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 March 15 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1933 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to be appointed to the position (d. 2020) 1935 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor Judd Hirsch (“Taxi,” “Ordinary People,” “Independence Day,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Numb3rs, “Forever,” “Superior Donuts”) 1941 – Singer-songwriter Mike Love of The Beach Boys 1959 – Male supermodel Fabio, born Fabio Lanzoni 1963 – Poison lead singer and reality TV star Bret Michaels 1975 – Actress and director/producer Eva Longoria (“The Young and the Restless,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Harsh Times,” “The Sentinel,” “Over Her Dead Body,” “Overboard”) 1975 – Grammy-winning rapper and The Black Eyed Peas founder/frontman Will.i.am, born William Adams History Highlights 44 B.C. – Caught in an ambush, Roman dictator Julius Caesar is stabbed to death by a group of his own senators. March 15 of 44 B.C. is known as the “Ides of March” in the Roman calendar. 1820 – As part of the Missouri Compromise between the U.S. North and South, Maine is admitted as the 23rd state in the Union. 1965 – Just days after a deadly police assault on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses a historic joint session of Congress to urge passage of legislation guaranteeing equal voting rights for all Americans. Congress passes the Voting Rights Act that summer, and Johnson signs the measure into law on August 6, 1965. 1970 – Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins becomes the first defenseman in NHL history to score 100 points in a season, after scoring four goals in one game against the Detroit Red Wings. 1975 – “Funny Lady,” starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan and Omar Sharif, opens in movie theaters. It is the sequel to the 1968 musical film, “Funny Girl,” the story of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice. 1977 – The sitcom “Three’s Company” debuts on ABC, starring John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers. It runs until 1984. 1988 – “The Wonder Years” premieres on ABC and runs for six seasons. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous late 1960s, the series follows a suburban American family, focusing on the growing pains of youngest son Kevin, played by Fred Savage. Musical Milestones 1964 – “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” The Beatles’ first No. 1 single in the U.S., begins its seventh and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 only to be replaced by The Beatles’ second No. 1 hit: “She Loves You.” 1969 – “Dizzy,” by Tommy Roe, starts a four-week run as the No. 1 single. 1975 – The Doobie Brothers rule the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Black Water,” from their “What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits” album. 1980 – Queen wraps up a four-week run on top of the pop chart with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” the band’s first No. 1 U.S. hit. 1986 – “Sara,” by Starship, tops the singles chart for a week. The track is one of two No. 1 hits from the band’s “Knee Deep in the Hoopla” album. The other is “We Built This City.” 1997 – The Spice Girls’ debut single, “Wannabe,” marks its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It becomes the best-selling single ever by a female group. 1999 – Bruce Springsteen is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by U2 frontman Bono. 2003 – 50 Cent scores his first No. 1 single with “In da Club.” The track holds the top spot for nine weeks. READ MORE