TLC – Time Rewind

On This Day April 17

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On This Day April 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1921 – Professional baseball and basketball player-turned-actor Chuck Connors (“The Rifleman”) (d. 1992)

1929 – Actor Max von Sydow (“The Seventh Seal,” “The Exorcist,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “Pelle The Conqueror,” “Minority Report,” “Game of Thrones”) (d. 2020)

1932 – Golden Globe Award-winning actor Omar Sharif (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago,” “Funny Girl”) (d. 2015)

1936 – Pro Football Hall of Famer, retired NFL coach and sportscaster John Madden

1952 – Actor, producer and martial artist Steven Seagal (“Above the Law,” “Under Siege,” “Executive Decision,” “The Patriot”)

1959 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter and music producer Babyface, born Kenneth Edmonds

1984 – Singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore (“Candy,” “A Walk to Remember,” “Tangled,” “This Is Us”)

1988 – Actor Haley Joel Osment (“Forrest Gump,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Pay It Forward,” “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” “Entourage”)

History Highlights

1790 – President George Washington signs a bill establishing the U.S. Patent system as a means of protecting the rights of inventors for their creations.

1849 – New York mason Walter Hunt is granted U.S. Patent #6,281 for his safety pin invention, which he fashioned from a single piece of wire.

1866 – A major step toward protecting the welfare of animals is taken on this day when philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh establishes the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

1912 – The luxury liner Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on its fateful voyage to New York.

1953 – The first color 3-D movie opens in New York. It’s “House of Wax,” starring Vincent Price and directed by André De Toth. In addition to sparking the 3-D movie craze of the 1950s, this motion picture also launches Price’s long and successful career as a star of the horror genre.

1963 – All 129 crewmen die when the nuclear submarine USS Thresher sinks some 300 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while conducting drills.

1971 – The U.S. table tennis team begins a week-long visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the invitation of China’s communist government. The well-publicized trip is part of the PRC’s efforts to build closer diplomatic relations with the United States.

Musical Milestones

1954 – “Wanted,” by Perry Como, begins an eight-week run on top of the pop chart.

1965 – Freddie and the Dreamers, known for their unique dance gyrations while performing, hold the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m Telling You Now.”

1970 – Paul McCartney issues a press statement — more of a self-interview — announcing the breakup of The Beatles. McCartney wrote, “I have no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John (Lennon).”

1971 – Motown sensation The Temptations have the No. 1 single with “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me).”

1976 – The biggest-selling live album in rock history hits the top of the U.S. album chart and remains there for 10 weeks. It’s “Frampton Comes Alive!” by British singer-songwriter Peter Frampton. An estimated 11 million copies have been sold worldwide.

1993 – One-hit-wonder Snow is in the middle of seven weeks atop the pop chart with “Informer.”

1999 – The female trio TLC kicks off four weeks as chart-toppers with “No Scrubs.”

On This Day February 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1898 – Race car driver and Ferrari Motor founder Enzo Ferrari (d. 1988)

1931 – Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison (“The Bluest Eye,” “Song of Solomon,” “Beloved”) (d. 2019)

1950 – Golden Globe-winning actress Cybill Shepherd (“The Last Picture Show,” “Taxi Driver,” “Moonlighting,” “Cybill”)

1954 – Golden Globe-winning actor John Travolta (“Welcome Back, Kotter,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Get Shorty,” “Broken Arrow,” “Face/Off,” “Hairspray”)

1964 – Actor-director Matt Dillon (“Rumble Fish,” “The Outsiders,” “The Flamingo Kid,” “Drugstore Cowboy,” “In & Out,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Crash,” “You, Me and Dupree”)

1965 – Grammy-winning hip-hop pioneer Dr. Dre, born Andre Young

1968 – Actress Molly Ringwald (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story,” “The Stand”)

History Highlights

1885 – Writing under the pen name Mark Twain, author Samuel Clemens publishes “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” At the surface of Twain’s novel is the journey of a boy named Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, who travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. However, at its core, the literary classic is a satirical look at racism, religion and other social attitudes of the time. It remains one of the most beloved, and most banned, books in American history.

1929 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces the winners of the first Academy Awards to the press. Emil Jannings is the first Best Actor and Janet Gaynor the first Best Actress. Three months later, a black-tie banquet honoring the winners is held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with 270 guests paying $5 apiece to attend.

1930 – Peering through a powerful telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, formerly the ninth planet in our solar system.

1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” dies of throat cancer at the age of 62.

1970 – Five members of The Chicago Seven are found guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

1977 – The space shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight,” sitting on top of a Boeing 747 to determine how well the two vehicles flew together.

Musical Milestones

1956 – The Platters serve up the No. 1 single in America: “The Great Pretender.”

1956 – “Rock Around the Clock,” by Bill Haley and His Comets, becomes the first rock and roll LP to make the U.S. pop album charts.

1959 – At the Atlantic Records studio in New York, Ray Charles records “What’d I Say,” considered one of the greatest soul/R&B records ever produced. The track paves the way for Charles to break into mainstream pop music.

1967 – “Kind of a Drag,” by The Buckinghams, begins two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1982 – Cher makes her Broadway acting debut in “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.”

1995 – TLC marks its fourth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Creep.”

2006 – “Check On It,” by Beyoncé featuring Bun B and Slim Thug, is in the midst of a five-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day February 4

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Civil rights crusader Rosa Parks, who helped pave the way for desegregation in the U.S. when she refused to give up her seat aboard a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama (d. 2005)

1936 – Standup comedian David Brenner (d. 2014)

1940 – Horror film director-screenwriter George A. Romero, the master behind the cult classic “Night of the Living Dead” as well as “Dawn of the Dead,” “Land of the Dead” and “Creepshow” (d. 2017)

1948 – Rock And Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter Alice Cooper, considered “The Godfather of Shock Rock” (“Schools Out,” “Eighteen”, “Poison”, “No More Mr Nice Guy”)

1962 – Country music singer-songwriter Clint Black (“A Better Man,” “Nothing’s News,” “Walking Away,” “Nobody’s Home,” “Killin’ Time”)

1973 – Retired professional boxer and Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya

1977 – Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw (“I Don’t Want to Be,” “Chariot,” “Follow Through”)

History Highlights

1789 – George Washington — commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War — is unanimously elected the first president of the United States, garnering all 69 electoral votes. No other American president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead.

1922 – The Ford Motor Company acquires the bankrupt Lincoln Motor Company for $8 million, giving Ford a luxury division to compete against Cadillac, Packard and Auburn.

1938 – Disney releases “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the first full-length animated feature (83 minutes in length) in color and with sound, and a pioneering classic tale in film history.

1945 – President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference to discuss the Allied war effort against Germany and Japan.

1957 – Smith Corona Manufacturing of New York begins selling portable electric typewriters. The first machine, known as the model 5TE, weighs 19 pounds.

1974 – The radical group Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst, from her California apartment.

2004 – Nineteen-year-old Harvard University sophomore Mark Zuckerberg launches “TheFacebook.com,” an online directory designed to connect fellow Harvard students with one another. By the next day, more than a thousand people had registered. The service sparks a social media revolution, with billions now using Facebook each day.

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees maintain their grip on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer.” In all, the track remains a chart-topper for seven weeks.

1968 – The Beatles record “Across The Universe” at London’s Abbey Road Studios with backup vocals from two teenage fans who were among the groupies (“Apple scruffs”) that routinely gathered outside the facility on recording days.

1975 – Known as “The King of the Jukebox,” American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader Louis Jordan dies at the age of 66.

1977 – Fleetwood Mac’s 11th studio album, “Rumours,” is released, introducing fans to the Top 10 hits “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun.”

1978 – The Bee Gees have a No. 1 single with “Stayin’ Alive,” while another single of theirs, “Night Fever,” debuts on the pop chart, later staking its own claim to the top spot for eight weeks. Both songs are from the Grammy-winning “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1982 – “Centerfold,” by the J. Geils Band, reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for six weeks.

1983 – Heart failure caused by chronic anorexia nervosa claims the life of 32-year-old singer Karen Carpenter of the acclaimed 1970s brother-sister pop duet, Carpenters.

1984 – Culture Club begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Karma Chameleon,” the band’s fifth Top 10 hit.

1995 – “Creep,” by TLC, is midway through a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the trio’s first chart-topper.

2006 – “Check On It,” by Beyoncé, featuring Bun B and Slim Thug, kicks off five weeks on top of the singles chart.

On This Day January 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock (d. 1956)

1936 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor-director Alan Alda (“M*A*S*H,” “Same Time, Next Year,” “The Four Seasons,” “Everyone Says I Love You,” “The West Wing,” “The Aviator”)

1959 – Director Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” “The Mist”)

1968 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (“Building a Mystery,” “Angel,” “Fallen”)

1977 – Singer, actor and TV personality Joey Fatone, former member of NSYNC, one of the most popular boy bands of all time

1981 – Actor-producer Elijah Wood (“Avalon,” “The Ice Storm,” “Deep Impact,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Sin City,” “Happy Feet”)

History Highlights

1901 – Professional baseball’s American League is founded in Milwaukee with plans for a 140-game schedule, 14-man rosters and a players’ union.

1915 – The American merchant ship William P. Frye becomes the first casualty of World War I as a German cruiser opens fire and sinks the vessel. Despite apologies from the German government, the attack sparks outrage in the U.S.

1917 – Mexican maid Carmelita Torres refuses to put up with the indignity she has been made to suffer every morning since she began working across the border in the United States. Torres’ objection to the noxious chemical delousing Mexicans were required to undergo upon crossing the Northern border sparks what became known as the Bath Riots.

1922 – Ninety-eight guests are killed, 133 others are injured when the roof of Washington, D.C.’s Knickerbocker Theatre collapses under the weight of a heavy snowfall. The disaster ranks as one of Washington’s worst, and the “Knickerbocker Snowstorm,” as it is known, still holds the record for Washington’s single greatest snowfall.

1958 – The interlocking stud-and-tube plastic Lego brick is patented by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, whose father founded the Lego toy company (“Lego,” from the Danish term “leg godt,” meaning “play well”). The colorful bricks have covered playroom floors for generations. In fact, it’s estimated that Lego has since produced the equivalent of 62 bricks for every human being on the planet.

1964 – The State Department accuses the Soviet Union of shooting down an unarmed Air Force trainer jet over East Germany, killing its three occupants.

1986 – A nation watches in horror as Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) explodes 73 seconds into flight, killing teacher Christa McAuliffe — who was to have been the first civilian in space — and fellow crew members Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.

1997 – Four apartheid-era police officers, appearing before a tribunal in South Africa, admit to the 1977 killing of Stephen Biko, a leader of the South African “Black consciousness” movement.

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a seven-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer,” a song written by Neil Diamond.

1978 – “Baby Come Back,” by Player, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1984 – “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” off Yes’ “90125” album, rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a second and final week.

1985 – Forty-five of the world’s top recording artists gather in a Los Angeles studio to record “We Are the World” to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief. The song, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, reaches No. 1 on the singles chart three months later.

1995 – TLC marks the first of four weeks as Billboard singles chart-toppers with “Creep.”

2001 – Super Bowl XXXV, with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the New York Giants in Tampa, features a veritable Who’s Who of musical talent. Ray Charles sings “America The Beautiful,” the Backstreet Boys sing the national anthem and halftime performers include Aerosmith, ‘N Sync and Britney Spears.

2006 – “Grillz,” by Nelly featuring fellow rappers Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, is the No. 1 single.

2012 – “We Found Love,” by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris, marks its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

2017 – Ed Sheeran rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Shape of You.”

On This Day September 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1897 – Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner (“‘The Sound and the Fury,” “As I Lay Dying”) (d. 1962)

1929 – Emmy-winning TV journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news broadcast and who appeared as a host of numerous TV programs, including “Today,” “The ABC Evening News,” “20/20” and “The View” (d. 2022)

1944 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Douglas (“The Streets of San Francisco,” “The China Syndrome,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Wall Street,” “The War of the Roses,” “Falling Down,” “The American President,” “Wonder Boys,” “Last Vegas”)

1947 – Supermodel-actress Cheryl Tiegs, remembered for adorning covers of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue” and for her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster, which became an iconic image of 1970s pop culture

1951 – Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies

1952 – Actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident (“Superman,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Deathtrap,” “The Remains of the Day”) (d. 2004)

1961 – Actress Heather Locklear (“TJ Hooker,” “Melrose Place,” “Spin City”)

1968 – Grammy-winning actor-rapper Will Smith (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” “Ali,” “I, Robot,” “I Am Legend,” “Hancock,” “After Earth,” “Suicide Squad,” “King Richard”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Entrapment,” “Traffic,” “Chicago,” “Oceans Twelve,” “The Terminal”)

History Highlights

1957 – Nine Black students (the “Little Rock Nine”) enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas escorted by the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to block federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order.

1959 – After spending almost two weeks traveling the U.S. with his wife, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kicks off two days of meetings with President Dwight Eisenhower at Camp David. The two men reach general agreement on several issues, but a spy plane incident in May 1960 crushes any hopes for further improvement in U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy gives his “Sword of Damocles” speech before the United Nations General Assembly. He outlines the threat nuclear weapons had on the world, and challenges the Soviet Union to a “peace race…until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.”

1963 – The first in a series of 1960s teen beach movies is launched when “Beach Party,” starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, opens in U.S. theaters.

1978 – Tragedy erupts in the skies over San Diego as a small Cessna aircraft being used for flying lessons collides with a Pacific Southwest Airlines 727 (PSA Flight 182). The accident kills 153 people, including seven on the ground, and 22 homes where the burning jet fell are damaged or destroyed.

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in as the first female associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1997 – NBC’s prime time medical drama “ER,” which supercharged George Clooney’s acting career, opens its fourth season with live performances — first for East coast viewers and a second time for its West coast audience. The episode, entitled “Ambush,” draws a record 42.7 million viewers, becoming the series’ highest rating ever. “ER” aired for a total of 15 seasons, making it the longest-running primetime medical drama.

Musical Milestones

1965 – The Beatles get animated — literally — as they join the Saturday morning cartoon lineup in ABC’s “The Beatles,” which runs for three seasons. While authentic Beatles music was used in the show, the speaking parts were recorded by voice actors.

1967 – The Beatles begin recording the Paul McCartney song “The Fool on the Hill” at Abbey Road Studios. John and George play harmonicas, Paul plays a recorder and handles lead vocals while Ringo plays drums.

1970 – “The Partridge Family,” starring Oscar-winner Shirley Jones and her actual stepson, teen heartthrob David Cassidy, premieres on ABC. Inspired by real-life vocal group The Cowsills, the show runs for 96 episodes through September 1974.

1982 – The Steve Miller Band works some magic on the singles chart by making “Abracadabra” return to the No. 1 spot where it had been three weeks earlier before Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” bumped it.

1993 – “Dreamlover,” by Mariah Carey, is in the midst of an eight-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

1999 – TLC top the pop chart with “Unpretty,” the trio’s fourth No. 1 single. It goes on to receive Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is the No. 1 single.

On This Day September 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Oscar-winning actress Greta Garbo, born Greta Lovisa Gustafson (d. 1990)

1933 – Emmy-winning actor Robert Blake (“Baretta,” “Money Train,” “Lost Highway”)

1939 – Actor Fred Willard (“This Is Spinal Tap,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “For Your Consideration,” the “Anchorman” movie series)

1940 – Actor, singer and former teen idol Frankie Avalon, best known for his hit single “Venus” and the “Beach Party movie series

1961 – Emmy-winning actor James Gandolfini, best known for playing mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series “The Sopranos” (d. 2013)

1971 – Actress-producer Jada Pinkett Smith (“True Colors,” “A Different World,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Menace II Society,” “Set It Off, “Scream 2,” “Ali,” “The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions,” “Madagascar”)

1971 – Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong

1973 – Actor James Marsden (“X-Men,” “Superman Returns,” “Hairspray,” “Enchanted,” “Hop,” “27 Dresses,” “The Notebook”)

1975 – Actor-comedian Jason Sudeikis (“Saturday Night Live,” “Hall Pass,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Epic,” “We’re the Millers”)

History Highlights

1793 – President George Washington lays the cornerstone to the United States Capitol in the building’s southeast corner during a Masonic ceremony that concludes with a 15-gun salute. Washington would return periodically to oversee construction, but did not live to see Congress occupy the new building. He died in December 1799, less than a year before the Senate and House would first convene in the Capitol.

1851 – The first edition of The New York Times is published as the New-York Daily Times and costs readers two cents.

1964 – After a four-season run in primetime, Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock park their Chevy Corvette for the last time as CBS broadcasts the “Route 66” series finale.

1965 – Television viewers meet secret agents Maxwell Smart and 99 as NBC debuts “Get Smart.” The spy sitcom, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon and created by comedic genius Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, runs for five seasons and introduces viewers to the first true mobile phone—embedded in the bottom of Smart’s shoe.

1975 – FBI agents in San Francisco capture newspaper heiress and fugitive Patty Hearst and charge her with armed robbery. Hearst is the granddaughter of media mogul William Randolph Hearst.

Musical Milestones

1961 – Bobby Vee starts a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Take Good Care of My Baby.”

1970 – Jimi Hendrix, considered one of rock music’s greatest guitarists of all time, dies of an apparent drug overdose in London at the age of 27. Hendrix dazzled audiences in the 1960s with groundbreaking guitar-playing techniques and experimental sounds.

1976 – “Play That Funky Music,” by Ohio-based funk-rock band Wild Cherry, kicks off three weeks as a No. 1 single. The track sells more than 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and becomes the band’s only Top 40 song.

1983 – Members of Kiss appear without makeup for the first time during an interview on MTV.

1987 – The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson are nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

1993 – Mariah Carey dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Dreamlover,” which holds at No. 1 for eight weeks. It becomes her seventh career chart-topper.

1999 – TLC kicks off three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Unpretty.”

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is in the middle of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart.

On this Day August 19

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Celebrity Birthdays

1871 – Aviation pioneer Orville Wright (d. 1948)

1883 – French fashion designer Coco Chanel (d. 1971)

1921 – “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry (d. 1991)

1940 – Singer-songwriter Johnny Nash, best known for his 1972 smash “I Can See Clearly Now” (d.2020)

1940 – Actress Jill St. John, born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim (“The Lost World,” “Come Blow Your Horn,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” “Sitting Target”)

1946 – Bill Clinton, 42nd U.S. president

1947 – Actor Gerald McRaney (“Simon & Simon,” “Major Dad,” “Promised Land,” “Jericho,” “House of Cards”)

1955 – Actor Peter Gallagher (“Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “The Player,” “While You Were Sleeping,” “The O.C.,” “Covert Affairs”)

1963 – Actor John Stamos (“General Hospital,” “Full House,” “Fuller House,” “ER,” “Jake in Progress,” “Necessary Roughness”)

1965 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Kyra Sedgwick (“Singles,” “Heart and Souls,” “Something to Talk About,” “Phenomenon,” “The Closer”)

1965 – Actor Kevin Dillon (“Platoon,” “No Escape,” “Entourage”)

1966 – Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack (“I Hope You Dance,” “Something Worth Leaving Behind,” “I May Hate Myself In the Morning”)

1969 – Actor-producer Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit TV sitcom “Friends”

History Highlights

1909 – The first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before a crowd of 12,000. Austrian driver Louis Schwitzer wins the five-lap event behind the wheel of a Stoddard-Dayton traveling at an average speed of 57.4 miles per hour.

1960 – A Soviet military court sentences American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers to 10 years in prison for spying. Powers had pleaded guilty to spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after his plane was shot down at high altiitude above the Soviet Union.

1969 – Some 8,000 volunteers begin a massive cleanup of Max Yasgur’s Bethel, New York dairy farm after nearly half a million people leave the muddy, garbage-strewn site of the iconic Woodstock music festival. Decades later, archaeologists begin digging up remnants of the event.

1977 – Beloved, cigar-chomping comedian Groucho Marx dies at the age of 86. A member of the comedic Marx Brother, he spent nearly seven decades making people laugh with his snappy one-liners and sharp wit.

1981 – ABC airs its final episode of “Charlie’s Angels” after a five-year run. The detective series starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett.

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Beatles have their 14th No. 1 single with “All You Need Is Love.”

1972 – Gilbert O’Sullivan begins his fourth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Alone Again (Naturally).”

1978 – “Three Times a Lady,” by The Commodores featuring Lionel Richie, begins its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single is the band’s first No. 1 hit and garners two Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus.

1989 – Richard Marx is in the midst of a three-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Right Here Waiting” — his third consecutive chart-topper.

1995 – TLC’s “Waterfalls” wraps up a seven-week domination of the singles chart. The music video goes on to win four MTV Video Music Awards.

2000 – “Incomplete,” by American R&B artist Sisqó, tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

2006 – Fergie kicks off three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “London Bridge.”

2017 – “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, is in the midst of a 16-week domination of the U.S. pop chart.

On this Day August 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1881 – Legendary movie director Cecile B. DeMille (“Cleopatra,” “The Ten Commandments”) (d. 1959)

1910 – Emmy-winning actress Jane Wyatt, best known as housewife and mother Margaret Anderson on the comedy series “Father Knows Best” and as Spock’s human mother in “Star Trek” (d. 2006)

1931 – Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and bestselling author William Goldman (“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “All the President’s Men”) (d. 2018)

1939 – Golden Globe-winning actor George Hamilton (“Crime and Punishment U.S.A.,” “Light in the Piazza,” “Evel Knievel,” “Love at First Bite,” “Zorro, The Gay Blade,” “The Godfather Part III”)

1949 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter-guitarist Mark Knopfler, best known as frontman for the rock band Dire Straits

1954 – Grammy-winning jazz guitarist Pat Metheny

1956 – Actor Bruce Greenwood (“Racing Stripes,” “Thirteen Days,” “Eight Below,” “Star Trek,” “Good Kill”)

1965 – Actor Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under,” “Parenthood”)

1971 – Tennis champion Pete Sampras

1975 – Actor-director Casey Affleck (“Oceans” trilogy, “Gerry,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Out of the Furnace,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”)

History Highlights

30 B.C. – Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, takes her life following the defeat of her forces against Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome.

1851 – Business tycoon Isaac Merritt Singer patents the sewing machine.

1939 – “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland and featuring words and music by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and Harold Arlen, makes its world premiere at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

1963 – The first 1964 Ford Thunderbird rolls off a Detroit assembly line.

1977 – Space Shuttle Enterprise passes a critical test as it separates from the top of a 747 for its first free flight and makes a smooth landing in the Mojave Desert.

1981 – IBM takes the wraps off the first personal computer (the IBM 5150) with a price tag starting at $1,565. That includes the system unit, a keyboard and color/graphics capability. It costs more for options including a display, a printer, two diskette drives, extra memory, a game adapter and application packages — including one for text processing.

1990 – Digging on a cliff near Faith, South Dakota, paleontologist Susan Hendrickson unearths three huge bones that turn out to be part of the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever discovered — a 67 million-year-old specimen dubbed Sue, after its discoverer.

2014 – Lauren Bacall, the smoky-voiced movie legend who taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle in “To Have and Have Not,” dies at the age of 89. Bacall made more than 40 films during a 70-year career, including “The Big Sleep,” “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”

Musical Milestones

1960 – The Silver Beatles become The Beatles, and on this day, the newly renamed band hires Pete Best as drummer. Two years later, he is fired and replaced by Ringo Starr.

1964 – The Beatles’ first film, “A Hard Day’s Night,” opens in 500 U.S. theaters to rave reviews.

1966 – The Beatles’ final U.S. tour begins with two performances at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. During a pre-show press conference, reporters challenge John Lennon to explain his recent boast that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.

1967 – The Doors close out three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Light My Fire.” About a month later, the band performs the song before a national audience on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

1978 – “Three Times a Lady,” by the Commodores featuring Lionel Richie, is the No. 1 single.

1985 – Japanese singer-actor Kyu Sakamoto is killed at the age of 43 in the crash of a Japan Airlines jetliner outside Tokyo. Sakamoto was the first Asian recording artist to have a No. 1 hit in the U.S.: “Sukiyaki” in June of 1963, which sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

1995 – TLC is in the midst of a seven-week domination of the singles chart with “Waterfalls.”

2000 – “Incomplete,” by Sisqó, begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2009 – Legendary guitarist Les Paul dies of pneumonia at age 94. Paul designed one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and was “instrumental” in the development of rock ‘n roll. He also pioneered other recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing.

On this Day August 5

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Celebrity Birthdays

1906 – Golden Globe-winning director and actor John Huston (“The Maltese Falcon,” “The African Queen,” “Chinatown”) (d. 1987)

1930 – Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was the first human to set foot on the moon (d. 2012)

1935 – Actor John Saxon, born Carmine Orrico, best known for his work in westerns and horror films, as well as Bruce Lee’s 1973 movie, “Enter the Dragon” (d. 2020)

1945 – Actress Loni Anderson (“WKRP in Cincinnati”)

1956 – Actress Maureen McCormick, best known for playing Marcia Brady in the sitcom “The Brady Bunch”

1962 – Retired basketball Hall of Famer and current Georgetown University head coach Patrick Ewing

1963 – Actor Mark Strong (“Syriana,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “Green Lantern,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Imitation Game,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service”)

1964 – Rapper and Beastie Boys founder Adam Yauch (d. 2012)

History Highlights

1858 – The first telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean is completed, stretching nearly 2,000 miles at depths of up to two miles. It is put to use on August 16, as U.S. President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria exchange formal introductory and complimentary messages.

1914 – The world’s first electric traffic signal is installed at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

1962 – Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her Los Angeles home at the age of 36. An investigation determines that her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.”

1963 – Representatives of the U.S., Soviet Union and Great Britain sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space, underwater or in the atmosphere. The treaty is hailed as an important first step toward the control of nuclear weapons.

1981 – President Ronald Reagan begins firing more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers for defying his order to return to work. The move slowed commercial air travel for months.

1983 – “Risky Business” opens in theaters, propelling actor Tom Cruise to stardom. The movie’s most iconic scene features Cruise dancing at home in his underpants to Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll.”

1998 – Seventy-year-old Marie Noe is arrested and charged with the suffocation murders of eight of her 10 children over a 50-year period.

2002 – Divers recover the rusty turret of the ironclad Civil War-era warship U.S.S. Monitor, which sank 140 years earlier in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Musical Milestones

1957 – “American Bandstand” debuts on national television (ABC) with host Dick Clark, and helps make rock ‘n roll more “acceptable” to skeptical parents by bringing music and dancing kids into their homes. It also provides exposure to up-and-coming bands.

1966 – The Beatles release their seventh studio album, “Revolver,” in the U.K. It’s the first album to feature backwards music — a George Harrison guitar solo played in reverse in “I’m Only Sleeping.”

1967 – The Doors are chart-toppers for a second straight week with “Light My Fire.”

1978 – The Rolling Stones climb to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Miss You,” the group’s eighth No. 1 hit. The track is from the band’s “Some Girls” album, which also delivers the hits “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered.”

1981 – Singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, who starred with John Travolta in the 1978 movie “Grease,” is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989 – Prince’s “Batdance,” from the movie “Batman,” starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, soars to No. 1 on the singles chart.

1995 – “Waterfalls,” by TLC, holds on to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth consecutive week.

2000 – NSYNC rules the pop chart for a second and final week with “It’s Gonna Be Me.”