On This Day April 14 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1932 – Country music legend Loretta Lynn 1941 – Retired Major League Baseball slugger Pete Rose, a 17-time MLB All-Star and 1973 National League MVP 1960 – Emmy-winning actor and stand-up comedian Brad Garrett, best known for his role as Ray Romano’s sad-sack brother Robert in the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” 1968 – Actor Anthony Michael Hall (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Weird Science,” “Edward Scissorhands”) 1973 – Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody (“The Thin Red Line,” “The Pianist,” “The Village,” “Midnight in Paris,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Houdini”) 1977 – Emmy-winning actress Sarah Michelle Gellar (“All My Children,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Cruel Intentions, “Scooby-Doo,” “The Grudge”) History Highlights 1828 – Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language is published. Webster wanted Americans to have a national identity not based on the language and ideas of England. The dictionary, which took Webster more than two decades to complete, introduced more than 10,000 “Americanisms.” 1865 – Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shoots President Abraham Lincoln during a performance at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln dies the next day. 1912 – RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic just before midnight during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. More than 1,500 people perish when the luxury liner sinks less than three hours later. 1918 – During World War I, two pilots from the U.S. Army Air Service’s 94th Aero Squadron engage in America’s first aerial dogfight with enemy aircraft over Europe’s Western Front. In a battle above Toul, France, aviators Douglas Campbell and Alan Winslow shoot down a pair of German two-seaters. Campbell is honored as America’s first “flying ace” about a month later after taking out his fifth enemy plane. 1969 – For the first time in Academy Awards history, there’s a tie for the Best Actress Oscar. The award is shared by Barbra Streisand (“Funny Girl”) and Katharine Hepburn (“The Lion in Winter”). 1988 – The Soviet Union withdraws its military forces from Afghanistan. Musical Milestones 1962 – “Johnny Angel,” by Shelley Fabares — the actress best known for her role in “The Donna Reed Show” — starts its second and final week as a No. 1 single. 1979 – The Doobie Brothers rule the singles chart with “What a Fool Believes.” The song goes on to capture Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammys. 1984 – Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” from the movie of the same name, wraps up three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song , but loses to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” from the movie “The Woman in Red.” 1990 – One-hit-wonder Tommy Page begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’ll Be Your Everything.” The song spends 13 weeks in the Top 40 and is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 2001 – “All for You,” by Janet Jackson, begins seven weeks on top of the U.S. pop chart and goes on to win a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. It becomes the longest-reigning single of 2001. READ MORE
On This Day February 15 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1564 – Scientist Galileo Galilei (generally referred to as Galileo), a major figure in the scientific revolution, who made pioneering discoveries that advanced the study of astronomy, physics and philosophy (d. 1642) 1820 – Suffragette reformer and women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony (d. 1906) 1927 – Emmy-winning comedian Harvey Korman (“The Carol Burnett Show,” “Blazing Saddles”) (d. 2008) 1951 – Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester (“Midnight Blue,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud, “Through the Eyes of Love”) 1951 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Jane Seymour (“Somewhere in Time,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Wedding Crashers”) 1954 – Cartoonist Matt Groening, best known for creating “The Simpsons” 1964 – Actor-comedian Chris Farley (“Saturday Night Live,” “Wayne’s World,” “Tommy Boy,” “Black Sheep,” “Beverly Hills Ninja”) (d. 1997) History Highlights 1879 – President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. 1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana (Cuba) Harbor, killing more than 260 crewmen. The incident prompts the U.S. to declare war on Spain. 1903 – The first teddy bear, named for U.S. President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, goes on sale. Toy store owner and inventor Morris Michtom places two stuffed bears in his shop window after personally getting Roosevelt’s permission to name them after him. 1933 – Two weeks before his inauguration, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt is fired upon by a would-be assassin after giving a speech in Miami. FDR is unharmed, but a bullet strikes Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who dies three weeks later. 1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner. 1978 – Leon Spinks takes the heavyweight boxing champion title away from defending champ Muhammad Ali in a split decision in Las Vegas. 1985 – “The Breakfast Club” opens in U.S. theaters. Directed by John Hughes and starring Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy — members of the so-called “Brat Pack” — it becomes an ’80s movie classic. In 2016, the film is selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by The Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” 1998 – Racing great Dale Earnhardt, Sr. wins his first Daytona 500, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) season opener and an event dubbed the “Super Bowl of stock car racing.” Musical Milestones 1964 – “Meet The Beatles!” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, becoming The Beatles’ first chart-topping album in the U.S. It holds the top spot for eleven weeks and sells more than four million copies by the end of that year. 1965 – The Beatles record “Another Girl” and “Ticket to Ride” for the “Help!” album. Earlier that day, John Lennon earns a personal ticket to ride by passing his driving test. 1965 – Entertainer Nat King Cole (“Unforgettable,” “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer,” “The Christmas Song,” “Mona Lisa”), who earned early acclaim as a jazz pianist and became the first African American performer to host a network TV variety show, dies of lung cancer at the age of 45. 1969 – Sly & the Family Stone rule the Billboard singles chart with “Everyday People,” which remains at No. 1 for four weeks. 1975 – “You’re No Good,” by Linda Ronstadt, is the No. 1 single. 1984 – Beloved actress-singer Ethel Merman, best known for her rendition of “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun,” dies at the age of 75. 1986 – “How Will I Know,” by Whitney Houston, becomes the most popular single in the U.S. for two weeks. 1992 – One-hit-wonder Right Said Fred is in the middle of three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m Too Sexy.” 2003 – “All I Have,” by Jennifer Lopez featuring LL Cool J, is midway through a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart. READ MORE
On This Day November 28 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1929 – Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jr. 1943 – Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and composer Randy Newman, best known for his 1977 hit “Short People” and movie soundtracks including the animated blockbuster “Toy Story” series and “Monsters, Inc.” 1949 – Singer, actor and multi-instrumentalist Paul Shaffer, best known as the bandleader for David Letterman’s late-night TV shows 1950 – Golden Globe-winning actor Ed Harris (“The Right Stuff,” “The Abyss,” “Pollack,” “Apollo 13,” “The Rock,” “The Truman Show,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Man on a Ledge,” “Westworld”) 1959 – Actor-producer Judd Nelson (“The Breakfast Club,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “New Jack City,” “Suddenly Susan”) 1962 – Comedian, director and former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart History Highlights 1520 – Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan leads a fleet of three ships through treacherous waters below South America to become the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. 1895 – Driving a gas-powered horseless carriage known as the Duryea Motor Wagon at an average speed of 5 miles per hour in the Chicago snow, J. Frank Duryea wins America’s first auto race. Frank and his brother, Charles, designed and manufactured the vehicle. 1942 – The deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history strikes the Cocoanut Grove in Boston, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more. Investigators never determined what sparked the inferno. The disaster led to sweeping changes in fire codes 1964 – The U.S. scores one in the Space Race as NASA launches Mariner 4 on a successful fly-by mission to Mars. 1975 – “As The World Turns” and “The Edge of Night” become the last American soaps to switch from live broadcasts to videotape. 1994 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is beaten to death in a Wisconsin prison while serving 15 consecutive life terms for the rape, murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys. Musical Milestones 1925 – The Grand Ole Opry, one of the longest-lived and most popular showcases for country music, begins broadcasting live from Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, it is known as the WSM Barn Dance. 1960 – Elvis Presley scores his 15th chart-topping single when “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” reaches No. 1 on the pop chart. It holds the top spot for six weeks. 1970 – Ex-Beatle George Harrison makes his solo Billboard chart debut with “My Sweet Lord,” a song he is later found guilty of having “subconsciously plagiarized” from Ronnie Mack’s “He’s So Fine,” which was a smash for The Chiffons. 1974 – John Lennon joins Elton John on stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden for what becomes Lennon’s last concert appearance. He performs three songs: “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.” 1987 – The Bill Medley-Jennifer Warnes duet, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” from the movie “Dirty Dancing,” is No. 1 on the singles chart. 1998 – “Lately,” by one-hit-wonder Divine, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. 2001 – Aretha Franklin sues the supermarket tabloid “Star” for $50 million dollars claiming that her reputation was damaged by a December 2000 article that alleged she had alcohol problems. 2007 – Kanye West and stuntman Evel Knievel settle a copyright dispute over West’s use of the name “Evel Kanyevel” in a music video. The 69-year-old daredevil claimed his image was harmed by the video’s “vulgar, sexual nature.” The clip for “Touch The Sky” shows the rap star attempting to cross a canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle. READ MORE
On this Day August 6 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1911 – Actress-comedienne Lucille Ball, who was immortalized in the popular 1950s TV sitcom “I Love Lucy” (d. 1989) 1917 – Actor Robert Mitchum (“The Story of G.I. Joe,” “Crossfire,” “Out of the Past,”, “The Night of the Hunter,” “The Enemy Below,” “Cape Fear,” “El Dorado”) (d. 1997) 1928 – American pop artist and cultural icon Andy Warhol (d. 1987) 1962 – Actress Michelle Yeoh (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Tomorrow Never Dies”) 1970 – Director M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable,” “Signs,” “Lady in the Water.” “The Last Airbender,” “After Earth”) 1972 – Singer Geri Halliwell, a.k.a. “Ginger Spice” of the British pop group Spice Girls History Highlights 1890 – The first execution by electric chair takes place at Auburn Prison in New York with William Kemmler facing the death penalty for the hatchet murder of his girlfriend, Tillie Ziegler. 1945 – An American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, leveling most of the city under a massive mushroom cloud. Some 70,000 people are killed in a matter of seconds. 1959 – Chevrolet unveils plans to produce the Corvair, a revolutionary rear-engine compact car that goes on to ignite controversy and debate over its safety. 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. The bill makes it illegal to impose restrictions on federal, state and local elections that were designed to deny the vote to blacks. 2009 – John Hughes, the influential writer-director who captured the humor and angst of the teen experience, 1980s style, in hit movies such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” dies at 59. Musical Milestones 1960 – Chubby Checker appears on TV’s “American Bandstand” and performs “The Twist,” which goes on to become a national sensation and No. 1 single. 1973 – A traffic accident leaves Motown sensation Stevie Wonder in a coma for four days and permanently robs him of his sense of smell. Amazingly, he’s back in the recording studio eight weeks later. 1981 – Stevie Nicks releases her first solo album, “Bella Donna,” featuring “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a duet with Tom Petty that reaches No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart. 1982 – “Pink Floyd The Wall” opens in movie theaters, based on the British rock band’s 1979 album of the same name. 1988 – Almost a year to the day after debuting at No. 182 on the Billboard album chart, “Appetite for Destruction,” by Guns N’ Roses, reaches No. 1, fueled by the band’s tour and widespread airplay for the hit singles “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” 1994 – Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Stay (I Missed You).” 2004 – After years of cocaine use, funk legend Rick James is found dead of a heart attack at his Hollywood home at the age of 56. James was best known for his 1981 smash, “Super Freak.” 2005 – “We Belong Together,” by Mariah Carey, is midway through a 10-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. READ MORE
On this Day May 18 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1912 – Pop singer and TV personality Perry Como (“Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” “It’s Impossible”) (d. 2001) 1920 – Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyla, the second longest-serving pope in history, who was leader of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death (d. 2005) 1946 – Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, a.k.a. “Mr. October,” who won five World Series Championship rings with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. 1952 – Grammy-winning Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait, known as “The King of Country” (“Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind,” “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” “Write This Down”) 1970 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress, comedian, writer and producer Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock,” ” Mean Girls,” “Baby Mama,” “Date Night,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) 1975 – Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson (“Flake,” “Better Together,” “Banana Pancakes”) History Highlights 1917 – Six weeks after the United States formally enters the World War I, Congress passes and President Woodrow Wilson signs into law the Selective Service Act. It requires all American men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for service in the U.S. military. On June 5, 1917, some 10 million men report to their local Selective Service Registration Boards to sign up. 1953 – Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran becomes the first woman aviator to break the sound barrier. The so-called “Queen of Speed” was an important contributor to the formation of America’s wartime Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson announces the launch of Project Head Start, designed as part of his War on Poverty initiative, to provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. 1974 – With its detonation of a nuclear bomb, India officially becomes the world’s sixth nuclear power. International reaction to the test was negative, with Canada cutting off virtually all nuclear assistance. The United States also restricted such collaborations and successfully persuaded India not to carry out further nuclear tests at that time. 1980 – The violent eruption of Washington’s Mount St. Helens kills 57 people, destroys hundreds of homes, levels tens of thousands of acres of forest, triggers mudflows and scatters ash across a dozen states. It becomes one of the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic events in U.S. history. Musical Milestones 1959 – Considered one of rock and roll’s early classics, “Kansas City,” by Wilbert Harrison, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for two weeks. The song was written in 1952 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had never been to Kansas City. Despite countless covers, including one by Little Richard, only Harrison’s version became a chart-topper. 1963 – Jimmy Soul has the No. 1 single with “If You Wanna Be Happy.” The song holds the top spot for two weeks. 1974 – Ray Stevens races to the top of the pop chart with the novelty song “The Streak,” and stays there for three weeks. 1985 – “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” by Simple Minds, is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Written for the John Hughes coming-of-age movie “The Breakfast Club,” it is the band’s only U.S. chart-topper. 1996 – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony begin eight weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their Grammy-winning single, “Tha Crossroads.” The song is dedicated to the group’s mentor, the late gangsta rap icon Eazy-E. 2002 – Ashanti is in the middle of a 10-week domination of the singles chart with “Foolish.” READ MORE