On this Day June 5

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History Highlights
History Highlights

1933 – The U.S. goes off the gold standard, a monetary system in which currency is backed by gold, when Congress enacts a joint resolution nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.

1967 – Israel responds to an ominous build-up of Arab forces along its borders by launching simultaneous attacks against Egypt and Syria. And so begins the Six-Day War.

1968 – Senator Robert Kennedy is fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. He is just 42, four years younger than his brother, President John F. Kennedy, when he was assassinated in November 1963.

1981 – The “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that five people in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.

1998 – More than 3,400 unionized General Motors (GM) workers at a Flint, Michigan plant begin a 54-day strike — the longest walkout at GM in nearly three decades. Later joined by more than 5,000 workers from a nearby plant, the strike causes parts shortages that force some 30 GM assembly plants to shut down.

2004 – Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor who became one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century and transformed the political landscape of an era with his vision of conservative government, dies at age 93 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

2012 – Prolific science fiction author Ray Bradbury, whose books include such classics as “The Martian Chronicles,” “Fahrenheit 451” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” dies at the age of 91.

On This Day April 25

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Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – Rock and Roll King Elvis Presley signs a seven-year movie contract with Paramount Pictures.

1960 – Elvis Presley gets stuck on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks with “Stuck On You.” It’s his first hit single following his two-year stint in the U.S. Army.

1970 – The Jackson 5 give The Beatles’ “Let It Be” the boot and claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks with “ABC.”

1981 – Daryl Hall and John Oates begin their third and final week as chart-toppers with “Kiss On My List.”

1987 – U2 begin a nine-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “The Joshua Tree,” which packs chart-topping tracks including “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” It goes on to capture Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

1990 – The Fender Stratocaster that rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival is auctioned off for a record $330,000. His two-hour set at the 1969 rock festival included a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”

1992 – “Jump,” by hip hop duo Kris Kross, grabs the top spot on the singles chart and remains there for eight weeks.

1998 – Next has the No. 1 single with “Too Close.” The track remains on top of the pop chart for five weeks.

2007 – Leukemia claims the life of 69-year-old Bobby “Boris” Pickett, best known for his hit novelty song “Monster Mash,” which still gets radio airplay every Halloween.

On This Day March 13

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On This Day February 28

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On This Day December 7

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History Highlights
History Highlights

1941 – Japanese forces launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thrusting the U.S. into World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt calls it “a date which will live in infamy.”

1963 – Decades before the DVR and years before the first Super Bowl, instant replay is used for the first time during an Army-Navy college football game. As the CBS broadcast replays Rollie Stichweh’s winning touchdown, commentator Lindsey Nelson tells viewers, “Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!”

1972 – Apollo 17 hurtles toward space, carrying a three-man crew to the last moon landing of the Apollo program.

1982 – The nation’s first execution by lethal injection takes place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Charles Brooks, Jr. was convicted of kidnapping and murdering an auto mechanic.

1993 – Colin Ferguson opens fire on a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuter train after it pulls out of New York’s Penn Station, killing six and injuring 19. Other passengers overpower Ferguson when he stops to reload his pistol. The incident comes to be known as the Long Island Rail Road Massacre.

2001 – The heist film “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts, and directed by Steven Soderbergh, opens in theaters. It is a remake of the 1960 movie of the same name that starred “Rat Pack” members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., along with Angie Dickinson.

On This Day October 31

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On This Day October 10

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Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender,” from the movie of the same name, debuts on the pop chart, reaching No. 1 a month later. It is an adaptation of the Civil War-era tune “Aura Lee or The Maid with Golden Hair.”

1960 – The novelty song “Mr. Custer,” by Larry Verne, begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1970 – “Cracklin’ Rosie” gives Neil Diamond his first ride to the top of the singles chart, where it holds for a week.

1979 – “The Rose,” starring Bette Midler as a self-destructive 1960s rock star, premieres in Los Angeles. The movie, based on the life of rock legend Janis Joplin, goes on to receive four Oscar nominations, including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Midler, in her screen debut).

1981 – The Diana Ross-Lionel Richie duet, “Endless Love,” concludes its nine-week reign over the singles chart.

1987 – “Here I Go Again,” by British rockers Whitesnake, spends a week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – U2 release “Rattle and Hum,” a companion to the movie of the same name. The album contains live performances from the band’s successful 1987-88 “The Joshua Tree” tour, as well as additional songs recorded at the historic Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

1992 – Boyz II Men are in the middle of an epic 13-week domination of the singles chart with their Grammy-winning smash, “End of the Road.”

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas begin the final week of a marathon 14-week hold on the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.” The song goes on to capture a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

On this Day August 8

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Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1960 – Summer swimwear is the theme as “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” by Brian Hyland, checks in as the hottest single.

1966 – The Beatles release their seventh studio album, “Revolver,” in the U.S. three days after its U.K. release. The album contains “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Good Day Sunshine” and other classics.

1969 – The Beatles’ iconic “Abbey Road” album cover is photographed by Iain Macmillan outside the namesake studio in London, with the Fab Four marching single file through the crosswalk. Macmillan had 10 minutes to complete the shoot and snapped six photos of The Beatles crossing in either direction.

1981 – Rick Springfield begins his second and final week with “Jessie’s Girl” as the No. 1 single.

1987 – U2 claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” off “The Joshua Tree” album. The track holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

1992 – “This Used to Be My Playground,” by Madonna, lands on top of the pop chart for a week. The track is from the movie “A League of Their Own,” starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna, and directed by Penny Marshall. It picks up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas dominate the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.”

2017 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter-guitarist Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle on My Mind,” “Galveston,” “Rhinestone Cowboy”) dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 81.

On this Day July 24

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History Highlights
History Highlights

1948 – The Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian debuts in the cartoon “Haredevil Hare.”

1950 – The 62-foot-tall Bumper 8 is the first rocket to be launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral — known then as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

1969 – Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean following the crew’s historic moon landing.

1978 – New York Yankees manager Billy Martin resigns in what becomes an ongoing love/hate relationship with team owner George Steinbrenner. The move comes less than 24 hours after Martin lambasted All-Star Reggie Jackson and Steinbrenner while speaking to reporters at Chicago’s O’Hare airport where the Yankees were waiting to board a flight to Kansas City. “The two men deserve each other,” Martin told reporters. “One’s a born liar, the other’s convicted.”

1980 – Actor-comedian Peter Sellers, best known for his portrayal of Inspector Clouseau in the “Pink Panther” movie series as well as his ability to play multiple roles in a single film (“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”), dies of a heart attack at the age of 54. 

1983 – With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium with two outs, the Kansas City Royals’ George Brett hits a two-run homer to give his team the lead. However, Yankees manager Billy Martin, who noticed a large amount of pine tar on Brett’s bat, requests that the umpires inspect his bat. The umpires rule that the amount on the bat exceeded the allowable amount, they nullify Brett’s home run and call him out, enabling the Yankees to win. This becomes known as the “Pine Tar Incident,” still considered among the wildest moments in baseball.

On this Day June 5

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