On This Day: April 21

On This Day April 21

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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.

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On This Day: February 23

On This Day February 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1868 – American civil rights activist, sociologist, educator, historian and writer W.E.B. Du Bois  (d.1963)

1940 – Actor Peter Fonda (“Easy Rider,” “Ulee’s Gold,” “The Passion of Ayn Rand,” “Wild Hogs,” “3:10 to Yuma”) (d. 2019)

1955 – 80s synth-pop singer-songwriter Howard Jones (“Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life in One Day,” “No One Is To Blame”)

1965 – Entrepreneuer and Dell Computer founder-CEO Michael Dell

1976 – Actress Kelly Macdonald (“Trainspotting,” “Gosford Park,” “The Girl in the Café,” “Boardwalk Empire”)

1983 – Golden Globe-winning actress Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Gideon’s Daughter,” “The Adjustment Bureau,” “The Five-Year Engagement,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Sicario,” “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” “The Girl on the Train”, “A Quiet Place”, “Mary Poppins Returns”)

1994 – Actress Dakota Fanning (“I Am Sam,” “Man on Fire,” “War of the Worlds,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Coraline,” “The Twilight Saga”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1836 – The Battle of the Alamo begins as Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his army arrive in San Antonio, Texas. Undaunted, William Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and a few hundred others prepare to defend the mission together, holding out for 13 days. “Remember the Alamo!” becomes a rallying cry for the Texian Army.

1945 – During the bloody Battle of Iwo Jima, five U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. His iconic World War II image — a symbol of American military heroism —  wins a Pulitzer Prize and becomes the inspiration for the national U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

1954 – Elementary school children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania receive the first injections of the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk. 

1968 – Considered a basketball legend, Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first NBA player to score more than 25,000 points during his professional sports career.

1980 – American speed skater Eric Heiden wins the 10,000-meter race at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, setting a world record with his time and winning an unprecedented fifth Gold medal at the games.

1997 – Scientists in Scotland announce that they have cloned a sheep named Dolly — the first successful cloning of a mammal from an adult cell. This development sparks widespread speculation about the possibility of human cloning.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1963 – Paul & Paula wrap up their three-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hey Paula.”

1974 – Barbra Streisand dominates the pop chart for a third week with the Oscar and Grammy-winning theme from the movie “The Way We Were.”

1978 – For the first time in Grammy Award history, two singles tie for Song of the Year: Barbra Streisand’s “Love Theme from A Star Is Born (Evergreen)” and Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life.” Other winners include Fleetwood Mac (Album of the Year for “Rumours”), Eagles (Record of the Year for “Hotel California”) and The Bee Gees (Best Pop Vocal Performance for “How Deep Is Your Love”).

1980 – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” from Queen’s “The Game” album, becomes the British rock band’s first No. 1 single in the U.S. It holds the top spot for four weeks. Freddie Mercury claimed to have written the song in about 10 minutes while taking a bath.

1991 – Whitney Houston scores her ninth No. 1 single in five years with “All the Man That I Need.”

2000 – Carlos Santana cleans up at the 42nd Annual Grammys, winning eight awards, including Album of the Year for his chart-topping “Supernatural” album.

2002 – “Always on Time,” by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

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