World War I – Time Rewind

On This Day April 21

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On This Day April 14

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Celebrity Birthdays

1932 – Country music legend Loretta Lynn

1941 – Retired Major League Baseball slugger Pete Rose, a 17-time MLB All-Star and 1973 National League MVP

1960 – Emmy-winning actor and stand-up comedian Brad Garrett, best known for his role as Ray Romano’s sad-sack brother Robert in the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”

1968 – Actor Anthony Michael Hall (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Weird Science,” “Edward Scissorhands”)

1973 – Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody (“The Thin Red Line,” “The Pianist,” “The Village,” “Midnight in Paris,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Houdini”)

1977 – Emmy-winning actress Sarah Michelle Gellar (“All My Children,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Cruel Intentions, “Scooby-Doo,” “The Grudge”)

History Highlights

1828 – Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language is published. Webster wanted Americans to have a national identity not based on the language and ideas of England. The dictionary, which took Webster more than two decades to complete, introduced more than 10,000 “Americanisms.”

1865 – Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shoots President Abraham Lincoln during a performance at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln dies the next day.

1912 – RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic just before midnight during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. More than 1,500 people perish when the luxury liner sinks less than three hours later.

1918 – During World War I, two pilots from the U.S. Army Air Service’s 94th Aero Squadron engage in America’s first aerial dogfight with enemy aircraft over Europe’s Western Front. In a battle above Toul, France, aviators Douglas Campbell and Alan Winslow shoot down a pair of German two-seaters. Campbell is honored as America’s first “flying ace” about a month later after taking out his fifth enemy plane.

1969 – For the first time in Academy Awards history, there’s a tie for the Best Actress Oscar. The award is shared by Barbra Streisand (“Funny Girl”) and Katharine Hepburn (“The Lion in Winter”).

1988 – The Soviet Union withdraws its military forces from Afghanistan.

Musical Milestones

1962 – “Johnny Angel,” by Shelley Fabares — the actress best known for her role in “The Donna Reed Show” — starts its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

1979 – The Doobie Brothers rule the singles chart with “What a Fool Believes.” The song goes on to capture Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammys.

1984 – Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” from the movie of the same name, wraps up three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song , but loses to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” from the movie “The Woman in Red.”

1990 – One-hit-wonder Tommy Page begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’ll Be Your Everything.” The song spends 13 weeks in the Top 40 and is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

2001 – “All for You,” by Janet Jackson, begins seven weeks on top of the U.S. pop chart and goes on to win a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. It becomes the longest-reigning single of 2001.

On This Day April 6

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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.

On This Day March 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1944 – Actor Ken Howard (“1776,” “The White Shadow,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Crossing Jordan”) (d. 2016)

1948 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Dianne Wiest (“Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Parenthood,” “The Lost Boys,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “In Treatment,” “Law & Order”)

1955 – Grammy-winning country singer and actress Reba McEntire, who starred in her own sitcom, “Reba,” from 2001-07

1970 – Actor Vince Vaughn (“Swingers,” “Wedding Crashers,” “The Break-Up,” “The Internship,” “True Detective”)

1981 – Actress Julia Stiles (“Save the Last Dance,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Dexter”)

1986 – Grammy and Golden Globe-winning pop superstar and actress Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

History Highlights

1834 – The U.S. Congress censures President Andrew Jackson over his refusal to turn over documents regarding his dealings with the Bank of the United States.

1881 – The Greatest Show on Earth is born when P.T. Barnum and James Bailey merge their circus troupes.

1915 – The first American is killed during World War I, before the U.S. had even entered the conflict. Leon Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer from Massachusetts, drowns when a German U-boat (submarine) torpedoes the British steamship RMS Falaba off the coast of England. The vessel was on its way from Liverpool to West Africa when the Germans attacked. The sinking is reported by American media as the “Thrasher Incident.”

1969 – Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States and one of the most highly decorated American generals of World War II, dies at the age of 78.

1979 – The worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history takes place at the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, PA. A mechanical failure in the Unit 2 reactor, compounded by human error, forces thousands to evacuate and triggers a public backlash against the nuclear power industry.

1984 – Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay outrages fans and local officials when he moves the NFL franchise to Indianapolis in the middle of the night with no public announcement.

Musical Milestones

1958 – Composer William Christopher “W.C.” Handy, regarded as the “Father of the Blues,” dies in New York City.

1964 – “She Loves You,” by The Beatles, tops the U.S. pop chart. It is the second of three consecutive singles that keep The Beatles at No. 1 from the beginning of February through the beginning of May of that year.

1970 – “Bridge over Troubled Water,” by Simon & Garfunkel, sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1981 – Kim Carnes delivers new music to the Billboard singles chart in the form of “Bette Davis Eyes,” which reaches No. 1 that May and holds there for nine weeks.

1981 – “Rapture,” by Blondie featuring Debbie Harry, becomes the first rap song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track, off the band’s “Autoamerican” album, claims the top spot for two weeks.

1987 – Club Nouveau’s cover of the Bill Withers soul classic, “Lean On Me, ” wraps up two weeks as a No. 1 single.

1992 – Vanessa Williams rules the singles chart for five weeks beginning this day with “Save the Best for Last.”

1998 – Will Smith wraps up a three-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It.”

2001 – Sean Combs, the Grammy-winning artist formerly known as both Puffy and Puff Daddy, tells MTV that he now wants to be known as P. Diddy. In August 2005, he changes his stage name to simply Diddy.

2009 – “Right Round,” by Flo Rida featuring Kesha, tops the pop chart.

On This Day February 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Actor Jim Backus, best known for playing stranded millionaire Thurston Howell III in the comedy “Gilligan’s Island” and providing the voice for the cartoon character “Mr. Magoo” (d. 1989)

1935 – Retired syndicated TV talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael

1937 – Retired Emmy-winning CBS News anchor-commentator and author Bob Schieffer

1943 – Singer-songwriter-guitarist and former Beatle George Harrison (d. 2001)

1965 – Comedian Carrot Top, born Scott Thompson

1966 – Actress Tea Leoni, born Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni (“Bad Boys,” “Deep Impact,” “The Family Man,” “Tower Heist,” “Madam Secretary”)

1971 – Actor Sean Aston (“The Goonies,” “Rudy,” the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy)

1976 – Actress Rashida Jones (“The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Social Network,” “Our Idiot Brother,” “Angie Tribeca”)

1997 – Actress Isabelle Fuhrman, best known for playing a demonic child in “Orphan” and Clove in “The Hunger Games”

History Highlights

1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, is sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress. He is assigned to serve on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on the District of Columbia.

1916 – German troops seize Fort Douaumont, the most formidable of the forts guarding the walled city of Verdun, France, four days after launching their initial attack. The Battle of Verdun becomes the longest and bloodiest conflict of World War I, lasting 10 months and resulting in over 700,000 casualties.

1950 – The TV comedy “Your Show of Shows,” hosted by Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, premieres, eventually helping launch the successful entertainment careers of Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Woody Allen and others.

1964 – Twenty-two-year-old Cassius Clay (who later changes his name to Muhammad Ali) stuns odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout in Miami Beach.

1984 – A massive explosion, triggered when gasoline from a ruptured pipeline ignited, levels a shantytown outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing at least 500 people — mostly young children. However, investigators speculate that the actual death toll may have been closer to 700 since many bodies were incinerated in the intense blaze.

1986 – President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule. Corazon Aquino becomes that nation’s first woman president.

2004 – “The Passion of the Christ,” Mel Gibson’s controversial film about the final hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, opens in U.S. theaters, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It receives three Oscar nominations.

Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley scores his first hit when “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Country & Western chart. The Beatles cover the song in 1964 on the BBC radio show “From Us to You,” with George Harrison on lead vocals.

1956 – “Lisbon Antigua,” by Nelson Riddle, begins a four-week run as a No. 1 single.

1967 – The No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second and final week belongs to The Buckinghams: “Kind of a Drag”

1978 – The Bee Gees are in their fourth and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Stayin’ Alive,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1981 – Christopher Cross, then a little-known musician from Texas, cleans up at the Grammy Awards with five statuettes, including Best New Artist, Album of the Year (“Christopher Cross”) and Song of the Year (“Sailing”).

1984 – “Jump,” by Van Halen, kicks off five weeks atop the U.S. singles chart. The track, off the band’s “1984” album, is ranked among the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1995 – Madonna begins seven weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Take a Bow,” off her “Bedtime Stories” album. The single becomes her eleventh chart-topper. With it, Madonna replaces Carole King as the female who had written the most No. 1 songs.

On This Day February 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1895 – Baseball legend Babe Ruth, born George Herman Ruth (d. 1948)

1911 – Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president (d. 2004)

1917 – Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (d. 2016)

1922 – Actor Patrick Macnee, best known as John Steed in “The Avengers” British TV spy series (d. 2015)

1931 – Actor-comedian Rip Torn, born Elmore Rual Torn, Jr. (“Cross Creek,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Men in Black,” “Men in Black II”) (d. 2019)

1940 – Peabody-winning broadcast journalist, author and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw

1942 – 1950s teen idol Fabian, born Fabiano Forte

1945 – World-renowned reggae singer-songwriter Bob Marley, born Nesta Robert Marley (d. 1981)

1950 – Grammy-winning jazz and pop vocalist Natalie Cole (d. 2015)

1962 – Singer-songwriter and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose (“Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine”)

1966 – Singer Rick Astley, best known for his 80s hits “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever”

History Highlights

1917 – Three days after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson severs diplomatic relations with Germany and warns that war would follow if American interests at sea were again assaulted, a German submarine torpedoes and sinks the passenger steamer California off the Irish coast.

1933 – The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, establishing the beginning and ending of the terms of elected federal offices, takes effect.

1937 – John Steinbeck’s novella, “Of Mice and Men,” the story of the bond between two migrant workers during the Great Depression, is published. Eight months later, the stage adaptation opens in New York and earns Steinbeck the New York Drama Critics’ Circle’s Best Play Award in 1938.

1952 – Princess Elizabeth becomes Queen of England when her father, King George VI, dies following a long illness. But it takes the 25-year-old Elizabeth more than a day to learn of her new royal status. She was on safari at the time, inside a Kenyan tree hut watching a herd of elephants gather at a watering hole.

1978 – One of the worst Nor’easters in New England history pounds the region for more than 30 hours, with wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and snowfall of four inches an hour. High tides cause damaging coastal flooding, while inland, thousands of cars are stranded in snow drifts. Remembered as “The Blizzard of ’78,” the monster storm leaves about 100 people dead and 4,500 others injured.

1993 – Tennis champion Arthur Ashe, the only African-American man to win Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Opens, dies of complications from AIDS, at age 49 in New York City.

Musical Milestones

1961 – The Shirelles wrap up two weeks atop the Billboard singles chart with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”

1965 – “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by The Righteous Brothers tops the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for two weeks.

1971 – Dawn, featuring Tony Orlando, begin a third and final week as chart-toppers with “Knock Three Times.”

1982 – The J. Geils Band kicks off six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Centerfold.”

1988 – Tiffany has the hottest single in the U.S. with “Could’ve Been.”

1993 – Whitney Houston reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Will Always Love You,” a song penned by Dolly Parton and used in the soundtrack to the movie “The Bodyguard.” The track holds the top spot for 14 weeks and becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1998 – Austrian pop superstar Falco (a.k.a. Johann Hölzel), the talent behind the 1982 hit “Der Kommisar” and 1986 smash “Rock Me Amadeus,” is killed in a car accident while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. He is just two weeks shy of his 41st birthday.

2010 – Kesha has the No. 1 single with Tik Tok.

On This Day January 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1912 – Abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock (d. 1956)

1936 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor-director Alan Alda (“M*A*S*H,” “Same Time, Next Year,” “The Four Seasons,” “Everyone Says I Love You,” “The West Wing,” “The Aviator”)

1959 – Director Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” “The Mist”)

1968 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (“Building a Mystery,” “Angel,” “Fallen”)

1977 – Singer, actor and TV personality Joey Fatone, former member of NSYNC, one of the most popular boy bands of all time

1981 – Actor-producer Elijah Wood (“Avalon,” “The Ice Storm,” “Deep Impact,” “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Sin City,” “Happy Feet”)

History Highlights

1901 – Professional baseball’s American League is founded in Milwaukee with plans for a 140-game schedule, 14-man rosters and a players’ union.

1915 – The American merchant ship William P. Frye becomes the first casualty of World War I as a German cruiser opens fire and sinks the vessel. Despite apologies from the German government, the attack sparks outrage in the U.S.

1917 – Mexican maid Carmelita Torres refuses to put up with the indignity she has been made to suffer every morning since she began working across the border in the United States. Torres’ objection to the noxious chemical delousing Mexicans were required to undergo upon crossing the Northern border sparks what became known as the Bath Riots.

1922 – Ninety-eight guests are killed, 133 others are injured when the roof of Washington, D.C.’s Knickerbocker Theatre collapses under the weight of a heavy snowfall. The disaster ranks as one of Washington’s worst, and the “Knickerbocker Snowstorm,” as it is known, still holds the record for Washington’s single greatest snowfall.

1958 – The interlocking stud-and-tube plastic Lego brick is patented by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, whose father founded the Lego toy company (“Lego,” from the Danish term “leg godt,” meaning “play well”). The colorful bricks have covered playroom floors for generations. In fact, it’s estimated that Lego has since produced the equivalent of 62 bricks for every human being on the planet.

1964 – The State Department accuses the Soviet Union of shooting down an unarmed Air Force trainer jet over East Germany, killing its three occupants.

1986 – A nation watches in horror as Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) explodes 73 seconds into flight, killing teacher Christa McAuliffe — who was to have been the first civilian in space — and fellow crew members Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnick, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.

1997 – Four apartheid-era police officers, appearing before a tribunal in South Africa, admit to the 1977 killing of Stephen Biko, a leader of the South African “Black consciousness” movement.

Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a seven-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer,” a song written by Neil Diamond.

1978 – “Baby Come Back,” by Player, begins its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1984 – “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” off Yes’ “90125” album, rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a second and final week.

1985 – Forty-five of the world’s top recording artists gather in a Los Angeles studio to record “We Are the World” to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief. The song, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, reaches No. 1 on the singles chart three months later.

1995 – TLC marks the first of four weeks as Billboard singles chart-toppers with “Creep.”

2001 – Super Bowl XXXV, with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the New York Giants in Tampa, features a veritable Who’s Who of musical talent. Ray Charles sings “America The Beautiful,” the Backstreet Boys sing the national anthem and halftime performers include Aerosmith, ‘N Sync and Britney Spears.

2006 – “Grillz,” by Nelly featuring fellow rappers Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, is the No. 1 single.

2012 – “We Found Love,” by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris, marks its second and final week as a No. 1 single.

2017 – Ed Sheeran rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Shape of You.”

On This Day January 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1882 – British author A. A. Milne, who created the Winnie-the-Pooh character (d. 1956)

1892 – Oliver Hardy, one half of the famous comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy (d. 1957)

1904 – Actor Cary Grant, born Archibald Alexander Leach (“The Philadelphia Story,” “The Awful Truth,” “His Girl Friday,” “Notorious,” “North By Northwest”) (d. 1986)

1911 – Golden Globe-winning actor, comedian and dancer Danny Kaye (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “The Court Jester,” “On the Riviera,” “Me and the Colonel”) (d. 1987)

1941 – Pop and country music singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro (“See the Funny Little Clown,” “Honey”)

1955 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actor-director and musician Kevin Costner (“The Untouchables,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “Dances With Wolves,” “JFK,” “The Bodyguard,” “Waterworld,” “Hatfields & McCoys,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “Hidden Figures”)

1969 – Actor Jesse L. Martin (“Rent,” “Ally McBeal,” “Law & Order”)

1980 – Actor Jason Segel (“Freaks and Geeks,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Knocked Up,” “The Five-Year Engagement,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “The Muppets,” “Sex Tape”)

History Highlights

1778 – British explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he lands at Waimea on the island of Kauai and names the island cluster the Sandwich Islands, after the voyage’s sponsor, the Earl of Sandwich.

1919 – Leaders of the Allied powers — the United States, France, Great Britain and Italy — convene in Paris, France to begin the long and complex negotiations that would pave the way for the end of World War I. The Paris Peace Conference, as it is known, leads to creation of the League of Nations, an international peacekeeping organization.

1975 – The sitcom “The Jeffersons,” one of several spin-offs from TV’s groundbreaking “All in the Family,” premieres on CBS and becomes a ratings bonanza of its own during an 11-season run. Another Norman Lear creation, it stars Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as a successful African-American couple adjusting to life on Manhattan’s ritzy East Side after leaving their modest Queens neighborhood.

1977 – Scientists identify the cause of a mysterious outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that killed 34 people at a 1976 American Legion Convention in Philadelphia.

1990 – An FBI sting leads to the arrest of Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry for possession of crack cocaine. After serving six months in federal prison, the so-called “mayor for life” makes one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of American politics in 1994 when D.C. residents elect him to a fourth term as mayor.

Musical Milestones

1944 – The first jazz concert — known as the Esquire All-American Jazz Concert — is held at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, featuring Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, Jack Teagarden and Billie Holiday.

1960 – Johnny Preston starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Running Bear,” a song written by J. P. Richardson (a.k.a. “The Big Bopper”). The song was released shortly after Richardson’s death in the February 1959 plane crash that also claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.

1964 – The Beatles make their U.S. singles chart debut when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” enters at No. 45. It goes on to spend seven weeks at No. 1.

1969 – Marvin Gaye is midway through a seven-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” The track becomes Motown’s biggest-selling hit at that time.

1975 – Barry Manilow scores his first chart-topping single when “Mandy” reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1986 – “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick, featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, is the No. 1 single. The track, written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, wins Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year Grammys.

1989 – At 38 years of age, Stevie Wonder becomes the youngest living person inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has excellent company, as other inductees in his class include The Rolling Stones, The Temptations and Dion (DiMucci).

1992 – Michael Jackson wraps up seven weeks as a chart-topper with “Black or White,” off his “Dangerous” album.

2003 – Eminem finds himself on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for another week with “Lose Yourself,” from the “8 Mile” soundtrack.

On This Day December 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1821 – Clara Barton, Civil War volunteer nurse who founded the American Red Cross (d. 1912)

1899 – Legendary Oscar-winning actor Humphrey Bogart (“Casablanca,” “Maltese Falcon,” “The African Queen,” “Key Largo”) (d. 1957)

1924 – Emmy-winning “The Twilight Zone” creator-writer Rod Serling (d. 1975)

1946 – Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett (“Margaritaville,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise”) (d. 2023)

1948 – Grammy-winning country music singer Barbara Mandrell (“Sleeping Single in a Double Bed,” “Years”)

1949 – Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek (“Carrie,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “In the Bedroom,” “The Help”)

1952 – Actress CCH Pounder (“Hill Street Blues,” “ER,” “The Practice,” “Law & Order: SVU,”, “Millennium,” “The West Wing,” “The Shield”)

1954 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, formerly of the 1980s new wave band Eurythmics

History Highlights

1776 – General George Washington and 2,400 of his Continental Army troops cross the icy waters of the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey.

1914 – Gunfire is replaced with the sounds of Christmas carols as German troops serving in World War I lay down their weapons and break into song on Christmas morning. Russian, French and British troops do the same and even shake hands and exchange cigarettes with enemy soldiers along the eastern and western fronts during the Christmas Truce of 1914.

1962 – “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a film based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee, opens in theaters, starring Gregory Peck, who wins a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as attorney Atticus Finch.

1973 – “The Sting,” starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as a pair of 1930s grifters, premieres.

1977 – British director, producer and comedic actor Charlie Chaplin, an icon of the silent film era, dies at the age of 88.

1989 – Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, are executed following a popular uprising.

1989 – Former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin dies in a traffic accident at the age of 61.

1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union just days after 11 of the former Soviet republics establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1996 – Six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey is killed in her Boulder, Colorado, home. Her parents call police the following morning to report their daughter missing and discover a ransom note demanding $118,000. The girl’s body is found in the basement that afternoon. The crime becomes a national sensation that remains unsolved today.

Musical Milestones

1941 – Bing Crosby performs the Irving Berlin holiday classic “White Christmas” for the first time on his weekly NBC Radio show “The Kraft Music Hall.” Crosby later performs it in the 1942 movie “Holiday Inn.” It remains the largest-selling single in music history until surpassed by Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997.”

1961 – The Brooklyn-based doo-wop group The Tokens rule the singles chart with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” — originally written and recorded as “Mbube” in 1939 by Zulu artist Solomon Linda.

1965 – The Dave Clark Five have the No. 1 single with “Over and Over.”

1976 – Rod Stewart claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh straight week with “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright).”

1982 – “Maneater,” by Hall & Oates, is mid-way through a four week domination of the singles chart.

1995 – Entertainer Dean Martin, a beloved member of the so-called “Rat Pack,” dies at the age of 78.

2004 – Ludacris has the No. 1 album with “The Red Light District,” which spawns the hit singles “Get Back” and “Number One Spot.”

On This Day December 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1886 – Baseball legend Ty Cobb, considered the most competitive and complex personality ever to appear in a big league uniform (d. 1961)

1943 – Rolling Stones guitarist and songwriter Keith Richards

1946 – Oscar-winning director-producer Steven Spielberg (“Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” the “Indiana Jones” trilogy, “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Munich,” “Bridge of Spies”)

1950 – Movie critic-historian Leonard Maltin

1954 – Actor Ray Liotta (“Something Wild,” “Field of Dreams,” “Goodfellas,” “No Escape,” “Corina, Corina,” “ER”)

1963 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Brad Pitt (“Legends of the Fall,” “Seven,” “Fight Club,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Moneyball,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Fury”)

1978 – Actress Katie Holmes (“Dawson’s Creek,” “Batman Begins,” “Mad Money,” “Jack and Jill,” “Touched With Fire”)

1980 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera (“Genie in a Bottle”, “What a Girl Wants”)

History Highlights

1620 – The British ship Mayflower docks at what today is known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers — dubbed Pilgrims — set out to establish a new settlement called Plymouth Colony.

1916 – The Battle of Verdun, the longest engagement of World War I, ends after 10 months and close to a million total casualties suffered by German and French forces.

1956 – Japan is admitted to the United Nations.

1966 – The animated Christmas classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” debuts on CBS, based on the beloved book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. The program features a throaty narration by legendary horror film actor Boris Karloff.

1968 – The movie musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” opens in New York, starring Dick Van Dyke, who made a splash four years earlier in “Mary Poppins.”

Musical Milestones

1961 – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” by The Tokens, roars from the top of the Billboard singles chart where it remains for three weeks.

1971 – After 13 years, rock and roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis’ marriage to his 13-year-old cousin ends in divorce.

1976 – Rod Stewart is in the middle of an eight-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright).”

1982 – Hall & Oates begin a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Maneater,” off the duo’s “H2O” album.

1999 – “Smooth,” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas, is in its ninth week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for another three weeks, ultimately becoming what Billboard calls “the second most successful song of all time.”

2003 – Michael Jackson is formally charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering intoxicating liquor to a minor with the intent of committing a crime.