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On this Day July 10

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Celebrity Birthdays

1920 – NBC and ABC television newscaster-commentator David Brinkley (d. 2003)

1926 – Actor Fred Gwynne, best remembered for his roles as Herman Munster in the 1960s sitcom, “The Munsters,” and as Judge Chamberlain Haller in his last film, 1992’s “My Cousin Vinny” (d. 1993)

1939 – R&B-gospel singer Mavis Staples of The Staple Singers 

1943 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe (d. 1993)

1945 – Actor Ron Glass, best known for playing Detective Ron Harris in the ABC sitcom “Barney Miller” (d. 2016)

1947 – Folk musician Arlo Guthrie (“Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” “City of New Orleans”)

1972 – Actress-comedian and TV host Sofía Vergara, best known for her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the ABC sitcom “Modern Family”

1976 – Actor Adrian Grenier (“The Adventures of Sebastian Cole,” “Entourage,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Drive Me Crazy”)

1980 – Singer-actress and reality TV star Jessica Simpson (“I Wanna Love You Forever,” “Irresistible”)

History Highlights

1850 – Vice President Millard Fillmore is sworn in as the 13th U.S. president. President Zachary Taylor had died the day before of a severe intestinal ailment. Fillmore becomes only the second man to inherit the presidency due to death.

1925 – The so-called “Monkey Trial” begins with John Thomas Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law. 

1962 –  Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin receives a U.S. patent for the three-point, lap-and-shoulder seatbelt he invented while head of safety at Volvo. Considered one of the most significant safety innovations of all time, the seatbelt is credited with saving millions of lives and preventing at least as many injuries in car crashes around the world. Bohlin received a gold medal from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science in 1995 and, in 1999, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

1962 – NASA launches Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, from Cape Canaveral. Two days later, the man-made orb relays the first transatlantic television signal from Maine to France.

1978 – The ABC News nightly “World News Tonight” broadcast premieres, featuring co-anchors Frank Reynolds in Washington, D.C., Max Robinson in Chicago and Peter Jennings in London. 

1985 – French secret service agents plant two bombs on the hull of the Rainbow Warrior, the flagship of international conservation group Greenpeace, and sink the vessel in Auckland Harbor New Zealand. One crew member is killed in the blast, which was aimed at stopping the Rainbow Warrior from a protest mission to a French nuclear test site in the South Pacific.

1992 – The Alaska court of appeals overturns the conviction of Joseph Hazelwood, former captain of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, citing a federal statute that gave him immunity from prosecution for the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones

1950 – NBC Television introduces “Your Hit Parade,” a program that originally launched on radio in 1935, featuring vocalists covering the top hits of the week.

1961 – “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” by Bobby Lewis, begins seven weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart.

1965 – The Rolling Stones score their first U.S. No. 1 single with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which holds the top spot for four weeks. In 1998, it is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the track No. 2 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1976 – “Afternoon Delight,” by the Starland Vocal Band, kicks off a two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1982 – “Don’t You Want Me,” from The Human League’s “Dare” album, is in the midst of three weeks as a Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper. It remains the British band’s best known and most commercially successful recording.

1993 – The trio SWV conquers the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks with “Weak.”

1999 – Jennifer Lopez begins her fifth and final week on top of the singles chart with “If You Had My Love.”

2004 – First time is the charm for Fantasia, whose first single, “I Believe,” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She rose to fame as winner of the third season of “American Idol” in 2004.

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