science fiction – Time Rewind

On this Day June 5

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On This Day April 3

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Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando (“A Streetcar Named Desire,” “On The Waterfront,” “The Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”) (d. 2004)

1924 – Golden Globe and Grammy-winning actress and singer Doris Day (“Sentimental Journey,” “Pillow Talk,” “The Doris Day Show”) (d. 2019)

1934 – Primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, best known for her extensive studies of chimpanzees in their African habitat

1958 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and frequent “SNL” host Alec Baldwin (“Beetlejuice,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “The Cooler,” “The Departed,” “It’s Complicated,” “30 Rock”)

1961 – Golden Globe-winning actor, comedian, singer and “SNL” alum Eddie Murphy (“48 Hours,” “Trading Places,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Coming to America,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Shrek,” “Dreamgirls”)

1986 – TV and film actress Amanda Bynes (“The Amanda Show,” “What a Girl Wants,” “Hairspray”)

History Highlights

1860 – The Pony Express launches, with horse and rider relay teams simultaneously leaving St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California as part of a new effort to speed up U.S. mail delivery.

1948 – President Harry S. Truman signs the Economic Recovery Act of 1948 — later known as the Marshall Plan — which would foster the recovery of war-torn Europe.

1968 – Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic, “2001: A Space Odyssey” — regularly voted as one of the greatest movies ever made, but whose philosophical meaning most fans cannot explain — opens in theaters around the U.S.

1968 – Another sci-fi classic opens at U.S. theaters. It’s “Planet of the Apes,” starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans. It’s the story about an astronaut crew that crash-lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes rule and humans are oppressed and enslaved.

1974 – More than 140 tornadoes rip through 11 states within 16 hours. The “Super Tornado Outbreak” kills 330 people and injures more than 6,000 others.

1978 – At the 50th annual Academy Awards, Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” wins the Oscar for Best Picture, beating out George Lucas’ “Star Wars.”

1986 – IBM unveils its first laptop computer. The 5140 “Convertible” retails for $1,995 and weighs 13 pounds.

1996 – FBI agents arrest accused Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski at his rural Montana cabin. Kaczynski was linked to 16 mail bombs that killed three people and injured 23 others during an 18-year period.

Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley is a guest on “The Milton Berle Show,” live from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in San Diego, California. He performs “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Shake Rattle And Roll” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” It is estimated that one out of every four Americans watched the program.

1961 – The Marcels start a three-week run on top of the singles chart with their doo-wop rendition of the Rodgers and Hart song, “Blue Moon.”

1971 – The Temptations score their second No. 1 single with “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” which holds the top spot for two weeks.

1971 – Six months after her death, Janis Joplin holds the top spot on the Billboard album chart with “Pearl,” which features her smash, “Me and Bobby McGee.” The album remains at No. 1 for nine weeks.

1976 – “Disco Lady,” by the so-called ‘Philosopher of Soul,’ Johnnie Taylor, is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart and remains there for four weeks.

1982 – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts are in the middle of a seven-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

1990 – Grammy-winning jazz singer and pianist Sarah Vaughan, considered one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, dies of lung cancer at the age of 66.

On This Day December 16

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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.

On this Day August 22

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Celebrity Birthdays

1862 – Classical composer Claude Debussey (d. 1918)

1920 – Award-winning fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery author Ray Bradbury, who wrote “The Martian Chronicles” and “Fahrenheit 451” (d. 2012)

1934 – U.S. Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., nicknamed “Stormin’ Norman,” who commanded the American-led forces that crushed Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War (d. 2012)

1939 – Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski

1939 – Emmy-winning actress Valerie Harper, who played Rhoda Morgenstern on TV’s “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and its spinoff series, “Rhoda” (d. 2019)

1947 – Actress Cindy Williams, who played Shirley in the 70s sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” (d. 2023)

1963 – Singer-songwriter Tori Amos, who released her debut album “Little Earthquakes” in 1992 and whose first five albums went platinum in the U.S.

1967 – Emmy-winning actor Ty Burrell, best known for his role as Phil Dunphy on the ABC comedy series “Modern Family”

1973 – Actress-comedian Kristen Wiig (“Saturday Night Live,” “Knocked Up,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Bridesmaids,” “Girl Most Likely,” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “The Skeleton Twins,” “The Martian,” “Ghostbusters”)

History Highlights

1851 – The yacht America, representing the young New York Yacht Club, wins the first America’s Cup. It would be well over 100 years before it was taken away from New York.

1902 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to ride in an automobile when he sets out from Connecticut on a driving tour of New England.

1906 – Way before the turntable and CD player are invented, the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey begins to manufacture the Victrola record player. The hand-cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sells for $200.

1950 – The United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) accepts 23-year-old Althea Gibson into its annual championship at Forest Hills, New York, making her the first African-American player to participate in a U.S. national tennis competition.

1973 – President Richard Nixon appoints Henry Kissinger secretary of state. Kissinger helped ease relations with the Soviet Union and China, and negotiated an end to the Vietnam War, but remains a controversial figure for his role in American actions in Cambodia, Latin America and elsewhere.

1989 – The Texas Rangers’ Nolan Ryan becomes the first pitcher in Major League history to register 5,000 career strikeouts.

Musical Milestones

1960 – Elvis Presley is in the middle of a five-week domination of the singles chart with “It’s Now or Never.”

1964 – “Where Did Our Love Go,” by The Supremes, starts a two-week hold on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the girl group’s first No. 1 hit.

1968 – Bickering among The Beatles while recording “The White Album” prompts Ringo Starr to quit the band. “Back In the USSR” is recorded with Paul McCartney on drums and John Lennon on bass. News of Ringo’s departure is kept secret and he rejoins the band about two weeks later.

1970 – Bread’s “Make It With You” begins one week on top of the Billboard singles survey. It becomes the group’s only No. 1 hit.

1987 – “Who’s That Girl,” the title track of the movie of the same name, boosts Madonna to the top of the Hot 100 chart.

1992 – “End of the Road,” by Boyz II Men,” is in the second of what then was a record-breaking 13 weeks as a No. 1 single. The track goes on to capture two Grammy Awards.

1998 – Brandy & Monica hold the top spot on the pop chart with “The Boy is Mine.”

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas lay claim to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.”

On this Day June 5

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Celebrity Birthdays

1934 – Emmy-winning journalist and commentator Bill Moyers

1956 – Grammy-winning saxophonist Kenny G, born Kenny Gorelick

1964 – Best-selling author Rick Riordan (“Percy Jackson & the Olympians,” “The Kane Chronicles,” “The Maze of Bones”)

1971 – Actor-producer Mark Wahlberg, whose career began as lead singer of the rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (“Boogie Nights,” “Planet of the Apes,” “The Italian Job,” “The Departed,” “Max Payne,” “The Fighter,” “Ted,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Deepwater Horizon,” “Patriots Day”)

1974 – Actor Chad Allen (“Our House,” “My Two Dads,” “Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman”)

History Highlights

1967 – Israel responds to an ominous build-up of Arab forces along its borders by launching simultaneous attacks against Egypt and Syria. And so begins the Six-Day War.

1968 – Senator Robert Kennedy is fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. He is just 42, four years younger than his brother, President John F. Kennedy, when he was assassinated in November 1963.

1981 – The “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that five people in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.

2004 – Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor who became one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century and transformed the political landscape of an era with his vision of conservative government, dies at age 93 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

2012 – Prolific science fiction author Ray Bradbury, whose books include such classics as “The Martian Chronicles,” “Fahrenheit 451” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” dies at the age of 91.

Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, “Hound Dog,” on “The Milton Berle Show,” shocking a national TV audience with his suggestive hip movements.

1961 – Roy Orbison claims the top spot on the pop chart for a week with “Running Scared.”

1965 – The Beach Boys are at No. 1 on the singles chart for a second and final week with “Help Me, Rhonda.”

1976 – “Love Hangover,” by Diana Ross, begins its second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1983 – During a 48-date North American tour, U2 plays at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver. The show is recorded and released as “U2 Live At Red Rocks: Under A Blood Red Sky.”

1993 – Janet Jackson is mid-way through an eight-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “That’s The Way Love Goes,” off her album “janet.”

1999 – Ricky Martin enjoys his fifth and final week as king of the pop chart with “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”

2005 – Topping the Billboard Hot 100 for a third straight week is Usher with “Burn.”

On this Day May 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1927 – Robert Ludlum, author of more than 20 thrillers, including the Jason Bourne spy novels (d. 2001)

1939 – Tony and Golden Globe-winning actor Sir Ian McKellen, best known as Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Magneto in the “X-Men” movies

1943 – Tony and Emmy-winning actress-singer Leslie Uggams (“Hallelujah, Baby!,” “Roots”)

1944 – Emmy-winning actor-director and “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show” puppeteer Frank Oz, who also provided the voice of Yoda in the “Star Wars” movies

1963 – Emmy-winning comedic actor Mike Myers (“Saturday Night Live,” “Wayne’s World,” “So I Married an Axe Murderer,” and the “Austin Powers” and “Shrek” movie series)

1969 – Actress Anne Heche (“Donnie Brasco,” “Volcano,” “Wag the Dog,” “Six Days Seven Nights,” “John Q,” “Men in Trees”)

1972 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Octavia Spencer (“A Time to Kill,” “The Help,” “Hidden Figures,” “The Shape of Water”)

History Highlights

1961 – Addressing a special joint session of Congress, President John F. Kennedy announces his goal to send an American to the moon before the end of the decade. He also requests financial support for an accelerated space program.

1977 – “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” With those words on the screen, cinematic history is made as George Lucas’ epic sci-fi adventure “Star Wars” opens on Memorial Day weekend at just 32 theaters across the U.S. with no official premiere. By August, more than 1,000 theaters are screening the film, propelling it box office glory. Later renamed “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope,” the movie captures seven Academy Awards and becomes a marketing bonanza.

1979 – This day marks the worst domestic air crash in U.S. history. American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashes during takeoff at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport killing 271 on board and two people on the ground. Investigators blame a faulty pylon assembly for the tragedy in which the left engine fell off the LA-bound aircraft.

1979 – Six-year old Etan Patz disappears while walking two blocks from home to his bus stop in Manhattan. Investigators have the boy’s face and description printed on milk cartons all across the U.S. in hopes that someone would find him — the first time that method is used to aid in a missing child case. It takes 38 years for authorities to find and convict the suspect in Patz’s kidnapping and murder.

Musical Milestones

1963 – Jimmy Soul enjoys his second and final week on top of the pop chart with “If You Wanna Be Happy.”

1965 – Blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson dies in his sleep at age 65. Over the years, Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds and The Moody Blues have all covered his songs.

1968 – Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bookends” becomes the duo’s second No. 1 album, delivering such classic tracks as “Mrs. Robinson,” “America,” “A Hazy Shade Of Winter” and “At The Zoo.” The album holds the top spot for three weeks.

1973 – More than 100,000 people flock to New York’s Central Park for a free concert by singer-songwriting sensation Carole King.

1974 – Ray Stevens’ novelty song, “The Streak,” is in the midst of a three-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1985 – “Everything She Wants,” by Wham! (featuring George Michael), begins two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It becomes the pop duo’s third consecutive million-selling No. 1 hit in the U.S.

1991 – Mariah Carey’s “I Don’t Wanna Cry” rules the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.

1996 – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony claim the top spot on the pop chart with “Tha Crossroads.”

2002 – “Foolish,” by Ashanti, is in its sixth week as a Billboard singles chart-topper. It spends another four weeks at No. 1.