On This Day March 2 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1793 – American statesman Sam Houston, best known for his role in bringing Texas into the United States as a constituent state (d. 1863) 1904 – Children’s book author and illustrator Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel (“If I Ran the Zoo,” “Horton Hears a Who!” “If I Ran the Circus,” “The Cat in the Hat,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” “Green Eggs and Ham”) (d. 1991) 1917 – Actor Desi Arnaz, best known for playing Ricky Ricardo in the sitcom “I Love Lucy,” which starred his wife, Lucille Ball (d. 1986) 1931 – Former Soviet President and Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev 1942 – Rock-punk singer-songwriter-guitarist Lou Reed, originally of the 60s band Velvet Underground and solo artist (“Walk on the Wild Side”) (d. 2013) 1950 – Pop sensation Karen Carpenter of the 70s sibling duo Carpenters (d. 1983) 1962 – Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi (“Dead or Alive”, “Livin’ On A Prayer”, “You Give Love A Bad Name”, “Blaze Of Glory”), born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. 1968 – Actor Daniel Craig, best known for playing British spy James Bond 1980 – Actress-comedian Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” “How To Be Single”) History Highlights 1836 – The Republic of Texas declares its independence from Mexico. A convention of American Texans meets at Washington-on-the-Brazos (today commonly referred to as “the birthplace of Texas”) and confirms Sam Houston as the commander in chief of all Texan forces. 1925 – State and federal highway officials create the United States’ first system of numbered interstate highways. 1933 – The horror film “King Kong,” about the giant ape that runs loose across Manhattan, opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Screenings sell out for the first four days. 1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut. 1955 – Nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous act of civil disobedience, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus. Colvin was traveling home from school when the driver ordered her and three fellow Black students to give up their row of seats to a White passenger. 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the NBA by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a match against the New York Knicks. 1965 – “The Sound of Music,” starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about the Von Trapp family, opens in New York. The movie goes on to capture five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise). 1972 – NASA launches Pioneer 10 — the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and the first to make direct observations and capture close-up images of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. 1978 – Three months after his death, grave robbers steal the corpse of silent film legend Charlie Chaplin from a Swiss cemetery and demand $600,000 for its safe return. Musical Milestones 1963 – “Walk Like a Man,” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. It is the band’s third chart-topping hit. 1967 – The Beatles win three Grammys for records issued the previous year: Best Song for “Michelle,” Best Vocal Performance for “Eleanor Rigby” and Best Cover Artwork for the album design of “Revolver” by Klaus Voormann. 1974 – “Seasons in the Sun,” by one-hit wonder Terry Jacks, claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stays there for three weeks. 1974 – At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder captures five honors: Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording for “Innervisions,” Best R&B Song and Best Vocal for “Superstition,” and Pop Vocal Performance for “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” 1974 – Roberta Flack wins Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammys for “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” The track also garners a Song of the Year Grammy for its writers, Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox. 1985 – “Careless Whisper,” by Wham! featuring George Michael, begins its third and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart. 1985 – Sheena Easton becomes the first musical artist ever to land Top 10 hits on the pop, R&B, country, dance and adult contemporary charts when “Sugar Walls,” written by Prince, reaches No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. That is the song that sparked the Parental Advisory music labeling system (listen carefully to the lyrics and you’ll know why). 1999 – Acclaimed British pop vocalist Dusty Springield (“I Only Want To Be With You,” “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”) dies at the age of 59 following a five-year battle with breast cancer. 2002 – “Always on Time,” by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, enters its second and final week as a No. 1 single. READ MORE
On This Day September 4 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1931 – Actress-singer-dancer Mitzi Gaynor (“My Blue Heaven,” “Anything Goes,” “South Pacific”) 1942 – Singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Merald “Bubba” Knight (Gladys Knight & the Pips) 1949 – PGA champion Tom Watson 1960 – Comedian, actor and writer Damon Wayans (“In Living Color,” “The Last Boy Scout,” “Major Payne,” “My Wife and Kids”) 1970 – Actress Ione Skye (“Say Anything,” “Four Rooms,” “Zodiac”) 1981 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles History Highlights 1886 – Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to U.S. federal troops in Arizona. For 30 years, the Native American warrior battled to protect his tribe’s homeland. However, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and outnumbered. With his surrender, Geronimo becomes the last Native American warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces, signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. 1951 – President Harry Truman takes to the microphone for the first live coast-to-coast TV broadcast. It originates from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco. 1957 – In what becomes a landmark event in the civil rights movement, nine African American students attempt to enter Little Rock Central High School, but are blocked by National Guard troops ordered in by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. The group is known as the Little Rock Nine. 1957 – Ford introduces the Edsel, a car named after company founder Henry Ford’s only son. The vehicle is widely considered to be one of the greatest marketing failures in automotive history. 1967 – The popular 1960s TV sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” sails off into the electronic sunset with its final episode. The show ran for three years but continues sailing across the airwaves and on cable through syndication. Musical Milestones 1962 – The Beatles assemble for their first formal recording session at London’s EMI/Abbey Road Studios, recording “Love Me Do” and “How Do You Do It?” with newest band member Ringo Starr on drums. 1971 – About a year after the Fab Four break-up, one of them enjoys his first No. 1 single. It’s Paul McCartney with “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” from the “Ram” album — a collaboration with his wife, Linda. 1976 – The Bee Gees are chart-toppers with “You Should Be Dancing,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” movie soundtrack. 1976 – More than a year after entering the album chart, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album reaches No. 1. This breakthrough work contains the hits “Rhiannon,” “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me,” and has sold more than five million copies. 1982 – “Abracadabra,” by the Steve Miller Band, appears at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. 1993 – UB40 ends a seven-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with the cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” 2004 – Terror Squad begins its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lean Back.” 2010 – “Love The Way You Lie,” by Enimen featuring Rihanna, is in the middle of six weeks as a No. 1 single. READ MORE
On this Day June 11 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1913 – Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi (d. 1970) 1933 – Actor-comedian and author Gene Wilder, born Jerome Silberman (“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein”) (d. 2016) 1945 – Actress-author Adrienne Barbeau (“The Fog,” “Creepshow,” “Escape From New York”) 1956 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana, who played for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs 1959 – Golden Globe-winning actor-comedian and musician Hugh Laurie, best known for his starring role in the TV series “House” 1969 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter Dinklage (“Death at a Funeral,” “The Station Agent,” “Elf,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Pixels,” “Game of Thrones”) 1978 – Actor Joshua Jackson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “The Mighty Ducks,” Fringe”) 1986 -Emmy-winning actor Shia LaBeouf (“Even Stevens,” “Holes,” “Transformers,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”) History Highlights 1944 – Lieutenant John F. Kennedy receives the prestigious Navy and Marine Corps Medal in recognition of his heroic, life-saving actions as a gunboat pilot during World War II. Kennedy, who goes on to become America’s 35th president, also receives a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in battle. He is the only president to have earned either of those high honors. 1955 – Carnage at Le Mans, as an Austin-Healey and Mercedes-Benz collide, showering flaming wreckage onto spectators. Eighty-two people are killed and at least 100 injured in one of auto racing’s worst accidents. 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to successfully escape from Alcatraz prison. No one ever saw or heard from them again, although there were multiple unconfirmed sightings over the years. 1967 – The Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ends with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire. That November, the U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution establishing a formula for Arab-Israeli peace whereby Israel would withdraw from territories occupied in the war in exchange for peace with its neighbors. 1963 – An outspoken opponent of school desegregation, Alabama Governor George Wallace physically blocks two African American students from entering the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. President John F. Kennedy responds by federalizing the Alabama National Guard and ordering troops to escort the students to their classes. Wallace then steps aside, but that evening, Kennedy delivers a national address about segregation regarded by many historians as one of the turning points in the civil rights movement. 1977 – MLK assassin James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee, but is recaptured three days later. 1979 – Cancer claims the life of screen legend John Wayne (“El Dorado,” “Rio Bravo,” “True Grit,” “The Comancheros”) at the age of 72. 1982 – Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” opens in U.S. theaters and becomes a box office bonanza. The movie launches the career of actress Drew Barrymore, and in 1994, is selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” 1986 – “Bueller… Bueller…” The now-classic John Hughes film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck and Mia Sara, opens in U.S. theaters. Musical Milestones 1957 – Elvis Presley releases “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear,” which becomes a No. 1 hit a month later. 1960 – The Hollywood Argyles claim the top spot on the pop chart with “Alley-Oop,” based on the comic strip of the same name. 1966 – The Rolling Stones rule the Billboard singles chart with “Paint it Black,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks. 1977 – “I’m Your Boogie Man” becomes the fourth chart-topping hit for KC and the Sunshine Band. 1983 – Irene Cara is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” from the “Flashdance” movie soundtrack. 1988 – London’s Wembley Stadium hosts Freedomfest, a concert celebrating the 70th birthday of imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Performers include Whitney Houston, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The concert is broadcast to about a billion people in 67 countries. 1994 – “I Swear,” by All-4-One is in the midst of an 11-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 2011 – Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, “The Dark Side Of The Moon,” re-enters the Billboard album chart at No. 47 and reaches a milestone of 1,000 weeks on the charts. This classic contains such fan favorites as “Time,” “Money” and “Breathe (In the Air).” To date, more than 50 million copies have sold worldwide. READ MORE
On this Day May 12 Click each item below to learn more! 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 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 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.” READ MORE