Time magazine – Time Rewind

On This Day March 3

Click each item below to learn more!

On This Day January 3

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1892 – English writer and poet J. R. R. Tolkien (“The Hobbit,” “Lord of the Rings”) (d. 1973)

1926 – Record producer-arranger George Martin, known as the “Fifth Beatle” (d. 2016)

1930 – Actor-director Robert Loggia (“Scarface,” “Big,” “Jagged Edge,” “Independence Day,” “Lost Highway,” “The Sopranos”) (d. 2015)

1932 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Dabney Coleman, (“9 to 5,” “Tootsie,” “WarGames,” “Buffalo Bill,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Rules Don’t Apply”)

1950 – Actress Victoria Principal, best known for her role as Pam Ewing in the hit series “Dallas”

1956 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer-director Mel Gibson (“Mad Max,” “Braveheart,” the “Lethal Weapon” movie series, “The Patriot,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “The Beaver,” “Hacksaw Ridge”)

1981 – Star NFL quarterback Eli Manning of the New York Giants

History Highlights

1938 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his former law partner, Basil O’Connor, establish the March of Dimes (originally known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis) to battle polio, the disease FDR contracted at the age of 39 that prevented him from ever walking on his own again.

1961 – The U.S. severs diplomatic relations with Cuba two years after Fidel Castro seized control of the island nation 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

1967 – Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who killed the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, dies of cancer in a Dallas hospital. The Texas Court of Appeals had recently overturned Ruby’s death sentence for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and was scheduled to grant him a new trial.

1969 – Apollo 8 astronauts William Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell grace the cover of TIME magazine as “Men of the Year” for becoming the first humans to orbit the moon. During their mission, the trio also captured the iconic “Earthrise” image of planet Earth hovering above the lunar surface. They were hailed for bringing a hopeful conclusion to 1968 — a year filled with social strife that included the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

1990 – Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S. military troops to face charges of drug trafficking.

1993 – The Buffalo Bills stage the greatest comeback in NFL history. Backup quarterback Frank Reich leads the Bills to an improbable 41-38 overtime victory over the Houston Oilers in an AFC wild card playoff game that would forever be known to football fans as “The Comeback.” In Houston, however, it was referred to as “The Choke.”

Musical Milestones

1970 – The Beatles record their last song as a group — George Harrison’s “I, Me, Mine” — which appears on the “Let It Be” album.

1970 – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” by B.J. Thomas, begins a four-week domination of the singles chart. The song is featured in the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

1976 – S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! Scotland’s Bay City Rollers hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Saturday Night.”

1981 – Less than four weeks after his assassination outside his Manhattan apartment building, John Lennon has the first No. 1 single of 1981 with “(Just Like) Starting Over.”

1987 – Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1987 – The Bangles claim the top spot on the singles chart with “Walk Like an Egyptian.”

1998 – Elton John’s tribute to the late Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997,” enters its 13th week as a No. 1 single.

2004 – OutKast rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hey Ya!” The track ultimately holds the top spot for nine weeks and goes on to win a Best Urban/Alternative Performance Grammy Award.

On This Day December 26

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1914 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Widmark (“Kiss of Death,” “No Way Out,” “Don’t Bother to Knock”) (d. 2008)

1921 – Entertainer Steve Allen, first host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” who was a prolific comedian, composer, actor, author and TV host during a nearly five-decade career (d. 2000)

1927 – Comedian-actor Alan King (d. 2004)

1933 – Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, the talent behind the “Sesame Street” characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (d. 2019)

1939 – Grammy-winning record producer-songwriter and convicted murderer Phil Spector

1947 – Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk

1956 – Humorist-comedian-author David Sedaris (“SantaLand Diaries,” “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” “When You Are Engulfed in Flames”)

1971 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor and musician Jared Leto (“Girl, Interrupted,” “American Psycho,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “Panic Room,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Suicide Squad”)

1979 – Rock singer-songwriter-guitarist Chris Daughtry, whose music career was launched by a fourth-place finish on “American Idol”

History Highlights

1898 – In a landmark moment for chemistry and physics, French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie publish a paper announcing their discovery of the element of radium (Ra). The groundbreaking discovery later garners the husband and wife team the Nobel Prize.

1946 – Mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel opens the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, aiming to establish a stylish and cosmopolitan gambling destination in the Nevada desert. Siegel closes the resort just two weeks later due to lackluster business, and the following June, he is killed in a mob hit. After undergoing multiple ownership changes through the years, the Flamingo is still in operation as the oldest casino on the Vegas Strip.

1966 – Kwanzaa is observed for the first time. The seven-day holiday with strong African roots was designed by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach, as a celebration of African American family, community and culture.

1972 – Harry S. Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, dies in Independence, Missouri at the age of 88.

1973 – “The Exorcist” opens in movie theaters across the U.S., terrifying audiences and establishing a new standard for the horror genre. Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning movie is about a girl, played by Linda Blair, that is possessed by an evil spirit.

1974 – Cancer claims the life of beloved comedian Jack Benny at the age of 80.

1982 – TIME magazine breaks from tradition when the magazine’s editors replace the annual “Man of the Year” cover story with “Machine of the Year” and profile the personal computer.

1996 – Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home. Her murder becomes the focus one of most intensive and publicized police investigations in U.S. history and remains unsolved to this day.

Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles score their sixth No. 1 single of the year as “I Feel Fine” kicks off three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the Fab Four’s 29th to make the charts in 1964.

1970 – “My Sweet Lord,” by George Harrison, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and makes Harrison the first ex-Beatle to reach No. 1 as a solo act.

1981 – Olivia Newton-John begins her sixth week reigning over the pop chart with “Physical,” which remains at No. 1 for the first four weeks of 1982.

1987 – The “Dirty Dancing” soundtrack is the middle of a nine-week reign as the No. 1 album. It becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time.

1992 – Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” enters its fifth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track continues to hold the top spot for the first nine weeks of 1993.

1998 – “I’m Your Angel.” by R. Kelly and Céline Dion, is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the singles chart.

1999 – Soul, R&B and funk singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield, best known for his acclaimed 1972 “Super Fly” soundtrack,” dies at the age of 57. Mayfield — a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — was a member of The Impressions before embarking on a solo career.

2009 – The Jay-Z/Alicia Keys duet, “Empire State of Mind,” is in its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day October 27

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays

1858 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States (d. 1919)

1914 – Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, whose works include the poems “Do not go gentle into that good night,” “And death shall have no dominion”, the “Play for Voices” and “Under Milk Wood” (d. 1953)

1922 – Emmy and Grammy-winning actress and playwright Ruby Dee (“A Raisin in the Sun,” “Do The Right Thing,” “The Stand,” “American Gangster”)(d. 2014)

1939 – Actor-comedian, author and Monty Python founder John Cleese (“Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” “Fawlty Towers,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “Harry Potter,” “Shrek”)

1942 – Country singer Lee Greenwood, best known for his song “God Bless the USA,” which gained popularity following the September 11, 2001 attacks

1952 – Actor-director Roberto Benigni, best known for his Oscar-winning 1997 film “Life Is Beautiful”

1958 – Musician Simon Le Bon, lead singer of the Grammy-winning band Duran Duran (“Girls on Film,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Save a Prayer,” “Rio,” “The Reflex,” “A View to a Kill,” “Ordinary World”)

1984 – Actress, singer and fashion designer Kelly Osbourne, who rose to fame on the reality show about her family, “The Osbournes”

History Highlights

1904 – America’s first rapid transit system begins operating when the New York City subway opens to the public. More than 100,000 people pay a nickel to take their first ride aboard the Interborough Rapid Transit (I.R.T.) under Manhattan.

1954 – “Disneyland,” Walt Disney’s first TV series, premieres on ABC. It airs for 34 seasons, in later years under different names, including “Walt Disney Presents” and “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

1962 – Thirteen days after an American U-2 spy plane first captures photos of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba aimed at the U.S., a Soviet missile destroys the U.S. Air Force jet during another Cuba flyover. The pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., becomes the first casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Anderson’s death is believed to have saved millions of American lives in a potential nuclear attack.

1978 – The Nobel Peace Prize is jointly awarded to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat in honor of the Camp David Agreement which brought about a negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel.

1986 – The New York Mets become world champions of baseball, as they beat the Boston Red Sox in Game Seven of the World Series, 8-5.

Musical Milestones

1960 – Soul and R&B sensation Ben E. King records “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand by Me,” launching his successful solo career after leaving The Drifters.

1973 – Gladys Knight & the Pips have their first No. 1 single with “Midnight Train To Georgia,” which stays on top of the pop chart for two weeks and goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group or Chorus.

1975 – Bruce Springsteen’s early career gets a shot in the arm as he lands on the covers of two national news magazines on the same day — Newsweek and Time.

1982 – Prince releases his breakthrough double-album “1999,” which contains the hits “1999” and “Little Red Corvette.” The album peaks at No. 9 a few months later, but climbs to No. 7 on the Billboard album chart following Prince’s death in 2016.

1984 – “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” by Stevie Wonder, marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1990 – Janet Jackson rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a week with “Black Cat,” off her “Rhythm Nation 1814” album.

2001 – “I’m Real (Murder Remix),” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, is in its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

2006 – Amy Winehouse releases her second and final studio album, “Back to Black,” which spawns five singles, including “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good.” It goes on to capture Album of the Year honors at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.