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On this Day May 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1901 – Oscar-winning actor Gary Cooper (” Sergeant York,” “High Noon,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “The Pride of the Yankees,” “City Streets”) (d. 1961)

1922 – Actor Darren McGavin, best known for playing the grumpy father in “A Christmas Story”) (d. 2006)

1923 – Oscar-winning actress Anne Baxter (“The Razor’s Edge,” “All About Eve,” “The Ten Commandments”) (d. 1985)

1946 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Thelma Houston, best known for her 1977 disco smash “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

1950 – Journalist/former NBC “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert (d. 2008)

1954 – Director Amy Heckerling (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “European Vacation,” “Look Who’s Talking,” “Clueless”)

1968 – Actress Traci Lords (“I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell,” “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”)

History Highlights

1915 – Without warning, a German U-boat fires on the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. The ship, which was sailing from New York to Liverpool, England, sinks within 20 minutes, claiming nearly 1,200 lives — including 128 Americans. While packed with passengers, the vessel was a German target because it was transporting wartime munitions to England and was sailing through an established war zone.

1945 – Germany unconditionally surrenders to the Allies in Reims, France, marking the end of World War II in Europe.

1954 – Vietnam’s victory over France at Dien Bien Phu on this day ends the Indochina War. The battle is considered one of the greatest victories by a former colony over a colonial power.

1960 – Leonid Brezhnev, one of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s most trusted proteges, becomes president of the U.S.S.R.

1994 – Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, is recovered almost three months after being stolen from a museum in Oslo.

Musical Milestones

1965 – Keith Richards awakens in his Florida motel room in the early morning hours with a riff in his head, grabs his guitar and flips on a tape recorder. He only lays down 30 seconds of music before falling back asleep, but what he records leads to The Rolling Stones’ signature “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” once Mick Jagger adds lyrics. The song becomes the Stones’ first U.S. No. 1.

1966 – The Mamas and The Papas start a three-week run at No.1 on the singles chart with “Monday Monday,” the first hit by a coed group.

1977 – “Hotel California,” by the Eagles, checks in at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart for a week. The track, off the album of the same title, goes on to capture a Record of the Year Grammy.

1983 – Michael Jackson is in the midst of a three-week ride atop the pop chart with “Beat It,” from the “Thriller” album.

1988 – Terence Trent D’Arby has the hottest single for a week with “Wishing Well.”

1998 – Country-pop musician Eddie Rabbitt, best known for his 1980 hits “Drivin’ My Life Away” and “I Love a Rainy Night,” and who wrote Elvis’ popular single, “Kentucky Rain,” dies of lung cancer at age 56.

2005 – Gwen Stefani kicks off a four-week run on top of the Billboard pop chart with “Hollaback Girl.” The track is from her debut solo studio album, “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.”

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