – Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek (“Carrie,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “In the Bedroom,” “The Help”)

1952 – Actress CCH Pounder (“Hill Street Blues,” “ER,” “The Practice,” “Law & Order: SVU,”, “Millennium,” “The West Wing,” “The Shield”)

1954 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, formerly of the 1980s new wave band Eurythmics

History Highlights

1776 – General George Washington and 2,400 of his Continental Army troops cross the icy waters of the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey.

1914 – Gunfire is replaced with the sounds of Christmas carols as German troops serving in World War I lay down their weapons and break into song on Christmas morning. Russian, French and British troops do the same and even shake hands and exchange cigarettes with enemy soldiers along the eastern and western fronts during the Christmas Truce of 1914.

1962 – “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a film based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee, opens in theaters, starring Gregory Peck, who wins a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as attorney Atticus Finch.

1973 – “The Sting,” starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as a pair of 1930s grifters, premieres.

1977 – British director, producer and comedic actor Charlie Chaplin, an icon of the silent film era, dies at the age of 88.

1989 – Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, are executed following a popular uprising.

1989 – Former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin dies in a traffic accident at the age of 61.

1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union just days after 11 of the former Soviet republics establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1996 – Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey is killed in her Boulder, Colorado, home. Her parents call police the following morning to report their daughter missing and discover a ransom note demanding $118,000. The girl’s body is found in the basement that afternoon. The crime becomes a national sensation that remains unsolved today.

Musical Milestones

1941 – Bing Crosby performs the Irving Berlin holiday classic “White Christmas” for the first time on his weekly NBC Radio show “The Kraft Music Hall.” Crosby later performs it in the 1942 movie “Holiday Inn.” It remains the largest-selling single in music history until surpassed by Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997.”

1961 – The Brooklyn-based doo-wop group The Tokens rule the singles chart with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” — originally written and recorded as “Mbube” in 1939 by Zulu artist Solomon Linda.

1965 – The Dave Clark Five have the No. 1 single with “Over and Over.”

1976 – Rod Stewart claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh straight week with “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright).”

1982 – “Maneater,” by Hall & Oates, is mid-way through a four week domination of the singles chart.

1995 – Entertainer Dean Martin, a beloved member of the so-called “Rat Pack,” dies at the age of 78.

2004 – Ludacris has the No. 1 album with “The Red Light District,” which spawns the hit singles “Get Back” and “Number One Spot.”

On This Day December 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1900 – Actress Agnes Moorehead (“Citizen Kane,” “The Magnificent Ambersons,” “All That Heaven Allows,” “Show Boat,” “Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” “Bewitched”) (d. 1974)

1920 – Jazz-classical pianist-composer Dave Brubeck (“In Your Own Sweet Way,” “The Duke,” “Take Five”) (d. 2012)

1948 – Actress JoBeth Williams (“Stir Crazy,” “Poltergeist,” “The Big Chill,” “The Day After,” “Adam,” “Baby M”)

1955 – Comedian-actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Wright

1962 – Actress Janine Turner (“Northern Exposure,” “Strong Medicine”)

1967 – Emmy-winning producer-director Judd Apatow (“Freaks and Geeks,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “This Is 40,” “Trainwreck”)

History Highlights

1865 – The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery. It provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

1884 – Workers place a nine-inch aluminum tip atop a white marble tower, completing construction of the iconic Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. At the time, the structure was the tallest building in the world, standing 555 feet, 5.125 inches.

1923 – Calvin Coolidge, known by many as America’s “Silent President,” delivers the first presidential radio address—the State of the Union—which is transmitted to listeners in six cities.

1947 – President Harry Truman dedicates the Florida Everglades as a national park.

1955 – The federal government standardizes the size of license plates throughout the U.S.

Musical Milestones

1968 – The Rolling Stones release “Beggars Banquet,” an album that represents a return to roots rock for the band following the psychedelic pop of their 1967 release, “Their Satanic Majesties Request.”

1969 – “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” by Steam, is the most popular song in the U.S. The track holds the top spot for two weeks.

1975 – “Still Crazy After All These Years” becomes Paul Simon’s first solo production to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

1986 – Peter Cetera and Amy Grant are on top of the singles chart with “The Next Time I Fall.”

1988 – Grammy-winning Rock And Roll Hall of Famer Roy Orbison (“Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” “Oh, Pretty Woman”) — recognized for his distinctive, impassioned voice, complex compositions and dark emotional ballads — dies of a heart attack at the age of 52.

1997 – Elton John’s musical tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, “Candle in the Wind 1997” (also known as “Goodbye England’s Rose”), is in the middle of a 14-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2003 – “Stand Up,” by Ludacris featuring Shawnna, captures the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the first chart-topper for Ludacris.

On This Day November 11

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Celebrity Birthdays

1885 – General George S. Patton, Jr., who made a mark in World War I as the first officer assigned to the new U.S. Army Tank Corps before becoming one of the most prominent military commanders in World War II (d. 1945)

1922 – Author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (“Cat’s Cradle,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Breakfast of Champions”) (d. 2007)

1925 – Grammy and Emmy-winning actor-comedian Jonathan Winters (d. 2013)

1960 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Stanley Tucci (“Prizzi’s Honor,” “Winchell,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Julie & Julia,” “The Lovely Bones,” “The Hunger Games” trilogy, “Spotlight”)

1962 – Actress-producer Demi Moore, born Demetria Guynes (“General Hospital,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “About Last Night…,” “Ghost,” “A Few Good Men,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Striptease,” “G.I. Jane”)

1964 – Golden Globe-winning actress Calista Flockhart, best known for her starring role in the sitcom “Ally McBeal”

1974 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Leonardo DiCaprio (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Titanic,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” “The Departed,” “Inception,” “The Great Gatsby,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Revenant”)

History Highlights

1918 – At 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month in France, World War I — known then as The Great War and called “the war to end all wars” — comes to an end with the signing of an armistice between Allied officials and the leaders of German forces. The document is technically a ceasefire agreement, with the conflict officially concluded when the Treaty of Versailles is signed in June 1919.

1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding dedicates the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia during an Armistice Day ceremony.

1926 – Route 66, the highway that Nat King Cole famously sang is the place to “get your kicks,” is established. Through the years, the legendary thoroughfare has been referred to as the “Main Street of America” and has also been named the Will Rogers Highway.

1981 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela is designated Rookie of the Year and wins the National League’s Cy Young Award, becoming the first player in baseball history to score both honors in the same season.

2000 – A funicular (train) crammed with skiers and snowboarders catches fire as it enters a tunnel in Austria, killing 155 people. Twelve people survive the tragedy, which is known as the Kaprun Disaster. Investigators blame a faulty electric heater for sparking the deadly blaze.

Musical Milestones

1938 – “God Bless America” is performed for the first time by the singer for whom composer Irving Berlin wrote it — Kate Smith — during her regular radio broadcast. It becomes Smith’s signature song.

1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets score their first Top-10 single with “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” Originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, the Haley version climbs to No. 7 on the pop chart and remains in the Top 40 for 27 weeks.

1967 – The theme from the movie “To Sir, With Love,” by Scottish vocalist Lulu, continues its five-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

1978 – ‘Disco Queen’ Donna Summer begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park.” The track is Summer’s first chart-topper.

1989 – Bad English enjoy their first and only trip to the top of the pop chart as “When I See You Smile” reaches No. 1.

1995 – Mariah Carey is in her seventh week on top of the pop chart with “Fantasy.” The song holds at No. 1 for another week.

1999 – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) names The Beatles the best-selling act of the 20th century.

2000 – “With Arms Wide Open,” by Creed, begins a week on top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the Florida rockers’ first and only No. 1 single.

2006 – “My Love,” by Justin Timberlake featuring T.I., kicks off three weeks as a chart-topping single.

On This Day October 30

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Celebrity Birthdays

1735 – One of America’s Founding Fathers, second U.S. President John Adams (d. 1826)

1939 – Rock singer-songwriter Grace Slick, who performed with Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship

1945 – Actor Henry Winkler, best remembered for playing “The Fonz” in the popular ABC sitcom “Happy Days”

1951 – Actor Harry Hamlin (“Clash of the Titans,” “L.A. Law,” “Mad Men”)

1957 – Actor Kevin Pollak (“Avalon,” “A Few Good Men,” “Grumpy Old Men,” “The Usual Suspects”)

1970 – Actress Nia Long (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Third Watch,” “Boiler Room,” the “Big Momma’s House” movies, “Are We There Yet?”)

History Highlights

1938 – In what could be called an early case of fake news, actor Orson Welles terrifies radio listeners across the United States with his “War of the Worlds” broadcast — a dramatization of H.G. Wells’ tale about a Martian invasion.

1968 – “The Lion in Winter,” starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn, opens at the box office. The movie goes on to capture three Oscars, including a Best Actress win for Hepburn.

1974 – An historic boxing match-up called the “Rumble in the Jungle” sees Muhammad Ali knock out George Foreman in the eighth round in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo), in central Africa.

1975 – The New York Daily News runs its infamous front-page headline ‘Ford to City: Drop Dead’ in reference to President Gerald Ford’s speech the day before denying federal assistance to help New York City avert bankruptcy.

1991 – A so-called “perfect storm” churns across the North Atlantic, producing powerful and deadly waves along the coasts of New England and Canada. The Gloucester, Massachusetts-based fishing boat Andrea Gail and its six-member crew are lost in the nor’easter, which inspires the best-selling book, “The Perfect Storm,” by Sebastian Junger, and a blockbuster movie starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

Musical Milestones

1965 – “Yesterday,” by The Beatles, marks its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1971 – Rod Stewart concludes a five-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Maggie May.”

1976 – Chicago has the No. 1 single with “If You Leave Me Now,” which goes on to capture the band’s first Grammy.

1982 – The Australian band Men At Work climbs to the top of the U.S. singles chart with “Who Can It Be Now?” One week earlier, the group performed that song and their other hit, “Down Under,” on “Saturday Night Live,” and the following February, won a Best New Artist Grammy.

1993 – Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover” marks the end of an eight-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart. It is her seventh No. 1 hit.

2004 – Usher and Alicia Keys rule the pop chart with “My Boo,” which holds the No. 1 spot for six weeks.