On This Day: October 16

On This Day October 16

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy-winning actress Angela Lansbury, best known for playing sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the popular CBS mystery series “Murder, She Wrote” (d. 2022)

1946 – Actress Suzanne Somers, best known for her role in the TV sitcom “Three’s Company”

1958 – Oscar-winning actor-director-activist Tim Robbins (“Bull Durham,” “The Player,” “Shortcuts,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Hudsucker proxy,” “Dead Man Walking,” “Mystic River,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”)

1962 – Musician Flea, born Michael Balzary, bassist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers

1975 – Actress Kellie Martin (“Life Goes On,” “ER”)

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Mayer (“Your Body Is a Wonderland,” “Daughters”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1934 – Embattled Chinese Communists break through Nationalist enemy lines and begin a year-long, 6,000-mile pilgrimage north from their encircled headquarters in southwest China in what comes to be called The Long March.

1964 – A new contender joins the nuclear arms race as the People’s Republic of China successfully tests an atomic bomb.

1967 – With the Vietnam War raging, folk singer Joan Baez is among more than 100 draft protesters arrested in Oakland, California.

1973 – Henry Kissinger, then U.S. Secretary of State, and North Vietnamese diplomat Le Duc Tho are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the Paris peace accords. Kissinger accepts, but Tho declines the award.

1987 – Millions of TV viewers around the world watch live news coverage as 18-month-old Jessica McClure (“Baby Jessica”) is rescued from an abandoned well in Midland, Texas, where she was trapped for 58 terrifying hours.

1991 – One of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history begins when George Hennard drives his truck into a Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, and opens fire on the lunch crowd. He kills 23 people and injures more than 20 others before turning the gun on himself.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1965 – “Yesterday” plants The Beatles in the middle of a four-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart.

1966 – Grace Slick joins the San Francisco-based rock band Jefferson Airplane (which later becomes Jefferson Starship and then Starship), contributing her unique vocal talents to songs like “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.”

1971 – Rod Stewart is midway through a five-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Maggie May,” off his “Every Picture Tells a Story” album.

1976 – Rick Dees, who would go on to become one of the nation’s most popular DJs, quacks his way to the top of the singles chart with “Disco Duck.”

1982 – “Jack & Diane,” by John Cougar Mellencamp, is in the midst of a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1993 – Mariah Carey rules the pop chart with “Dreamlover,” which holds the top spot for eight weeks.

1999 – “Heartbreaker,” by Mariah Carey featuring Jay-Z, enters its second and final week as a Billboard singles chart-topper.

2004 – Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, enters its sixth week at No. 1 on the pop chart.

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On This Day: September 23

On This Day September 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1920 – Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actor Mickey Rooney (d. 2014)

1930 – Grammy-winning soul music pioneer Ray Charles (d. 2004)

1943 – Grammy-winning pop singer Julio Iglesias (“Begin the Beguine,” “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before”)

1947 – Emmy-winning actress Mary Kay Place (“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”)

1949 – Grammy-winning rock singer-songwriter Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen

1959 – Tony Award-winning actor-comedian Jason Alexander, best known as George Costanza in the hit comedy series “Seinfeld” 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1846 – German astronomer Johann Galle discovers Neptune, the eighth planet from the sun. 

1875 – Originally named Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim, and later William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid as he was most widely known, is 15 when he is arrested for the first time after stealing a basket of laundry. He eventually earns a reputation as an outlaw and fugitive, with a rap sheet that allegedly included 21 murders.

1952 – Vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivers his nationally televised “Checkers Speech.” Nixon defends himself against charges of using a private fund for political expenses, and declares he would never give back the dog, Checkers, which was a gift to his daughters. 

1962 – The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City opens with the completion of the first building, the Philharmonic Hall, now Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic. 

1994 – “The Shawshank Redemption,” starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, opens in theaters. Based on a 1982 short story by Stephen King titled “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” the film garners seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, but wins none.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1957 – The Crickets, featuring Buddy Holly, dominate the singles chart with “That’ll Be The Day.” The song is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2005, is placed in the National Recording Registry among recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.”

1967 – “The Letter” sends The Box Tops to the top of the singles chart where they remain slotted for four weeks. 

1972 – Mac Davis begins three weeks as a chart-topper with “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” his only No. 1.

1978 – With the disco era in full swing, A Taste of Honey enters its third and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”

1989 – Milli Vanilli’s “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” becomes the duo’s second chart-topping single. The album it’s on, “Girl You Know It’s True,” also kicks off two week’s at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

2000 – Madonna is in the middle of a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Music.” It is her 12th No. 1 single. 

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