On This Day: February 2

On This Day February 2

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1882 – Novelist James Joyce, considered one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century (“Dubliners,” “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” “Ulysses,” “Finnegans Wake”) (d. 1941)

1937 – Comedian-musician Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers

1942 – Singer-songwriter Graham Nash, who performed with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Hollies

1947 – Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress and pop icon Farrah Fawcett (“Charlie’s Angels,” “Extremities,” “The Burning Bed “) (d. 2009) 

1949 – Actor Brent Spiner, best known for his portrayal of Data in TV’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series and four subsequent films 

1954 – Supermodel Christie Brinkley 

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shakira, born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (“Whenever, Wherever,” “Hips Don’t Lie”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1880 – The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash, Indiana.

1887 – Groundhog Day is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if the groundhog sees his shadow, we’re in for six more weeks of winter. No shadow means an early spring.

1913 – After 10 years of construction, the iconic Grand Central Terminal opens in Midtown Manhattan. More than 150,000 people visit New York City’s newest landmark on its first day of operation.

1964 – The G.I. Joe action figure hits U.S. toy stores. Manufacturer Hasbro boasts that this fighting man has 21 movable parts.

1980 – Details of ABSCAM, an FBI operation to uncover political corruption in the government, are released to the public. Thirty-one public officials had been targeted for investigation.

1996 – Acclaimed dancer, actor and choreographer Gene Kelly, who helped shape the Golden Age of movie musicals, dies at his Beverly Hills, California home at the age of 83.

2014 – Oscar-winning actor, director and producer Philip Seymour Hoffman, who starred in more than 50 movies, including “Capote, “Doubt,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” and “The Hunger Games” series, dies of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 46.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1959 – The Platters are perched on top of the singles chart with “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

1959 – Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper take their Winter Dance Party tour to the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. It would be the last gig the three rock and roll legends ever play, as a plane crash claims their lives the next day. 

1963 – The Rooftop Singers mark their second and final week as chart toppers with “Walk Right In.”

1973 – The first rock concert TV series, “The Midnight Special,” debuts on NBC, hosted by Wolfman Jack and Mike Carruthers.

1974 – Barbra Streisand starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the Academy Award-winning theme from the movie “The Way We Were.”

1979 – Sex Pistols member Sid Vicious dies of a heroin overdose in New York City at the age of 21. It happens just one day after his release from prison on bail following his arrest on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend.

1980 – Michael Jackson is in the midst of a four-week domination of the pop chart with “Rock With You,” from his “Off The Wall” album.

1991 – “To The Extreme,” by Vanilla Ice, tops the Billboard album chart. The album contains the hits “Ice Ice Baby” and a cover of “Play That Funky Music.”

2002 – Usher is in the middle of a five-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “U Got It Bad.”

2008 – “Low,” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain, is the No. 1 single.

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On This Day: January 26

On This Day January 26

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Oscar-winning actor and race car driver Paul Newman (“The Hustler,” “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Verdict,” “The Color of Money,” “The Hudsucker Proxy,” “Road to Perdition”) (d. 2008)

1941 – Actor Scott Glenn (“Urban Cowboy,” “The Right Stuff,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Backdraft,” “Training Day,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”)

1955 – Legendary rock guitarist and songwriter Eddie Van Halen of the band Van Halen (“Hot for Teacher”, “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love”, “Jump”, “Panama”) (d. 2020)

1958 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Anita Baker (“Sweet Love,” “Just Because”)

1958 – Emmy-winning TV host, comedian, actress and LGBTQ advocate Ellen DeGeneres 

1961 – Retired hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who played for four teams during 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1788 –  Britain’s First Fleet sails into Sydney Harbor and begins the European colonization of Australia. The fledgling colony marks this event each year as Australia Day, however in recent years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have objected because they see the occasion as the beginning of the deliberate destruction of their people and culture.

1905 – A 3,106-carat diamond is discovered during a routine inspection at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa. Weighing 1.33 pounds,  it is the largest diamond ever found, and is named the Cullinan after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine.

1926 – Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of a true television system (called a “televisor”) in London, launching a revolution in communication and entertainment.

1950 – The Republic of India is formed as the Indian constitution takes effect.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy appoints Janet Travell, 59, as his personal physician, making her the first woman in history to hold that post. 

1979 – The General Lee, a bright orange Dodge Charger with a Confederate flag on its roof, kicks up dust clouds as “The Dukes of Hazzard” premieres on CBS.

1988 – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” has its first Broadway performance at the Majestic Theatre. 

1998 – During one of the most memorable news conferences of his presidency, Bill Clinton tells reporters, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” Clinton later confesses that he did indeed have an “improper physical relationship” with Monica Lewinksky, a 24-year-old White House intern.

2005 – Condoleezza Rice assumes the post of U.S. Secretary of State two months after her nomination by President George W. Bush. She becomes the highest ranking African American woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1963 – The Rooftop Singers stroll to the top of the singles chart with “Walk Right In.”

1970 – Phil Spector and John Lennon write and record Lennon’s “Instant Karma” in one day. It lands on the Billboard pop chart 33 days later, eventually climbing to No. 3.

1974 – “You’re Sixteen” by Ringo Starr is the No. 1 single. The song is from the ex-Beatle’s “Ringo” album, which also contains the hits “Photograph” and “Oh My My.”

1980 – Prince makes his television premiere with an appearance on “American Bandstand.” He shyly answers questions from host Dick Clark, beginning with “How did you learn to do this in Minneapolis?”

1985 – Madonna wraps up six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with her first No. 1 single, “Like a Virgin.”

1991 – Surface kicks off two weeks atop the pop chart with “The First Time.” It is the last time the New Jersey trio has a No. 1 single.

2002 – “U Got It Bad,” by Usher, is in the midst of a five-week ride on top of the singles chart.

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