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On This Day February 8

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Celebrity Birthdays

1828 – Author Jules Verne (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth) (d. 1905)

1921 – Actress-sex symbol Lana Turner (“Peyton Place,” “Imitation of Life”) (d. 1995)

1922 – Actress Audrey Meadows (“The Honeymooners”) (d. 1996)

1925 – Actor Jack Lemmon (“Days of Wine and Roses.” “The Odd Couple.” “Grumpy Old Men”) (d. 2001)

1931 – Actor and pop culture icon James Dean (“East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Giant”) (d. 1955)

1932 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning movie soundtrack composer-conductor John Williams (“Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Superman,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”) 

1940 – Journalist and former ABC “Nightline” host Ted Koppel

1941 – Golden Globe-winning actor Nick Nolte (“48 Hours,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “The Prince of Tides,” “Cape Fear,” “Lorenzo’s Oil,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “A Walk in the Woods,” “Graves”)

1942 – Standup comedian, singer and actor Robert Klein

1953 – Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen (“Melvin and Howard,” “Parenthood,” “Philadelphia,” “Back to the Future Part III,” “The Proposal,” “The Help”)

1955 – Attorney and bestselling novelist John Grisham (“The Firm,” “The Pelican Brief,” “The Rainmaker,” “The Runaway Jury,” “A Time to Kill”) 

1968 – Child star Gary Coleman (“Diff’rent Strokes”) (d. 2010)

1974 – Actor-producer Seth Green (“Austin Powers” series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Family Guy,” “Robot Chicken”) 

History Highlights

1587 – After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I.

1910 – The Boy Scouts of America, one of the largest youth organizations in the U.S., is incorporated by William D. Boyce.

1924 – The first coast-to-coast radio broadcast takes place as a Bell Telephone executive addresses a meeting of the Bond Men’s Club in a Chicago hotel. His speech is broadcast to 50 million listeners in Providence, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, D.C., and Oakland, and San Francisco, California.

1924 – America’s first gas chamber execution takes place at the Nevada State Prison. Gee Jon, a 29-year-old member of a Chinese gang, was sentenced to death for murdering a rival gang member.

1943 –  American forces secure Guadalcanal after Japanese troops finally evacuate the island. Marked as one of the most intense battles in the Pacific theater during World War II, Guadalcanal was a critical victory for the Allies.

1960 – After several years of delay, construction begins on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame. The first official star is laid on March 26, 1960 honoring director Stanley Kramer.

1968 – A civil rights protest at South Carolina State University (SC State) turns deadly when highway patrol officers open fire on about 200 unarmed Black student protestors. Three young men are shot killed and 28 people are wounded. The event becomes known as the Orangeburg Massacre and is one of the most violent episodes of the civil rights movement.

Musical Milestones

1960 – “Teen Angel,” by Mark Dinning, is the No. 1 single in the U.S.

1964 – On their first full day in the U.S., The Beatles — sans George Harrison, who stayed back at the Plaza Hotel because he was under the weather — tour New York City and pose for photos in Central Park.

1964 – The Beatles are in the midst of a seven-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

1967 – Peter & Gordon (Peter Asher & Gordon Waller), the talent behind the 60s hits “A World Without Love,” “Lady Godiva” and “I Go To Pieces,” announce their breakup. Waller goes on to do solo recording and occasional acting until his death in 2009. Asher still performs today following a celebrated career as a manager/producer for artists including Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Randy Newman and 10,000 Maniacs.

1975 – The Ohio Players have a scorcher of a hit as “Fire” blazes its way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. While it only spends a week at No. 1 on the singles chart, it smolders for five weeks on top of the soul chart.

1986 – “That’s What Friends Are For,” featuring Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, wraps up four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1990 – Suffering from depression, American singer-songwriter Del Shannon, best known for his 1961 smash “Runaway,” dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

1997 – Toni Braxton dominates the pop chart with”Un-Break My Heart.”

2003 – “All I Have,” by Jennifer Lopez featuring LL Cool J, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It’s Lopez’s fourth No. 1 and LL Cool J’s first.

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