BIRTHDAYS . . .

—1865  Opera Singer Dame Nellie Melba (d.)
—1925  Civil Rights Activist Malcolm X (d. 2-21-1965)
⎯1930  American playwright Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun) (d. 1-12-1965)
—1934  Journalist James Lehrer (MacNeil/Lehrer Report)
—1937  Actor/TV Host David Hartman
—1939  Astronaut Francis R. Scobee (d. 1-28-1986)
—1939  Actor James Fox (Patriot Games)
—1941  Author Nora Ephron (Heartburn)
—1945  Musician Pete Townshend (The Who) (“Can’t Explain”)
—1947  Actress Glenn Close (Hamlet)
—1947  Trombonist Jerry Hyman (Blood, Sweat, & Tears)
—1947  Saxophonist Greg Herbert (Blood, Sweat, & Tears) (“Spinning Wheel”)
—1949  Musician Dusty Hill (ZZ Top)
—1951  Musician Joey Ramone (The Ramones) (“I Wanna Be Sedated”) (d. 4-15-01)
—1952  Actress/Singer Grace Jones (A View to A Kill)
—1952  Baseball's Dan Ford
—1954  Baseball's Rick Cerone
—1956  Musician Martyn Ware (Heaven 17)
—1957  Basketball's Bill Laimbeer, Jr.


THIS DAY IN HISTORY . . .

—1536  Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, lost her head...thereby making her one of the shortest reigning queens in British history. Henry married Jane Seymour the following day. (Anne was the mother of Elizabeth I.)
—1780  Darkness descended upon much of New England in mid-day.  Although there are many recorded accounts of the event, no one has ever been able to offer a scientific explanation of why it happened.
—1889  Jacob German of New York became the first person ever arrested for speeding in a motor car - for doing 12 mph.
—1895  An ad in a Chicago newspaper offered "Modern dancing lessons, 3-1/2 hours, 25 cents."
—1906  Boys’ Club of America was founded.
—1958  Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" becomes the first 8-track recording released on vinyl.
—1960  A federal grand jury charged Alan Freed with commercial bribery, aka "payola." Freed refused to testify. He paid a $300 fine.
—1964  The State Department announced that the American Embassy in Moscow had been electronically bugged. They eventually found 40 microphones.
—1967  Russia, the US, and Britain signed a treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
—1976  Keith Richards crashes his car into a center divider, and is arrested for drug possession when police find cocaine and LSD in the car.
—1984  Bob Marley's "Legend" compilation album enters the British album chart at #1. The Human League's "Hysteria" enters at #3. Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" marks its 520th consecutive week — 10 years — on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
—1986  Peter Gabriel releases the "So" album.
—1987  After having Rita Marley ousted as executor of Bob's will, the surviving Wailers call for an investigation of his estate.
—1987  The Cure release the double-length album "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me".
—1988  Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" is named ASCAP's Most Performed Song Of The Year.
—1992  27th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified.
—1996  Angela Lansbury does her final show of “Murder, She Wrote” after a 12-year run.
⎯2000  Musical group Peter, Paul and Mary celebrate their 40th year together, kicking off US tour in Las Vegas