On This Day: February 6

On This Day February 6

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1895 – Baseball legend Babe Ruth, born George Herman Ruth (d. 1948)

1911 – Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president (d. 2004)

1917 – Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (d. 2016)

1922 – Actor Patrick Macnee, best known as John Steed in “The Avengers” British TV spy series (d. 2015)

1931 – Actor-comedian Rip Torn, born Elmore Rual Torn, Jr. (“Cross Creek,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Men in Black,” “Men in Black II”) (d. 2019)

1940 – Peabody-winning broadcast journalist, author and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw

1942 – 1950s teen idol Fabian, born Fabiano Forte

1945 – World-renowned reggae singer-songwriter Bob Marley, born Nesta Robert Marley (d. 1981)

1950 – Grammy-winning jazz and pop vocalist Natalie Cole (d. 2015)

1962 – Singer-songwriter and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose (“Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine”)

1966 – Singer Rick Astley, best known for his 80s hits “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1917 – Three days after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson severs diplomatic relations with Germany and warns that war would follow if American interests at sea were again assaulted, a German submarine torpedoes and sinks the passenger steamer California off the Irish coast.

1933 – The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, establishing the beginning and ending of the terms of elected federal offices, takes effect. 

1937 – John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men,” the story of the bond between two migrant workers during the Great Depression, is published. Eight months later, the stage adaptation opens in New York and earns Steinbeck the New York Drama Critics’ Circle’s Best Play Award in 1938.

1952 – Princess Elizabeth becomes Queen of England when her father, King George VI, dies following a long illness. But it takes the 25-year-old Elizabeth more than a day to learn of her new royal status. She was on safari at the time, inside a Kenyan tree hut watching a herd of elephants gather at a watering hole.

1978 – One of the worst Nor’easters in New England history pounds the region for more than 30 hours, with wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and snowfall of four inches an hour. High tides cause damaging coastal flooding, while inland, thousands of cars are stranded in snow drifts. Remembered as “The Blizzard of ’78,” the monster storm leaves about 100 people dead and 4,500 others injured.

1993 – Tennis champion Arthur Ashe, the only African-American man to win Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Opens, dies of complications from AIDS, at age 49 in New York City.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – The Shirelles wrap up two weeks atop the Billboard singles chart with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”

1965 – “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by The Righteous Brothers tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks.

1971 – Dawn, featuring Tony Orlando, begin a third and final week as chart-toppers with “Knock Three Times.”

1982 – The J. Geils Band kicks off six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Centerfold.”

1988 – Tiffany has the hottest single in the U.S. with “Could’ve Been.”

1993 – Whitney Houston reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Will Always Love You,” a song penned by Dolly Parton and used in the soundtrack to the movie “The Bodyguard.” The track holds the top spot for 14 weeks and becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1998 – Austrian pop superstar Falco (a.k.a. Johann Hölzel), the talent behind the 1982 hit “Der Kommisar” and 1986 smash “Rock Me Amadeus,” is killed in a car accident while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. He is just two weeks shy of his 41st birthday.

2010 – Kesha has the No. 1 single with Tik Tok.

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On this Day: August 30

On this Day August 30

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1898 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Shirley Booth (“Come Back, Little Sheba,” “Hazel,” “The Glass Menagerie”) (d. 1992)

1908 – Actor Fred MacMurray (“Double Indemnity,” “My Three Sons”) (d. 1991)

1918 – Baseball legend Ted Williams (d. 2002)

1924 – Fashion designer Geoffrey Beene (d. 2004)

1927 – Actor Bill Daily (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Bob Newhart Show”) (d. 2018)

1930 – Investment guru and philanthropist Warren Buffett, a.k.a. “The Oracle of Omaha”

1939 – Tony-winning actress Elizabeth Ashley (“Take Her, She’s Mine,” “The Carpetbaggers,” “Evening Shade”)

1946 – Actress Peggy Lipton (“The Mod Squad,” “Twin Peaks,” “The Postman”) (d. 2019)

1948 – Grammy-winning comedian Lewis Black (“The Daily Show,” “Black on Broadway,” “Red, White, and Screwed,” “The Carnegie Hall Performance”)

1954 – Actor David Paymer (“Mr. Saturday Night,” “Quiz Show,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “City Slickers,” “Crazy People,” “Get Shorty,” “The American President,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Drag Me to Hell”)

1963 – Actor Michael Chiklis (“The Commish,” “The Shield,” “Fantastic Four,” “Vegas,” “American Horror Story”)

1966 – Actress Michael Michele (“ER,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Ali,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”)

1972 – Actress Cameron Diaz (“The Mask,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Being John Malkovich,” the “Charlie’s Angels” movies, the animated “Shrek” movies,” “Vanilla Sky,” “The Other Woman,” “Sex Tape,” “Annie”)

1982 – Tennis great Andy Roddick

History Highlights
History Highlights

1918 – Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is shot twice by a member of the Social Revolutionary party, but survives the attack. The attempted assassination triggers a wave of reprisals by Bolsheviks against the Social Revolutionaries and other political opponents. Thousands are executed as Russia falls deeper into civil war.

1963 – A “hotline” linking Moscow and Washington, D.C. is activated to provide instant communication between the Superpowers in case nuclear weapons are accidentally launched. The system consists of a cable with a device resembling a large typewriter on either end.

1965 – New York Mets Manager Casey Stengel announces his retirement, ending a 56-year career in professional baseball.

1967 –  The U.S. Senate confirms Thurgood Marshall as the first African American justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In nominating Marshall to the nation’s highest court, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “It was the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place.” Marshall serves 24 years on the high court before retiring in 1991.

1976 – Tom Brokaw becomes news anchor of NBC’s “Today” show. where he remains for six years. He leaves in 1982 to co-anchor “NBC Nightly News” with Roger Mudd, taking over as sole anchor in 1983 and remaining in that post until 2004.

1983 – U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion “Guy” Bluford becomes the first African American to travel into space when the space shuttle Challenger lifts off on its third mission. In 2010, Bluford is inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

2003 – Actor Charles Bronson, best known for his tough-guy roles in movies like “The Dirty Dozen” and the “Death Wish” franchise, dies at the age of 81 in Los Angeles.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – The Rolling Stones rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “Honky Tonk Women.” The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founding member Brian Jones, with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” on the B-side. It ends up topping the charts in seven countries, including the band’s native UK, where it becomes their last No. 1.

1975 – “Get Down Tonight,” by KC and The Sunshine Band, struts its way to No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. It’s the first of five consecutive chart-toppers for the band that hails from Hialeah, Florida.

1980 – “Sailing,” by Christopher Cross, is the hottest single. It goes on to capture Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Arrangement of the Year, and helps Cross capture the Best New Artist award. 

1986 – Steve Winwood has the No. 1 single with “Higher Love,” off his “Back in the High Life” album.

1997 – “Mo Money Mo Problems,” by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy and Mase, kicks off two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It becomes Notorious B.I.G.’s second posthumous chart-topper following “Hypnotize.”

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