On this Day: August 7

On this Day August 7

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1903 –  Paleontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey (d. 1972)

1904 – Nobel Peace Prize–winning academic and U.N. diplomat Ralph Bunche (d. 1971)

1942 – Pop-country singer B.J. Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” “Don’t Worry Baby”)

1942 – Grammy-winning writer and “A Prairie Home Companion” creator-host Garrison Keillor

1955 – Actor Wayne Knight, best known as Newman from the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld” 

1960 – Actor David Duchovny, best known for playing Special Agent Fox Mulder in “The X-Files”

1963 – Actor Harold Perrineau (“Oz,” “28 Weeks Later,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions,” “The Killing Jar,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lost”)

1975 – Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron (“The Devil’s Advocate,” “Mighty Joe Young,” “The Cider House Rules,” “Monster,” “North Country,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Atomic Blonde”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1782 – General George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the “Badge for Military Merit” — a decoration for valor consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk with the word “Merit” stitched across the face. Only three soldiers were awarded the badge before it fell into disuse. It was revived in 1932 as the Purple Heart, consisting of a bust of Washington below a coat of arms.

1959 – The sheaves of wheat image on the U.S. penny is replaced with the Lincoln Memorial. 

1959 – NASA launches the Explorer 6 satellite to study trapped radiation, galactic cosmic rays and geomagnetism in the upper atmosphere. It is the first spacecraft to transmit images of Earth from orbit.

1972 – Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Lefty Gomez and Early Wynn are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. 

1974 – After six years of planning and preparation, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit walks a tightrope a quarter mile above the streets of Manhattan between the World Trade Center towers.

1990 – President George H. W. Bush orders the launch of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepares American troops to join an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991.

2005 – Longtime ABC News anchor and reporter Peter Jennings loses his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

2005 – The seven-person crew of a small Russian submarine (Priz) is rescued by an unmanned British submersible that freed the sub after its propellers became entangled in fishing nets deep in Pacific waters.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1965 – “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits is the best-selling single in the U.S. It’s the band’s second Billboard No. 1.

1971 – The Bee Gees achieve a milestone when “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” becomes the trio’s first No. 1 single. The song holds the top spot for four weeks.

1976 – Heartbreak is the theme of another No. 1 single: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee, which remains on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.

1982 – “Eye of the Tiger,” from the movie “Rocky III,” is midway through a six-week domination of the pop chart. The track garners Survivor a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal.

1982 – Fleetwood Mac kicks off five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with “Mirage,” the band’s third chart-topping album, which contains the Top-20 hits “Hold Me” and “Gypsy.”

1993 – UB40 is mid-way through a seven-week occupation of the top spot on the singles chart with their cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” 

1999 – Christina Aguilera rules the pop chart with “Genie in a Bottle.” The track holds at No. 1 for five weeks.

2004 – “Slow Motion,” by rapper Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim, kicks off two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

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On this Day: May 12

On this Day May 12

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1820 – Nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale (d. 1910)

1907 – Oscar-winning actress Katharine Hepburn (“The African Queen,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “On Golden Pond”) (d. 2003)

1925 – Baseball Hall of Fame player-coach-manager Yogi Berra (d. 2015)

1928 – Grammy and Oscar-winning composer-pianist Burt Bacharach (“The Look of Love,” “This Guy’s in Love with You,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “On My Own”)

1936 – Late-night TV talk show host Tom Snyder (“The Tomorrow Show,” “The Late Late Show”) (d. 2007)

1937 – Stand-up comedian and actor George Carlin (d. 2008)

1950 – Actor Gabriel Byrne (“Miller’s Crossing,” “The Usual Suspects,” “End of Days,” “In Treatment”)

1959 – Golden Globe-winning actor Ving Rhames (“Dave,” “Mission: Impossible” film series, “Pulp Fiction,” “Con Air,” “Don King: Only in America”)

1962 – ‘Brat Pack’ actor Emilio Estevez (“Repo Man,” “The Breakfast Club,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Stakeout,” “Young Guns,” “The Mighty Ducks”)

1978 – Actor Jason Biggs (“As The World Turns,” the “American Pie” movie series, “Orange is the New Black,” “Amateur Night”)

1981 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor and producer Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Mr. Robot,” “Night at the Museum”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1847 – Way before the Fitbit, William Clayton creates a device to measure distance with his invention of the odometer. Its original use was to record how far horse-drawn wagons traveled during America’s pioneer days.

1903 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president captured on film during a trip to San Francisco. Cameraman H.J. Miles chronicles Roosevelt as his carriage travels down Market Street during a parade in his honor. The short silent movie, titled “The President’s Carriage,” is later played on nickelodeons in arcades across America.

1932 – The body of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh’s 20-month-old baby is found more than two months after his kidnapping from the family’s New Jersey home.

1957 – Legendary auto racer A.J. Foyt is 22 years old when he scores his first professional victory in a U.S. Automobile Club midget car race in Kansas City, Missouri.

1970 – The U.S. Senate confirms President Richard Nixon’s nomination of Federal Circuit Judge Harry Blackmun to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – The Everly Brothers begin a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “All I Have To Do Is Dream.”

1963 – Bob Dylan walks off the set of “The Ed Sullivan Show” after a CBS executive tells him he cannot perform his song “Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues” because it mocks segregation and the military.

1964 – Barbra Streisand wins a Grammy for Best Female Vocalist for “The Barbra Streisand Album,” which is named Album of the Year.

1979 – “Reunited,” by Peaches & Herb, is in the middle of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The track also tops the R&B singles chart for four weeks and goes on to sell more than two million copies.

1984 – Lionel Richie begins two weeks on top of the pop chart with “Hello,” off his “Can’t Slow Down” album.

1990 – Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” completes a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

2001 – Janet Jackson is in the middle of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “All for You.”

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