White House – Time Rewind

On This Day April 17

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On This Day April 29

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Celebrity Birthdays

1863 – Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst (d. 1951)

1899 – Jazz composer-pianist-bandleader Duke Ellington (d. 1974)

1917 – Actress Celeste Holm (“Oklahoma!” “Gentleman’s Agreement”) (d. 2012)

1933 – Iconic Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter and activist Willie Nelson

1954 – Comedian-producer-actor Jerry Seinfeld, best known for his long-running NBC comedy series “Seinfeld”

1957 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis (“My Left Foot,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Gangs of New York,” “Lincoln”)

1958 – Actress Michelle Pfeiffer (“Scarface,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” “Batman Returns,” “Hairspray”,”Ant-Man and The Wasp”)

1970 – Retired tennis star Andre Agassi

1970 – Golden Globe-winning actress Uma Thurman (“Pulp Fiction,” “Gattaca,” “Kill Bill”)

History Highlights

1854 – Originally established as The Ashmun Institute, Lincoln University receives its charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, becoming the first degree-granting college in the U.S. founded solely for African-American students.

1945 – U.S. military forces liberate the Dachau concentration camp in Nazi Germany. More than 188,000 prisoners were incarcerated in Dachau between 1933 and 1945, and more than 28,000 died in the camp and its sub-camps.

1974 – President Richard Nixon announces that he will release edited transcripts of taped White House conversations in response to a subpoena in the Watergate scandal. The House Judiciary committee insists that he also turn over the tapes.

1986 – Pitching for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Roger Clemens sets a Major League Baseball record with 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the Seattle Mariners.

1992 – Riots erupt across Los Angeles after four LAPD officers are acquitted in the beating of unarmed African American motorist Rodney King. Protesters in south-central L.A. block freeway traffic, wreck and loot shops and set more than 100 fires. The rioting continues for five days and sparks a national conversation about racial and economic disparities and police brutality — a debate still raging today.

2004 – The National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C. It honors the 16 million people who served as part of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, including more than 400,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

2004 – General Motors’ last Oldsmobile rolls off a Lansing, Michigan assembly line, marking the end of America’s oldest automotive brand. The final model is an Alero GLS sedan, which factory workers signed under the hood.

2011 – Great Britain’s Prince William marries his longtime girlfriend, Catherine “Kate” Middleton, at Westminster Abbey in London. An estimated two billion people around the world watch the ceremony on television.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Frank Sinatra and daughter Nancy maintain their hold on No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart with “Somethin’ Stupid.” The duet remains a chart-topper for four weeks.

1969 – On his 70th birthday, jazz legend Duke Ellington receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Richard Nixon in the East Room of the White House. Nixon concludes the presentation by playing the piano and singing.

1970 – George Harrison tells reporters that The Beatles will reunite eventually and announces plans for his first post-Beatles solo album.

1976 – Bruce Springsteen wraps up a concert performance in Memphis as part of his “Born to Run” tour and he and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt decide to pay their idol, Elvis Presley, a visit at his Graceland estate. Security guards escort Springsteen off the grounds after he jumps the gate and runs toward the front door. The King was not home at the time.

1978 – Topping the singles chart for the seventh consecutive week: The Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1989 – Madonna has the No. 1 single with “Like a Prayer,” from her album of the same name.

1993 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Barry White appears in the “Whacking Day” episode of the animated series “The Simpsons.” As White sings, Bart and Lisa place loudspeakers on the ground to lure snakes away from Springfield residents trying to kill them as part of Whacking Day tradition.

1995 – “This Is How We Do It,” by Montell Jordan, is in the midst of a seven-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2000 – “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, is in the middle of a 10-week domination of the singles chart.

2006 – Daniel Powter owns the top spot on the pop chart with “Bad Day.”

On This Day March 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost (d. 1963)

1911 – Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams (“The Glass Menagerie,” “A Streetcar Named Desire”) (d. 1983)

1931 – Actor-director-writer Leonard Nimoy, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” TV and movie series (d. 2015)

1934 – Actor Alan Arkin (“Wait Until Dark,” “The In-Laws,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Argo”)

1940 – Actor James Caan (“The Godfather,” “Brian’s Song,” “Rollerball,” “Alien Nation,” “Misery”)

1944 – Legendary Motown singer-actress Diana Ross, formerly of The Supremes

1948 – Rock singer-songwriter and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler

1950 – Comedian-actor and “SCTV” and “SNL” alum Martin Short

1950 – R&B soul singer Teddy Pendergrass (d. 2010)

1968 – Country music singer-songwriter and producer Kenny Chesney

1985 – Actress Keira Knightley (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Atonement,” “The Imitation Game”)

History Highlights

1953 – Dr. Jonas Salk goes on national radio to announce that he has successfully tested a vaccine against polio, a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease.

1979 – At a White House ceremony, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a peace treaty ending 30 years of war between their two countries.

1982 – Ground is broken in Washington, D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was founded by Jan Scruggs, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1969-70 as an infantry corporal. Scruggs wanted to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of all who served in Vietnam.

2000 – Comedian Billy Crystal hosts the 72nd annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Best Picture honors go to “American Beauty,” and Best Actor to its star, Kevin Spacey. Hilary Swank wins Best Actress for her role in “Boys Don’t Cry.”

Musical Milestones

1955 – “Ballad of Davy Crockett,” by Bill Hayes, begins a five-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

1966 – Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler mans his post at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Ballad of the Green Berets.”

1971 – The Rolling Stones introduce their iconic tongue logo, known officially as “Tongue and Lips.”

1975 – The film version of The Who’s 1969 rock opera “Tommy” opens in London, featuring Elton John as The Champ, singing “Pinball Wizard,” and Tina Turner as the Acid Queen.

1976 – Wings, featuring Paul McCartney, release the “At the Speed of Sound” album, containing classics like “Silly Love Songs” and “Let ‘Em In.” Less than a month later, it reaches the top of the Billboard album chart.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” is in the midst of a six-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – “The Sign,” by the Swedish band Ace of Base, Is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The track enjoys six non-consecutive weeks in the top spot and goes on to become an international smash.

2005 – “Candy Shop,” by 50 Cent featuring Olivia, is in the middle of a nine-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day February 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1818 – Former slave-turned-civil rights activist Frederick Douglass (d. 1895)

1894 – Legendary comedian Jack Benny, born Benjamin Kubelsky (d. 1974)

1913 – American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances (d. 1975)

1921 – Retired Emmy-winning TV anchor-host Hugh Downs (“Today” show, “20/20”)

1934 – Actress Florence Henderson, best remembered for playing Carol Brady on the sitcom “The Brady Bunch” (d. 2016)

1942 – Businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

1944 – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former “Washington Post” reporter Carl Bernstein, who, along with colleague Bob Woodward, broke the Watergate story that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon

1960 – Golden Globe-winning actress Meg Tilly (“The Big Chill,” “Agnes of God”)

1970 – Actor Simon Pegg (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” “The World’s End,” “Spaced,” “Star Trek,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Mission: Impossible”)

1972 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas

History Highlights

1849 – James Polk becomes the first American president to be photographed while in office.

1920 – The League of Women Voters is established as a “political experiment” designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. It encouraged them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy.

1924 – International technology giant IBM (International Business Machines Corp.) is founded and eventually becomes known as “Big Blue.”

1929 – Seven rivals of mobster Al Capone are gunned down in a Chicago garage during the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

1962 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gives Americans an intimate, televised tour of The White House, hosted by CBS News correspondent Charles Collingwood. Although produced by CBS, the special airs on all three major TV networks the same week and is eventually broadcast in other countries, reaching an estimated global audience of some 80 million viewers.

1988 – U.S. speed skater Dan Jansen, a favorite to win the gold medal in the 500-meter race at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, falls during competition, only hours after learning his sister had died of cancer.

1989 – Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini calls on Muslims to kill “The Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie because his book mocked or at least contained mocking references to the Prophet Muhammad and other aspects of Islam.

2018 – An expelled student enters Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and opens fire, killing 17 people and wounding 17 others, in what becomes the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Musical Milestones

1967 – Aretha Franklin records the soul single, “Respect,” at the Atlantic Records studio in New York. The now-classic track, which was written by Otis Redding, climbs to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that June.

1970 – ”Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” by Sly & the Family Stone, is the hottest song on the radio.

1972 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono serve as co-hosts of “The Mike Douglas Show” for an entire week.

1981 – “Celebration,” by Kool & the Gang, begins its second and final week as the No. 1 single.

1987 – Bon Jovi grabs hold of the top spot on the Billboard singles chart for four weeks with “Livin’ on a Prayer,” off the “Slippery When Wet” album.

1998 – Usher has his first No. 1 single with “Nice & Slow.” The track remains a Billboard chart-topper for two weeks.

2004 – “The Way You Move,” by OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown, is the No. 1 single.

2015 – “Uptown Funk,” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, is in the midst of a 14-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day January 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Oscar-winning actor and race car driver Paul Newman (“The Hustler,” “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Verdict,” “The Color of Money,” “The Hudsucker Proxy,” “Road to Perdition”) (d. 2008)

1941 – Actor Scott Glenn (“Urban Cowboy,” “The Right Stuff,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Backdraft,” “Training Day,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”)

1955 – Legendary rock guitarist and songwriter Eddie Van Halen of the band Van Halen (“Hot for Teacher”, “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love”, “Jump”, “Panama”) (d. 2020)

1958 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Anita Baker (“Sweet Love,” “Just Because”)

1958 – Emmy-winning TV host, comedian, actress and LGBTQ advocate Ellen DeGeneres

1961 – Retired hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who played for four teams during 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL)

History Highlights

1788 – Britain’s First Fleet sails into Sydney Harbor and begins the European colonization of Australia. The fledgling colony marks this event each year as Australia Day, however in recent years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have objected because they see the occasion as the beginning of the deliberate destruction of their people and culture.

1905 – A 3,106-carat diamond is discovered during a routine inspection at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa. Weighing 1.33 pounds, it is the largest diamond ever found, and is named the Cullinan after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine.

1926 – Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of a true television system (called a “televisor”) in London, launching a revolution in communication and entertainment.

1950 – The Republic of India is formed as the Indian constitution takes effect.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy appoints Janet Travell, 59, as his personal physician, making her the first woman in history to hold that post.

1979 – The General Lee, a bright orange Dodge Charger with a Confederate flag on its roof, kicks up dust clouds as “The Dukes of Hazzard” premieres on CBS.

1988 – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” has its first Broadway performance at the Majestic Theatre.

1998 – During one of the most memorable news conferences of his presidency, Bill Clinton tells reporters, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” Clinton later confesses that he did indeed have an “improper physical relationship” with Monica Lewinksky, a 24-year-old White House intern.

2005 – Condoleezza Rice assumes the post of U.S. Secretary of State two months after her nomination by President George W. Bush. She becomes the highest ranking African American woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.

Musical Milestones

1963 – The Rooftop Singers stroll to the top of the singles chart with “Walk Right In.”

1970 – Phil Spector and John Lennon write and record Lennon’s “Instant Karma” in one day. It lands on the Billboard pop chart 33 days later, eventually climbing to No. 3.

1974 – “You’re Sixteen” by Ringo Starr is the No. 1 single. The song is from the ex-Beatle’s “Ringo” album, which also contains the hits “Photograph” and “Oh My My.”

1980 – Prince makes his television premiere with an appearance on “American Bandstand.” He shyly answers questions from host Dick Clark, beginning with “How did you learn to do this in Minneapolis?”

1985 – Madonna wraps up six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with her first No. 1 single, “Like a Virgin.”

1991 – Surface kicks off two weeks atop the pop chart with “The First Time.” It is the last time the New Jersey trio has a No. 1 single.

2002 – “U Got It Bad,” by Usher, is in the midst of a five-week ride on top of the singles chart.

On This Day December 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1922 – Actress Ava Gardner (“The Hucksters,” “Show Boat,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “The Barefoot Contessa,” “On the Beach,” “Seven Days in May,” “The Night of the Iguana,” “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean,” “Earthquake,” “The Cassandra Crossing” (d. 1990)

1927 – Author Mary Higgins Clark, known as “The Queen of Suspense,” whose first bestseller was “Where Are the Children?”

1956 – Actor Anil Kapoor (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “24”)

1971 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and actor Ricky Martin, best known for his 1999 smash, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”

1973 – “Twilight” series author Stephenie Meyer

1974 – TV and radio host Ryan Seacrest (“American Idol,” “American Top 40,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”)

History Highlights

1818 – The now-legendary Christmas carol “Silent Night” (“Stille Nacht”) is composed in Austria by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr.

1923 – President Calvin Coolidge lights the first national Christmas tree on the White House grounds.

1968 – The Apollo 8 astronauts become the first humans to enter orbit around the moon. Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders complete 10 lunar orbits and transmit live TV images that become part of the famous Christmas Eve broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history. The crew members conclude their broadcast by taking turns reading from the Book of Genesis.

1972 – Beloved entertainer Bob Hope performs his last Christmas show for U.S. servicemen stationed in Vietnam.

1979 – The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. It is the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern bloc since World War II and interrupts a period of improving relations in the Cold War.

1990 – Actor Tom Cruise and actress Nicole Kidman tie the knot after meeting on the set of “Days of Thunder” in 1989. They are considered one of Hollywood’s most glamourous couples until their divorce 11 years later.

Musical Milestones

1966 – The New Vaudeville Band’s “Winchester Cathedral” begins its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1977 – The Bee Gees mark the first of three weeks atop the singles chart with “How Deep is Your Love,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s Grammy-winning “Thriller” returns to the top of the Billboard album chart for a third time, and ultimately claims the No. 1 spot for 37 non-consecutive weeks.

1983 – The Paul McCartney-Michael Jackson duet, “Say Say Say,” is in the middle of a six-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – Poison starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” the band’s only chart-topper. The track is the final No. 1 hit of 1988 and first of 1989.

1994 – One-hit-wonder Ini Kamoze’s “Here Comes the Hotstepper” begins a second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 before stepping off.

2005 – Chris Brown’s “Run It!” sets out on its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single.

On This Day December 21

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Celebrity Birthdays

1935 – Former TV talk show host Phil Donahue (“The Phil Donohue Show,” later simply called “Donohue”)

1937 – Oscar-winning actress and 1980s fitness guru Jane Fonda (“Barefoot in the Park,” “Klute,” “Coming Home,” “The Newsroom”)

1948 – Actor-producer Samuel L. Jackson (“Jurassic Park,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Jackie Brown,” “The Incredibles,” “Snakes on a Plane,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Django Unchained,” and several of the Marvel Studios “Avengers” movies)

1954 – Retired U.S. tennis star Chris Evert

1957 – Emmy-winning actor, writer and comedian Ray Romano, best known for the CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”

1966 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and singer-songwriter Kiefer Sutherland (“Stand by Me,” “The Lost Boys,” “Young Guns,” “Flatliners,” A Few Good Men,” “The Three Musketeers,” “24,” “Designated Survivor”)

History Highlights

1913 – The first crossword puzzle is compiled by journalist Arthur Wynne and published in the New York World newspaper. It was originally called “Word-Cross” and ran as a feature in the paper’s “Fun” section.

1937 – The Lincoln Tunnel officially opens, allowing motorists to drive between New Jersey and Manhattan beneath the Hudson River.

1968 – NASA successfully launches Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard.

1980 – Socialite Martha “Sunny” von Bulow is found comatose on the bathroom floor of her Newport, Rhode Island mansion — the result of what appeared to be an insulin overdose. Her husband stands trial for attempted murder in what becomes one of the most sensational high society court dramas of all time.

1988 – Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard the 747 are killed along with 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. A bomb hidden inside an audio cassette player detonates in the cargo hold when the plane reaches an altitude of 31,000 feet.

Musical Milestones

1968 – “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” by Marvin Gaye, is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week and remains a chart-topper all through January 1969.

1969 – The Supremes make their final TV appearance together with Diana Ross on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” singing a medley of their hits.

1970 – Elvis Presley arrives unannounced at The White House for a meeting with President Richard Nixon to offer his services in the administration’s war on drugs.

1974 – “Cat’s in the Cradle” becomes Harry Chapin’s first and only No. 1 single. The track receives a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

1985 – Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” album passes Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to become the second longest-lasting LP on the Billboard Top 10, holding there for 79 weeks. Only “The Sound of Music,” with Julie Andrews, lasted longer at 109 weeks.

2002 – Eminem rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose Yourself,” whcih remains a chart-topper for 12 weeks.

2012 – “Gangnam Style,” by Korean rapper Psy, becomes the first YouTube video to garner one billion views.

On This Day November 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1887 – Artist Georgia O’Keeffe, considered the “mother of American modernism” (d. 1986)

1929 – Emmy-winning actor Ed Asner (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,” “JFK,” “Elf,” “Up”)

1932 – Grammy-winning pop vocalist Petula Clark (“Downtown,” “I Know a Place,” “A Sign of the Times,” “Don’t Sleep in the Subway”)

1940 – Golden Globe-winning actor Sam Waterston (“The Killing Fields,” “Law & Order,” “The Newsroom”)

1945 – Actor Bob Gunton (“Demolition Man,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Patch Adams”)

1952 – Fashion designer Jimmy Choo

1972 – Actor Jonny Lee Miller (“Trainspotting,” “Hackers, ” Elementary”)

1991 – Actress Shailene Woodley (“Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “The Descendants,” “The Spectacular Now,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” the “Divergent” series)

History Highlights

1867 – The first stock ticker is introduced in New York City and goes on to revolutionize the stock market by making up-to-the-minute prices available to investors around the country. Previously, such information was transmitted by mail or messenger.

1969 – Dave Thomas opens the world’s first Wendy’s fast food restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

1977 – President Jimmy Carter hosts the Shah of Iran at the White House.

1977 – Ford Motor Company celebrates its 100,000,000th car built in America. It’s a 1978 Fairmont four-door sedan.

1984 – Baby Fae dies 20 days after doctors replaced the newborn’s defective heart with that of a baboon.

1985 – A research assistant suffers burns and shrapnel wounds when he opens an exploding package at the home of University of Michigan psychology professor James McConnell. Investigators determine the package bomb is the work of the so-called Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.

1996 – “The English Patient,” starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, opens in theaters. The film goes on to capture nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Musical Milestones

1956 – “Love Me Tender,” Elvis Presley’s first movie, opens at the Paramount Theater in New York. Presley plays one of three brothers turned outlaws in the musical Western.

1969 – The Fifth Dimension are in the midst of a three-week hold on the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Wedding Bell Blues.”

1975 – Host Dick Clark welcomes Swedish pop phenom ABBA to TV’s “American Bandstand.”

1975 – Elton John begins his third and final week as captain of the pop chart with “Island Girl,” from his “Rock of the Westies” album.

1980 – After years of success on the music charts with the New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition, Kenny Rogers scores his first No. 1 single as a solo act with “Lady.” The song, written and produced by Lionel Richie, holds the top spot for six weeks.

1986 – “Amanda,” by Boston, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. It is the band’s first officially released single since 1978.

1990 – One of pop music’s biggest scandals unfolds as Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian confirms rumors that band members Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan never actually sang any of their hit records. The duo are stripped of the Grammys they had won for Best New Artist and duped fans file class-action lawsuits.

1997 – Elton John is in the middle of a 14-week domination of the pop chart with his tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997.”

2003 – “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, is the No. 1 single.

On This Day October 13

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Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the “Iron Lady” (d. 2013)

1941 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Paul Simon, formerly of the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel (“The Sound of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “My Little Town”)

1959 – Entertainer Marie Osmond, who started out as half of the Donnie & Marie singing-dancing family act.

1962 – Actress Kelly Preston (“Twins,” “Mischief,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Jack Frost,” “For Love of the Game”) (d. 2020)

1971 – Comedic actor Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his portrayal of unorthodox fictional film characters Ali G, Borat and Brüno.

History Highlights

1792 – The cornerstone is laid for a presidential residence in the newly designated capital city of Washington. Eight years later, John Adams becomes the first U.S. president to reside in the executive mansion, which is referred to as the White House beginning in 1812 because of its white-gray sandstone exterior.

1943 – With World War II raging, the government of Italy declares war on Nazi Germany, its former Axis partner, and joins the battle on the side of the Allies.

1967 – The Anaheim Amigos lose to the Oakland Oaks, 134-129, in the inaugural game of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In its first season, the ABA consists of 11 teams. In 1976, the ABA merges with the National Basketball Association (NBA), with only four teams remaining intact: the Americans (later renamed the New Jersey Nets), the Spurs, the Nuggets and the Pacers.

1974 – TV host Ed Sullivan, who introduced American viewers to Elvis Presley and The Beatles, among other up-and-coming entertainers, dies of cancer at the age of 73.

1977 – Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa passenger jet and demand the release of 11 imprisoned members of Germany’s Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, also known as the Red Army Faction.

1999 – A Colorado grand jury investigating the highly publicized case of murdered child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is dismissed, and the Boulder County district attorney announces no indictments will be made due to insufficient evidence.

2010 – Thirty-three miners are rescued after being trapped half a mile below ground for more than two months in a northern Chile mine collapse. The miners survive longer than anyone else trapped underground in recorded history. Their rescue is described in one media account as “a feat of engineering and a triumph of faith.”

Musical Milestones

1963 – The term “Beatlemania” is coined after the Fab Four’s first appearance on the “Sunday Night at The London Palladium” TV show, which is broadcast live to more than 15 million viewers.

1970 – The ashes of rock legend Janis Joplin are scattered at Stinson Beach in Marin County, California. The singer died of an accidental drug overdose at a Hollywood hotel nine days earlier. She was 27.

1973 – Cher begins her second and final week on top of the pop chart with “Half-Breed.” The track is her second chart-topper as a solo performer.

1979 – Michael Jackson reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough,” from his “Off The Wall” album. The song garners MJ his first solo Grammy Award.

1984 – Stevie Wonder scores his seventh No. 1 single with “I Just Called To Say I Love You,” from “The Woman in Red” soundtrack. The track holds the top spot for three weeks and garners Wonder a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for Best Original Song.

1990 – George Michael rules the Billboard singles chart with “Praying For Time,” the final solo No. 1 of his career.

2008 – Beatles drummer Ringo Starr announces through a video on his website that he no longer has time to sign autographs and asks fans not to send him any mail at all.

On This Day October 5

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Entrepreneur Ray Kroc, best known for turning McDonald’s from a local chain into a profitable restaurant franchise (d.1984)

1943 – Guitarist and singer-songwriter Steve Miller (“The Joker,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Jet Airliner,” “Jungle Love,” “Abracadabra”)

1951 – Actress Karen Allen (” National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”)

1951 – Singer-songwriter and political activist Bob Geldof, formerly frontman for The Boomtown Rats

1967 – Emmy-winning actor Guy Pearce (“L.A. Confidential,” “Memento,” “The King’s Speech,” “Prometheus,” “Iron Man 3”)

1972 – Seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill

1975 – Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet (“Titanic,” “The Reader,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Finding Neverland”)

1983 – Actor Jesse Eisenberg (“The Squid and the Whale,” “Zombieland,” “The Social Network,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”)

History Highlights

1947 – President Harry Truman delivers the first-ever televised presidential address from the White House, asking Americans to reduce their use of grain in order to help starving Europeans.

1969 – A Cuban defector enters U.S. airspace undetected and lands his Soviet-built MiG-17 fighter jet at Homestead Air Force Base near Miami, where Air Force One is parked.

1970 – Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) takes over operations from National Educational Television (NET), which was established by the Ford Foundation in 1952.

1974 – American David Kunst returns home to Minnesota as the first person to travel the globe on foot. It takes him four years and 21 pairs of shoes to cross four continents, covering a total of 14,500 miles. The achievement enables him to plant his heels in the “Guinness Book of Records.”

1983 – Solidarity leader Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the cause of Polish workers.

2011 – Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple Inc., which revolutionized the computer, music and mobile communications industries with a host of devices, including the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone and iPad, dies of complications from pancreatic cancer at 56.

Musical Milestones

1959 – Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” kicks off six weeks on top of the singles chart.

1962 – The Beatles release their first single, “Love Me Do,” in the U.K., where it reaches No. 17 on the pop chart. It becomes a No. 1 single in the U.S. in May of 1964.

1966 – Musicians Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding form The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

1973 – Considered one of pop music’s greatest double-albums, Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” — which contains the hits “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “Candle in the Wind” — is released. The album spends eight weeks on top of the Billboard 200. In 2003, it is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1974 – Olivia Newton-John claims her first No. 1 single with “I Honestly Love You.”

1991 – Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Hollaway top the Billboard Hot 100 with “Good Vibrations.”

1999 – Roger Daltrey announces that The Who are getting back together and will give their first performance in Las Vegas on October 29, 1999 during a show broadcast live on the Internet.

2002 – Kelly Clarkson kicks off two weeks on top of the singles chart with “A Moment Like This.”