On This Day April 21 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1816 – Novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë, the eldest of the three sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels, including “Jane Eyre,” became classics of English literature (d. 1855) 1828 – Naturalist-conservationist John Muir (d. 1914) 1915 – Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn (“Viva Zapata!,” “Lust for Life,” “Zorba the Greek”) (d. 2001) 1926 – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, one of the longest reigning monarchs in British history (d.2022) 1935 – Actor-comedian Charles Grodin (“The Heartbreak Kid,” “Beethoven,” “Dave,” “Midnight Run”) 1947 – Punk rock pioneer Iggy Pop, born James Newell Osterberg, Jr. 1951 – Professional boxer-turned-actor Tony Danza (“Taxi,” “Who’s The Boss?”) 1958 – Actress-model Andie MacDowell (“Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Groundhog Day,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Michael,” “Multiplicity,” “Cedar Cove”) History Highlights 1836 – Republic of Texas forces (the Texians), led by General Sam Houston, defeat Mexican troops under the command of General Antonio López de Santa Anna during the Battle of San Jacinto, waged just south of present-day Houston. It takes only 18 minutes for the Texians to seize control of the Mexican camp. 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, the notorious German World War I flying ace known as “The Red Baron,” is taken out in a hail of Allied gunfire over France. 1952 – The first Secretary’s Day is celebrated in the U.S. Decades later, it is renamed Administrative Professionals’ Day. 1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens, featuring the iconic Space Needle as its centerpiece. The event is the nation’s first World’s Fair since World War II. 1965 – The New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens with a theme of “Peace Through Understanding.” The fair showcases mid-20th Century American culture and technology in 140 pavilions across nearly 650 acres. 1980 – Twenty-six-year-old Rosie Ruiz is crowned the winner in the women’s division of the 84th Boston Marathon only to be stripped of the honor eight days later when officials determine that she cheated by entering the race a mile from the finish line. Musical Milestones 1956 – Elvis Presley scores his first No. 1 single with “Heartbreak Hotel.” The song remains on top of Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart for eight weeks. 1962 – Elvis returns to the top of the singles chart with “Good Luck Charm.” 1973 – Tony Orlando and Dawn begin a four-week run on top of the singles chart with “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree,” which becomes the hottest-selling single of the year. 1984 – Phil Collins has the most popular single on the radio with the title track from the movie “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now).” The song spends three weeks at No. 1. 1990 – Paul McCartney sets a new world record for the largest concert audience for a solo artist. A total of 184,000 people attend the final show of his tour at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1990 – “Nothing Compares 2 U” lands Sinéad O’Connor on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. The song was written by Prince. 2008 – Soul singer-songwriter Al Wilson (“The Snake,” “Show and Tell”) dies of kidney failure at the age of 68. 2016 – Pop megastar Prince dies of an accidental opioid overdose at his Paisley Park compound in suburban Minneapolis. He is just 57 years old, and news of his death sends shockwaves among millions of fans around the world. More than 150 million of the Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe winner’s records have sold internationally, ranking Prince among the best-selling musicians of all time. READ MORE
On This Day March 2 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1793 – American statesman Sam Houston, best known for his role in bringing Texas into the United States as a constituent state (d. 1863) 1904 – Children’s book author and illustrator Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel (“If I Ran the Zoo,” “Horton Hears a Who!” “If I Ran the Circus,” “The Cat in the Hat,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” “Green Eggs and Ham”) (d. 1991) 1917 – Actor Desi Arnaz, best known for playing Ricky Ricardo in the sitcom “I Love Lucy,” which starred his wife, Lucille Ball (d. 1986) 1931 – Former Soviet President and Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev 1942 – Rock-punk singer-songwriter-guitarist Lou Reed, originally of the 60s band Velvet Underground and solo artist (“Walk on the Wild Side”) (d. 2013) 1950 – Pop sensation Karen Carpenter of the 70s sibling duo Carpenters (d. 1983) 1962 – Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi (“Dead or Alive”, “Livin’ On A Prayer”, “You Give Love A Bad Name”, “Blaze Of Glory”), born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. 1968 – Actor Daniel Craig, best known for playing British spy James Bond 1980 – Actress-comedian Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” “How To Be Single”) History Highlights 1836 – The Republic of Texas declares its independence from Mexico. A convention of American Texans meets at Washington-on-the-Brazos (today commonly referred to as “the birthplace of Texas”) and confirms Sam Houston as the commander in chief of all Texan forces. 1925 – State and federal highway officials create the United States’ first system of numbered interstate highways. 1933 – The horror film “King Kong,” about the giant ape that runs loose across Manhattan, opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Screenings sell out for the first four days. 1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut. 1955 – Nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous act of civil disobedience, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus. Colvin was traveling home from school when the driver ordered her and three fellow Black students to give up their row of seats to a White passenger. 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the NBA by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a match against the New York Knicks. 1965 – “The Sound of Music,” starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about the Von Trapp family, opens in New York. The movie goes on to capture five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise). 1972 – NASA launches Pioneer 10 — the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and the first to make direct observations and capture close-up images of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. 1978 – Three months after his death, grave robbers steal the corpse of silent film legend Charlie Chaplin from a Swiss cemetery and demand $600,000 for its safe return. Musical Milestones 1963 – “Walk Like a Man,” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. It is the band’s third chart-topping hit. 1967 – The Beatles win three Grammys for records issued the previous year: Best Song for “Michelle,” Best Vocal Performance for “Eleanor Rigby” and Best Cover Artwork for the album design of “Revolver” by Klaus Voormann. 1974 – “Seasons in the Sun,” by one-hit wonder Terry Jacks, claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stays there for three weeks. 1974 – At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder captures five honors: Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording for “Innervisions,” Best R&B Song and Best Vocal for “Superstition,” and Pop Vocal Performance for “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” 1974 – Roberta Flack wins Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammys for “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” The track also garners a Song of the Year Grammy for its writers, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox. 1985 – “Careless Whisper,” by Wham! featuring George Michael, begins its third and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart. 1985 – Sheena Easton becomes the first musical artist ever to land Top 10 hits on the pop, R&B, country, dance and adult contemporary charts when “Sugar Walls,” written by Prince, reaches No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. That is the song that sparked the Parental Advisory music labeling system (listen carefully to the lyrics and you’ll know why). 1999 – Acclaimed British pop vocalist Dusty Springield (“I Only Want To Be With You,” “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”) dies at the age of 59 following a five-year battle with breast cancer. 2002 – “Always on Time,” by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, enters its second and final week as a No. 1 single. READ MORE
On This Day December 29 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1808 – 17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson (d. 1875), the first American president to face impeachment. 1936 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Mary Tyler Moore (“The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Ordinary People”) (d. 2017) 1938 – Golden Globe-winning actor Jon Voight (“Midnight Cowboy,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Pearl Harbor,” “National Treasure,” “Ray Donovan”) 1946 – Singer-songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull 1947 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Ted Danson, best known as bartender Sam Malone in the 1980s sitcom “Cheers” 1972 – Actor-producer Jude Law (“Gattaca,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain,” “A.I.,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Spy”) History Highlights 1845 – Six months after the Congress of the Republic of Texas votes for annexation by the United States, Texas is admitted into the Union as the 28th state. 1851 – The first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) location in the U.S. opens in Boston. 1890 – In the tragic final chapter of America’s long war against the Plains Indians, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. 1940 – On a Sunday evening, German bombers launch their deadliest World War II attack (“Blitz”) on London, destroying buildings and triggering hundreds of fires that make up what is termed “The Second Great Fire of London.” 1972 – Eastern Airlines Flight 401 — an L-1011 jumbo jet en route from New York to Miami — crashes in the Florida Everglades, killing 101 people. Seventy-five survive. Investigators determine that the pilot and co-pilot were distracted by a faulty indicator light and accidentally bumped a lever which deactivated the aircraft’s autopilot setting. 1975 – A bomb explodes inside the main terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people and injuring 75 others. The crime is considered the deadliest terrorist act in the city prior to the infamous September 11, 2001 attack, and remains unsolved to this day. Musical Milestones 1958 – “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late),” by David Seville and the Chipmunks, is the No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for four weeks. The band is later known as Alvin and the Chipmunks. 1962 – The Tornados remain in orbit around No. 1 on the singles chart for a second week with “Telstar.” 1966 – Paul McCartney begins laying down tracks at London’s Abbey Road Studios for “Penny Lane,” derived from the name of a street near John Lennon’s house in Liverpool. 1973 – Three months after his death in a plane crash, folk-rock singer Jim Croce scores his second No. 1 single of the year with “Time In A Bottle.” 1984 – Madonna’s first No. 1 single, “Like a Virgin,” marks its second week atop the Billboard Hot 100. Her breakthrough hit remains a chart-topper for six weeks. The pop superstar goes on to score 11 more No. 1 singles later in her career. 1990 – “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” by Stevie B,” enters its fourth and final week as a No. 1 single. 2001 – Nickelback is midway through a four-week run as Billboard chart-toppers with “How You Remind Me,” off the band’s “Silver Side Up” album. The track is later named the most played song on U.S. radio during the 2000s by Nielsen Soundscan. 2007 – Alicia Keys reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth and final week with “No One.” READ MORE
On This Day December 9 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1916 – Actor Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch (“Spartacus,” “The Bad and the Beautiful,” “The Odyssey,” “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” “Tough Guys,” “Lust for Life”) (d. 2020) 1922 – Standup comedian-actor Redd Foxx, born John Elroy Sanford, who played a junk dealer the 1970s NBC sitcom “Sanford and Son” (d. 1991) 1928 – Actor Dick Van Patten, best known for his role as the father in the ABC sitcom “Eight Is Enough” (d. 2015) 1930 – Screenwriter, director and actor Buck Henry, born Henry Zuckerman (“The Garduate,” “Heaven Can Wait”) 1934 – Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench (“Shakespeare in Love,” “Chocolat,” “Iris,” “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” “Notes on a Scandal,” “Philomena,” and has played M in several James Bond films) 1941 – Golden Globe, Emmy and Grammy-winning actor Beau Bridges (“Without Warning: The James Brady Story,” “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys”) 1953 – Emmy-winning actor, director and producer John Malkovich (“Places in the Heart,” “The Killing Fields,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Empire of the Sun,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Con Air,” “Being John Malkovich,” “Secretariat,” “Burn After Reading,” “RED”) 1957 – Musician, dancer and former teen idol Donny Osmond History Highlights 1835 – The newly created Texan Army captures the city of San Antonio, an important victory for the Republic of Texas in its war for independence from Mexico. 1965 – Based on the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” premieres on CBS and remains a holiday season viewing staple all these decades later. 1979 – A scientific panel declares that smallpox has been eradicated from the world. It marks the first time that a disease had been banished from the earth by the planning and action of international public health officials. 1983 – “Scarface,” a crime drama starring Al Pacino, opens in movie theaters. Directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone, it is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name. 1990 – Lech Walesa becomes the first popularly elected president of Poland. Walesa had fought on behalf of Polish workers against the communist government as head of the Solidarity movement. 1992 – More than 1,800 U.S. Marines arrive in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the war-stricken and famine-plagued African nation. 1992 – British Prime Minister John Major announces the formal separation of Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, and his wife, Princess Diana. Musical Milestones 1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a four-week domination of the pop chart with “Daydream Believer.” 1972 – “I Am Woman,” by Helen Reddy, dominates the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, but endures as the unofficial anthem of the women’s rights movement. 1978 – Disco is all the rage as “Le Freak,” by Chic, tops the singles chart for the first of six non-sequential weeks. 1989 – Billy Joel has the top-selling single in the U.S. with “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” off his “Storm Front” album. The song burns brightly on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. 1995 – “One Sweet Day,” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, tops the Billboard Hot 100. It holds that spot for an unprecedented 16 weeks. 2000 – Destiny’s Child is in the middle of an 11-week domination of the singles chart with “Independent Women.” 2006 – “I Wanna Love You,” by Akon featuring Snoop Dog, begins its second and final week on top of the pop chart. READ MORE