On This Day April 25 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1874 – Nobel Prize-winning radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi (d. 1937) 1908 – Pioneering broadcast journalist and longtime CBS correspondent Edward R. Murrow (d. 1965) 1917 – Legendary Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, affectionately known as “The First Lady of Song” (d. 1996) 1932 – Basketball Hall of Famer and former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, born Meadow Lemon III (d. 2015) 1940 – Oscar, Tony and Emmy-winning actor Al Pacino (“The Godfather” movie series, “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” ” …And Justice for All,” “Scarface,” “Scent of a Woman,” “Carlito’s Way,” “The Devil’s Advocate,” “The Insider,” “Oceans Thrteen,” “Danny Collins,” “The Irishman,” “Hunters”) 1946 – Actress Talia Shire, best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in “The Godfather” films and Adrian Balboa in the “Rocky” series 1964 – Emmy-winning actor-producer-comedian Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons,” “The Birdcage,” “Mystery Men,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” “The Smurfs,” “Brockmire”) 1969 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Renée Zellweger (“Jerry McGuire,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Me Myself and Irene,” “Chicago,” “Cold Mountain,” “Cinderella Man”) History Highlights 1901 – The first license plate is affixed to an automobile, as New York becomes the first state to require tags. 1945 – A milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe is achieved when U.S. and Russian troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting Nazi Germany in two. 1980 – President Jimmy Carter informs the nation that eight U.S. servicemen were killed in the collision of two military aircraft to be used to rescue 52 Americans held hostage in Iran. Those hostages are finally freed the following January, on the day Ronald Reagan is inaugurated president. 1983 – Soviet leader Yuri Andropov personally invites American fifth-grader Samantha Smith of Maine to visit his country after reading her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war. She makes the trip that summer and becomes an honorary ambassador for peace at a time when U.S.-Soviet relations were strained during the Cold War. Sadly, Smith dies in a plane crash two years later. 1990 – The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery places the Hubble Space Telescope, a long-term space-based observatory, into a low orbit around Earth. Hubble — named after astronomer Edwin Hubble — continues to provide astronomers with an unparalleled view of the solar system, the galaxy and the universe. 1995 – Oscar-winning entertainer Ginger Rogers, best known for her films with dance partner Fred Astaire, dies at the age of 83. Musical Milestones 1956 – Rock and Roll King Elvis Presley signs a seven-year movie contract with Paramount Pictures. 1960 – Elvis Presley gets stuck on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks with “Stuck On You.” It’s his first hit single following his two-year stint in the U.S. Army. 1970 – The Jackson 5 give The Beatles’ “Let It Be” the boot and claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks with “ABC.” 1981 – Daryl Hall and John Oates begin their third and final week as chart-toppers with “Kiss On My List.” 1987 – U2 begin a nine-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “The Joshua Tree,” which packs chart-topping tracks including “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” It goes on to capture Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. 1990 – The Fender Stratocaster that rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix played at the Woodstock festival is auctioned off for a record $330,000. His two-hour set at the 1969 rock festival included a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.” 1992 – “Jump,” by hip hop duo Kris Kross, grabs the top spot on the singles chart and remains there for eight weeks. 1998 – Next has the No. 1 single with “Too Close.” The track remains on top of the pop chart for five weeks. 2007 – Leukemia claims the life of 69-year-old Bobby “Boris” Pickett, best known for his hit novelty song “Monster Mash,” which still gets radio airplay every Halloween. READ MORE
On This Day November 12 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1943 – Actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (“The Princess Bride,” “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles”) 1945 – Legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young (“Old Man,” “Harvest Moon,” “Heart of Gold”) 1961 – Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci 1967 – Former World Heavyweight boxing champion Michael Moorer 1980 – Actor-musician Ryan Gosling (“The Notebook,” “Half Nelson,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Lost River,” The Big Short”) 1982 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress Anne Hathaway (“The Princess Diaries,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Becoming Jane,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Les Misérables,” “Interstellar,” “The Intern”) History Highlights 1946 – America’s first drive-up teller window opens at the Exchange National Bank of Chicago. It features 10 bulletproof windows, with money and paperwork exchanged through sliding drawers. 1954 – Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts its doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since its 1892 opening. About 40 percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island to relatives that sought a better life and the “American Dream.” Located in New York Harbor, Ellis Island reopens in 1990 as a museum and national park. 1965 – Brothers Bill and Bob Summers set a world land speed record (409.277 miles per hour) at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in their hemi-powered hot rod, Goldenrod. 1979 – President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to oil imports from Iran after Americans are taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. 1982 – Yuri Andropov assumes leadership of the Soviet Union, succeeding Leonid Brezhnev, who died two days earlier. Musical Milestones 1966 – “Poor Side of Town” puts Johnny Rivers on the rich side of the singles chart – the No. 1 spot. 1977 – Debby Boone dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “You Light Up My Life,” which remains a No. 1 single for 10 weeks. 1980 – Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. 1983 – Lionel Richie starts a four-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 with “All Night Long (All Night).” The track also makes its way to the top of the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. 1988 – The Escape Club reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Wild, Wild West,” becoming the first British musical act with a No. 1 in the U.S. while never charting in the U.K. 1994 – “I’ll Make Love to You,” by Boyz II Men, is in its 12th week as a No. 1 single. It holds the top spot for another two weeks. 2001 – The three living former Beatles meet for the last time at George Harrison’s New York City hotel for lunch. Harrison would die of cancer two weeks later at the age of 58. READ MORE