On This Day April 8 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1892 – Actress Mary Pickford, known as “America’s Sweetheart,” as she became a legend of the silent film era (d. 1979) 1938 – Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who, along with the U.N., won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 1963 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Julian Lennon (“Too Late for Goodbyes,” “Valotte”) 1966 – Golden Globe-winning actress Robin Wright (“The Princess Bride,” “Forrest Gump,” “House of Cards”) 1968 – Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Patricia Arquette (“True Romance,” “Flirting With Disaster,” “Medium,” “Boyhood”) History Highlights 1974 – Playing for the Atlanta Braves, Hank Aaron hits the 715th home run of his career, breaking the record set by Babe Ruth in 1935. The historic shot is hit off of Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers into the left field bullpen at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 1985 – The government of India files suit against Union Carbide for the Bhopal disaster which killed more than 2,200 people. 1986 – Actor-director Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel, California, and serves for two years. 1990 – Filmmaker David Lynch’s surreal prime-time series, “Twin Peaks,” premieres on ABC. Set in a small fictional logging town, strange and intriguing characters and their relationships are revealed as investigators try to solve the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. 1992 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe stuns the world when he announces that he has AIDS, acquired from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery he underwent in 1983. Ashe, the first black man to win Wimbledon, dies from the disease less than a year later at age 49. 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of Britain, dies in London at the age of 87 from a stroke. Serving from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. She was nicknamed the “Iron Lady” because of her her fierce determination and unyielding will. Musical Milestones 1964 – Diana Ross and The Supremes record “Where Did Our Love Go,” which eventually becomes the first of the girl group’s five No. 1 singles. 1967 – The Turtles’ “Happy Together” marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single. 1972 – America gallops into its third and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “A Horse with No Name.” 1975 – “Toys in the Attic,” the third studio album from Aerosmith, is released. It contains the hit singles “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” and becomes the Boston rockers’ best-selling album to date, with more than 8 million copies sold. 1989 – “The Look” by Roxette is the No. 1 single and becomes the Swedish duo’s international breakthrough hit after success in Europe. 1995 – “Take a Bow” marks its seventh and final week as a No. 1 single, becoming Madonna’s longest-reigning chart-topper. 2000 – “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, kicks off 10 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track goes on to capture the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. READ MORE
On This Day December 16 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1770 – Composer-pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (d. 1827) 1775 – Author Jane Austen (“Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Mansfield Park,” “Emma”) (d. 1817) 1917 – Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, whose short story, “The Sentinel,” inspired the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” (d. 2008) 1938 – Golden Globe-winning actress-director Liv Ullmann (“The Emigrants,” “Scenes from a Marriage,” “Face to Face”) 1941 – CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl 1943 – Emmy-winning TV producer-writer Steven Bochco (“Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.”) 1947 – Actor Ben Cross, best known for playing British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the movie “Chariots of Fire” 1962 – Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry 1963 – Actor Benjamin Bratt (“Law & Order,” “Demolition Man,” “Traffic,” “Miss Congeniality,” “Private History Highlights 1773 – Massachusetts colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British ships docked in Boston Harbor and dump 342 chests of tea into the water to protest tea taxes. The raid comes be known as the Boston Tea Party. 1944 – The deadliest conflict of World War II occurs on this day. The Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. 1951 – “Just the facts, ma’am.” The police detective series “Dragnet,” which launched on NBC Radio in 1949, premieres on NBC Television, starring Jack Webb as detective Joe Friday. Webb was the show’s creator and also served as director/producer. The series runs through 1970. 1960 – This day marks the worst commercial aviation disaster of its time. A United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collide over New York City, sending one aircraft hurtling into Staten Island and the other into a Brooklyn neighborhood. The crash kills 134 people, including six on the ground. 1973 – Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson becomes the first player in the National Football League to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season. Musical Milestones 1957 – After six weeks on top of the Best Sellers in Stores chart in October and November of this year, Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” climbs back into the No. 1 spot for a week. 1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Daydream Believer.” The song becomes the band’s final No. 1 hit in the U.S. 1972 – Billy Paul starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Me and Mrs Jones.” 1983 – British rockers The Who announce their breakup. However, it was not to last, as the band gets back together in 1985 for Live Aid (a massive, duel-venue benefit concert for African famine relief) and then launches a full-fledged reunion tour in 1989. 1995 – “One Sweet Day,” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, is in its third week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for a record-breaking total of 16 weeks. 2000 – Destiny’s Child rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Independent Women Part I,” from the movie, “Charlie’s Angels.” This track remains a No. 1 single for 11 weeks. READ MORE