On This Day: April 26

On This Day April 26

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1933 – Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe-winning comedian-actress Carol Burnett

1936 – Guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Duane Eddy

1958 – Actor Giancarlo Esposito (“Do The Right Thing,” “School Days,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Malcolm X,” “Breaking Bad”) 

1963 – Martial artist-actor Jet Li (“The War Lords,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” “Romeo Must Die,” “Kiss of the Dragon,” “The Forbidden Kingdom”)

1965 – Actor-comedian Kevin James (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The King of Queens,” “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” “Grown Ups,” “Zookeeper,” “Pixels”) 

1980 – Actor Channing Tatum (“Coach Carter,” “21 Jump Street,” “22 Jump Street,” “She’s the Man,” “The Dilemma,” “White House Down,” “Foxcatcher,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Hail, Caesar!”, “Smallfoot”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1865 – Presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth is killed by Union soldiers that track him to a Virginia farm 12 days after Booth fatally shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

1954 – More than 1.8 million American children (“Polio Pioneers”) participate in the Salk polio vaccine field trials. Dr. Jonas Salk developed the vaccine in an effort to wipe out polio — an infectious disease occurring primarily in children that can result in paralysis. A year later, researchers declare that the vaccine is safe and effective, and it becomes a standard part of childhood immunizations across the U.S.

1984 – President Ronald Reagan visits China — the first such mission by a U.S. president since the historic Nixon trip in 1972. 

1986 – An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine sets off fires that release deadly radioactive material into the air, becoming the world’s worst nuclear disaster. 

1986 – Almost a decade after meeting at a celebrity tennis tournament,  TV news reporter Maria Shriver weds movie actor and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. The marriage lasts 25 years.

1989 – An American entertainment icon, comedian Lucille Ball (“I Love Lucy”) dies at the age of 78.

1994 – South Africa’s 18 million blacks vote in multi-party elections for the first time ever and anti-Apartheid crusader Nelson Mandela is elected president.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – The Edwin Hawkins Singers hit the singles chart with “Oh Happy Day,” which eventually soars to No. 4 and million-selling status. It becomes the first gospel track to cross over to the pop chart. 

1975 – B.J. Thomas owns the hottest single in America with “(Hey Won’t You Play), Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.” 

1980 – Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” begins its 15th and final week on top of the Billboard album chart. It becomes the best-selling album of 1980.

1986 – “Kiss,” by Prince and The Revolution, holds at No. 1 on the singles chart for a second week. The song clinches Prince a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

1988 – A jury in White Plains, New York finds Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger not guilty of copyright infringement. Reggae singer Patrick Alley had sued Jagger for $7 million over the song “Just Another Night,” claiming the chorus’s lyrics were similar to his version. Jagger provided jurors with a rare glimpse into his work habits by playing homemade and studio tapes demonstrating the development of his song.

1997 – “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” by Puff Daddy featuring Mase, wraps up a six-week run as a Billboard chart-topper.

2008 – Leona Lewis kicks off a week at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Bleeding Love.”

2013 – George Jones, known as “the greatest voice in country music,”  dies in Nashville at the age of 81. 

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On This Day: December 8

On This Day December 8

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1894 – Humorist James Thurber, best known for his short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (d. 1961)

1925 – Entertainer and Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr. (d. 1990)

1930 – Oscar-winning actor Maximilian Schell (“Judgment at Nuremberg,” “The Man in the Glass Booth,” “Julia,” “Deep Impact”) (d. 2014)

1939 – Flute virtuoso Sir James Galway

1943 – Singer-songwriter and The Doors frontman Jim Morrison (d. 1971)

1947 – Allman Brothers Band co-founder Gregg Allman (d. 2017)

1953 – Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger (“The Natural,” “9 1/2 Weeks,” “Batman,” “Final Analysis,” “L.A. Confidential,” “8 Mile”)

1961 – Author and political commentator Ann Coulter

1964 – Golden Globe-winning actress Teri Hatcher (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Desperate Housewives”)

1966 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor

1982 – Hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj, born Onika Tanya Maraj

History Highlights
History Highlights

1881 – A fire at the Ringtheater in Vienna, Austria, kills more than 600 people and injures hundreds of others. The luxurious, ornate theater hosted the most popular performances of that time.

1941 – One day after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt convinces Congress to declare war on Japan, thrusting the U.S. into World War II.

1982 – “Sophie’s Choice,” directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Meryl Streep as a Holocaust survivor, opens in U.S. movie theaters. Streep goes on to capture a Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe Award for her performance.

1987 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the first treaty between the two superpowers to reduce their massive nuclear arsenals.

1991 – The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1993 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law, creating the world’s largest free-trade zone. The pact eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” by The Four Seasons, is in the midst of a five-week run on top of the singles chart. It is the New Jersey band’s second chart-topper after “Sherry,” which held the No. 1 spot for five weeks in September and October of that year.

1979 – Styx has its first and only No. 1 single with “Babe,” which remains a chart-topper for two weeks.

1980 – John Lennon is shot and killed outside his New York City apartment building by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman. The beloved ex-Beatle is just 40 years old.

1982 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter Marty Robbins dies at the age of 57. Best known for his 1959 hit “El Paso,” Robbins was also a race car driver on the NASCAR circuit.

1984 – “Out of Touch” by Daryl Hall & John Oates tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks.

1990 – One-hit-wonder Stevie B kicks off four weeks on top of the pop chart with “Because I Love You (The Postman Song),” officially making that the final No. 1 single of 1990.

2001 – “Family Affair,” by Mary J. Blige, begins its sixth and final week as a Billboard chart-topper.

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