On This Day February 16

Click each item below to learn more!

On This Day January 5

Click each item below to learn more!

On this Day August 26

Click each item below to learn more!

History Highlights
History Highlights

1920 – The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing American women the right to vote, is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution by proclamation of Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. In 1973, Congress designates this date Women’s Equality Day.

1939 – The first Major League baseball game is televised. It’s a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers at New York’s Ebbets Field, with the teams splitting the match. 

1957 – The Soviet Union declares that it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of being fired “into any part of the world.” The announcement sets nations around the world on edge.

1968 – As the Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago, thousands of demonstrators take to the streets to protest the Vietnam War. 

1974 – Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, dies of cancer in Hawaii at the age of 72. 

1985 – The Yugo, the Yugoslavian-built compact car that Americans loved to hate, is introduced to the U.S. auto market. Sales begin to sputter in the late 1980s, and by 1992, Yugo America is out of business.

1986 – In what becomes known as the “Preppy Murder” case because of the upper-class status of both the victim and killer, the body of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin is discovered in New York’s Central Park shortly after leaving a bar with 19-year-old Robert Chambers. Chambers is arrested, charged and ultimately found guilty of Levin’s murder, and dubbed the “Preppy Killer.”

On this Day June 30

Click each item below to learn more!

History Highlights
History Highlights

1859 – Frenchman Jean Francois Gravelet, a.k.a.  The Great Blondin, or Charles Blondin, becomes the first daredevil to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Thousands of spectators line the American and Canadian sides of the falls to observe the feat, which he  performs along an 1,100-foot-long tightrope suspended 160 feet above the raging waters of Niagara Gorge.

1934 – In what comes to be known as the Night of the Long Knives, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler orders a bloody purge of his own political party, assassinating hundreds of Nazis whom he believed had the potential to become political enemies in the future.

1936 – Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gone with the Wind,” one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for the blockbuster 1939 movie, is published.

1971 – “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” a movie musical-fantasy starring Gene Wilder, opens in theaters. It’s an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

1971 – Three Soviet cosmonauts who made up the crew of the world’s first space station are killed when their spacecraft, Soyuz 11, depressurizes during reentry to Earth’s atmosphere.

1974 – The July 4th scene from the movie “Jaws” is filmed on Martha’s Vineyard, with 400 screaming, panic-stricken extras in bathing suits running from the water multiple times until director Steven Spielberg gets the right take.

1989 – Writer-director Spike Lee’s celebrated third feature film, “Do the Right Thing” about racial tensions boiling over in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on the hottest day of the year — opens in U.S. theaters. The movie receives Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello.

1993 – The legal thriller “The Firm,” directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Gene Hackman, opens in theaters. It’s based on the 1991 novel of the same name by John Grisham.

1995 – Director Ron Howard’s high-intensity drama “Apollo 13,” about NASA’s desperate efforts to bring the crew of Apollo 13 safely home after an explosion that denies them a moon landing, opens in U.S. theaters. Starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise, the movie receives nine Oscar nominations and wins for Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

On this Day June 27

Click each item below to learn more!

History Highlights
History Highlights

1939 – One of the most iconic scenes in movie history is filmed. It’s Clark Gable (as Rhett Butler) and Vivien Leigh (as Scarlett O’Hara) parting in “Gone with the Wind.” Director Victor Fleming shoots an extra take of the scene using the alternate line, “Frankly, my dear, I just don’t care,” in case film censors object to the word “damn.” The censors approve the movie but fine producer David O. Selznick $5,000 for including the D-word.

1950 – Two days after communist North Korean forces invade South Korea, the United Nations Security Council approves a U.S.-sponsored resolution calling for military force to defend against the North Korean aggression. President Harry Truman dispatches air and naval troops, leading to three years of U.S. involvement in the Korean War.

1966 – “Dark Shadows,” ABC’s daytime soap opera starring vampires, werewolves and witches, premieres and runs through 1971. It is the first soap to feature the concepts of time travel and a parallel universe.

1976 –  The world’s first recorded Ebola virus epidemic begins spreading across the African nation of Sudan. By the time the epidemic is over, 284 cases are reported, with slightly more than half of the victims dying from the disease.

1976 – Members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) hijack an Air France jet en route from Athens to Paris. They divert the flight to Entebbe, Uganda, and hold the passengers hostage for a week until Israeli elite special forces stage a dramatic rescue mission.

1979 – Boxing champion Muhammad Ali holds a press conference in Los Angeles to announce his retirement, however he returns to the ring two years later.

1988 – Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson knocks out challenger Michael Spinks 91 seconds into the first round. The decisive victory leaves the boxing world wondering if anyone can beat “Iron Mike” Tyson.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – “A World Without Love,” by Peter and Gordon, begins a week as the No. 1 single. The song was written by Beatles legend Paul McCartney when he was just 16, but is credited as a Lennon-McCartney composition.

1970 – The Jackson 5 kick off two weeks on top of the singles chart with “The Love You Save.” It’s the band’s third of four consecutive chart-topping tracks from the “ABC” album. The others were “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.”

1975 – Entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher finalize their divorce, ending a 10-year marriage. Four days later, Cher weds musician Gregg Allman.

1987 – Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” is the hottest song on the radio. The track remains at No. 1 for two weeks and goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

1992 – “I’ll Be There,” by Mariah Carey featuring Trey Lorenz, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. It’s their cover of the 1970 Jackson 5 hit.

1994 – Aerosmith becomes the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet. More than 10 thousand CompuServe subscribers download the song “Head First” during the first eight days it’s available.

1998 – “The Boy Is Mine,” by Brandy & Monica, is in the middle of a 13-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas dominate the pop chart for an 11th week with “Boom Boom Pow.” The single remain at No. 1 for one more week.