On This Day April 6 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1937 – Actor Billy Dee Williams, best known for his portrayal of Lando Calrissian in “Star Wars Episode V” and “Star Wars Episode VI” 1937 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Merle Haggard (d. 2016) 1947 – Actor John Ratzenberger, best known for playing letter carrier Cliff Clavin in the sitcom “Cheers” and being the voice of Hamm, the piggy bank, in Pixar’s “Toy Story” trilogy 1952 – Actress and author Marilu Henner (“Taxi,” “Evening Shade,” “The Celebrity Apprentice”) 1969 – Actor Paul Rudd (“Clueless,” “The Object Of My Affection,” “Anchorman,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Ant-Man”) 1975 – Grammy-winning actor-director Zach Braff (“Scrubs,” “Garden State,” “Oz the Great and Powerful,” “Going in Style”) History Highlights 1896 – Opening ceremonies for the first Olympic Games of the modern era take place in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens 1,500 years after the event was banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Some 80,000 spectators welcome about 240 athletes from 14 countries to the international competition, which featured nine sports. 1917 – Two days after the U.S. Senate votes 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany, the U.S. House of Representatives endorses the decision by a vote of 373 to 50, and the United States formally enters World War I. 1938 – Roy Plunkett invents Teflon, whose non-stick properties revolutionize cooking. 1947 – The first Tony Awards for theatrical achievement are handed out. The Tonys are named after actress-director-producer Antoinette Perry, the dynamic wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing who had recently died. 1973 – Major League Baseball’s American League uses a designated hitter for the first time. 1980 – The 3M company revolutionizes the workplace when it introduces Post-it notes, which adorn computer monitors, cubicle partitions and walls the world over. Musical Milestones 1963 – The Chiffons are in the midst of a four-week domination of the singles chart with “He’s So Fine” which was written by Ronnie Mack. 1968 – Simon & Garfunkel reach No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with the soundtrack to the movie “The Graduate,” featuring their hits “The Sound of Silence” and “Mrs. Robinson.” 1974 – “Hooked on a Feeling,” by Blue Swede, is the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1985 – Phil Collins’ “One More Night” begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. 1991 – “Coming Out of the Dark,” by Gloria Estefan, kicks off its second and final week on top of the pop chart. 1998 – Country singer Tammy Wynette dies in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 55. Known as the First Lady of Country Music, Wynette scored 12 hit singles including “Stand By Your Man,” and sold more than 30 million records world-wide. 1999 – An all-star tribute to singer-songwriter Johnny Cash takes place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, with Sheryl Crow, Chris Isaak, Willie Nelson and U2 all performing for the special, broadcast on TNT. READ MORE
On This Day February 9 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1942 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Carole King, credited with writing 118 singles that have appeared on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart 1943 – Actor Joe Pesci (“Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” the “Home Alone” series, “JFK,” “My Cousin Vinny,” “Lethal Weapon 3,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” “A Bronx Tale,” “Casino,” “The Irishman”) 1944 – Pulitzer Prize-winning author-poet Alice Walker (“The Color Purple”) 1945 – Actress Mia Farrow (“Peyton Place,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Great Gatsby,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Widows’ Peak”) 1949 – Tony-winning actress Judith Light (“One Life to Live,” “Who’s the Boss?”) 1981 – Actor Tom Hiddleston, best known for playing the villain Loki in Marvel’s “The Avengers” and “Thor” movies 1987 – Actor Michael B. Jordan ( “Black Panther”, “Creed”, ” Creed II”, “Fant4stic”, “Chronicle”, “Redtails,” “Just Mercy”) History Highlights 1825 – With no presidential candidate receiving a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the U.S. House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams, who won fewer votes than Andrew Jackson in the popular election, as president of the United States. 1870 – The National Weather Service (NWS) is established under the U.S. Army Signal Corps. 1942 – The largest ocean liner in the world, the S.S. Normandie, burns and capsizes in New York Harbor during its conversion to a World War II troop transport ship. The Normandie had been the pride of the French ocean liner fleet. Built in 1935, she was the largest and fastest and most luxuriously appointed of the new ocean liners. 1965 – The U.S. sends its first combat troops to South Vietnam. 1971 – Apollo 14 returns safely to Earth following the third successful manned moon landing. 1971 – Pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is inducted six months later. Paige was known for his fastball and showmanship during a career that spanned five decades. 1992 – Three months after stunning the world with word that he had contracted the HIV virus and was immediately retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers, basketball great Magic Johnson returns to play in the 42nd NBA All-Star game in Orlando, Florida. After scoring 25 points and dishing out nine assists, Magic receives a standing ovation and is named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Musical Milestones 1963 – “Hey Paula,” by the pop duo Paul & Paula, is the most popular single. 1964 – The Beatles make their American television debut as they perform live on CBS’ “The Ed Sullivan Show” with an estimated 73 million Americans watching. That represents the largest TV audience ever for that time. 1974 – “Love’s Theme,” by Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, tops the Billboard Hot 100. 1981 – Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Bill Haley dies in his sleep at his Harlingen, Texas home at the age of 55. 1985 – Madonna begins three weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with “Like A Virgin,” which contains the hit singles “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl” and “Into the Groove,” and proves that the singer-songwriter is not a one-hit wonder. 1991 – Considered a 90s dance club anthem, “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” by C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams & Martha Wash, begins two weeks as a No. 1 single. 2002 – Usher owns the No. 1 position on the pop chart with “U Got It Bad,” which holds the top spot for five weeks. 2008 – “Low,” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain, continues on its 10-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. READ MORE