On This Day: February 4

On This Day February 4

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Civil rights crusader Rosa Parks, who helped pave the way for desegregation in the U.S. when she refused to give up her seat aboard a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama (d. 2005)

1936 – Standup comedian David Brenner (d. 2014)

1940 – Horror film director-screenwriter George A. Romero, the master behind the cult classic “Night of the Living Dead” as well as “Dawn of the Dead,” “Land of the Dead” and “Creepshow” (d. 2017)

1948 – Rock And Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter Alice Cooper, considered “The Godfather of Shock Rock” (“Schools Out,” “Eighteen”, “Poison”, “No More Mr Nice Guy”)

1962 – Country music singer-songwriter Clint Black (“A Better Man,” “Nothing’s News,” “Walking Away,” “Nobody’s Home,” “Killin’ Time”)

1973 – Retired professional boxer and Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya

1977 – Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw (“I Don’t Want to Be,” “Chariot,” “Follow Through”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1789 – George Washington — commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War — is unanimously elected the first president of the United States, garnering all 69 electoral votes. No other American president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead.

1922 – The Ford Motor Company acquires the bankrupt Lincoln Motor Company for $8 million, giving Ford a luxury division to compete against Cadillac, Packard and Auburn.

1938 – Disney releases “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the first full-length animated feature (83 minutes in length) in color and with sound, and a pioneering classic tale in film history.

1945 – President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference to discuss the Allied war effort against Germany and Japan.

1957 – Smith Corona Manufacturing of New York begins selling portable electric typewriters. The first machine, known as the model 5TE, weighs 19 pounds.

1974 – The radical group Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst, from her California apartment. 

2004 – Nineteen-year-old Harvard University sophomore Mark Zuckerberg launches “TheFacebook.com,” an online directory designed to connect fellow Harvard students with one another. By the next day, more than a thousand people had registered. The service sparks a social media revolution, with billions now using Facebook each day.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees maintain their grip on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer.” In all, the track remains a chart-topper for seven weeks.

1968 – The Beatles record “Across The Universe” at London’s Abbey Road Studios with backup vocals from two teenage fans who were among the groupies (“Apple scruffs”) that routinely gathered outside the facility on recording days.

1975 – Known as “The King of the Jukebox,” American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader Louis Jordan dies at the age of 66.

1977 – Fleetwood Mac’s 11th studio album, “Rumours,” is released, introducing fans to the Top 10 hits “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun.”

1978 – The Bee Gees have a No. 1 single with “Stayin’ Alive,” while another single of theirs, “Night Fever,” debuts on the pop chart, later staking its own claim to the top spot for eight weeks. Both songs are from the Grammy-winning “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1982 – “Centerfold,” by the J. Geils Band, reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for six weeks.

1983 – Heart failure caused by chronic anorexia nervosa claims the life of 32-year-old singer Karen Carpenter of the acclaimed 1970s brother-sister pop duet, Carpenters.

1984 – Culture Club begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Karma Chameleon,” the band’s fifth Top 10 hit.

1995 – “Creep,” by TLC, is midway through a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the trio’s first chart-topper.

2006 – “Check On It,” by Beyoncé, featuring Bun B and Slim Thug, kicks off five weeks on top of the singles chart. 

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On this Day: July 15

On this Day July 15

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1606 – Dutch artist Rembrandt (d. 1669)

1935 – Pro football player-turned-actor Alex Karras (d. 2012)

1944- Actor Jan-Michael Vincent, best remembered from the 1980s TV series “Airwolf”  

1946 – Grammy and Emmy-winning singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt (“You’re No Good,” “Blue Bayou”)

1950 – Author-media mogul Arianna Huffington, publisher of The Huffington Post

1951 – Pro wrestler and former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura

1952 – Emmy-winning actor Terry O’Quinn, best known for portraying John Locke in TV’s “Lost” 

1960 – Supermodel and actress Kim Alexis

1961 – Oscar-winning actor-producer-director Forest Whitaker (“Platoon,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Bird,” “The Crying Game,” “Panic Room,” “Phone Booth,” “The Last King of Scotland,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1903 – The newly formed Ford Motor Company receives its first automobile order. The customer is Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning, who buys an $850 two-cylinder Model A with a tonneau, or backseat. The vehicle is delivered a week later.

1968 – Agnes Nixon’s daytime soap opera “One Life to Live” premieres on ABC and goes on to launch many successful acting careers. 

1971 – During a live television and radio broadcast, President Richard Nixon stuns Americans by announcing that he will visit the People’s Republic of China the following year. 

1979 – President Jimmy Carter delivers his famous “Crisis of Confidence” speech, later referred to as the “malaise speech,” in which he challenged Americans to overcome consumersism and materialism to solve the energy crisis and other challenges.

1988 – A new action-thriller movie franchise is born as “Die Hard” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Bruce Willis as detective John McClane, who single-handedly battles a terrorist group led by Alan Rickman that is holding hostages inside a Los Angeles skyscraper.

1997 – World-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot to death outside his Miami mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who was already wanted in connection with four other murders across the U.S.

2006 – Podcasting company Odeo launches the social media platform Twitter as twttr, touting it as “a new mobile service that helps groups of friends bounce random thoughts around with SMS.” Twitter’s popularity explodes, with the service boasting more than 300 million users by 2016.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Association is in the midst of a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Windy.”

1972 – Elton John’s “Honky Château,” the album that introduces “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat,” begins five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Sir Elton’s fifth studio album is named after the 18th century French estate where it was recorded — Château d’Hérouville.

1978 – “Some Girls,” by The Rolling Stones, lands on top of the Billboard album chart, delivering three Top 40 hits: “Miss You,” “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered.”

1986 – Columbia Records drops country music legend Johnny Cash, ending a 26-year relationship. Cash is later signed by Mercury Records, and in 1994, releases his first album with producer Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label, beginning a major comeback.

1989 – Simply Red has its second No. 1 single — this time with the cover of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ 1973 smash “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”

1995 – “Waterfalls,” by TLC, flows into its second week as a chart-topper. The track remains at No. 1 for a total of seven weeks.

2000 – “Everything You Want,” by Vertical Horizon, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for a week.

2006 – “Promiscuous,” by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland, is in the midst of a six-week run atop the pop chart.

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