At the peak of his career, Marvin Gaye was the Prince of Motown—the soulful voice behind hits as wide-ranging as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).” Like his label-mate Stevie Wonder, Gaye both epitomized and outgrew the crowd-pleasing sound that made Motown famous. Over the course […]
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Hulk Hogan Beats Iron Sheik To Win First WWF Title
On this day in 1984, Hulk Hogan becomes the first wrestler to escape the “camel clutch”–the signature move of reigning World Wrestling Federation (WWF) champion Iron Sheik–as he defeats Sheik to win his first WWF title, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Only one month earlier, the Iron Sheik–born Hossein Khosrow Vaziri in […]
Continue readingU.S. Supreme Court Decides Universal v. Sony, As VCR Usage Takes Off
Eight years after it began, the court battle over the legality of the video cassette recorder (VCR) and its allegedly detrimental effect on the motion-picture industry comes to an end with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, issued on this day in 1984, in Universal vs. Sony. The case marked the Hollywood establishment’s first response to […]
Continue readingPyramid Mystery Unearthed
On this day, an international panel overseeing the restoration of the Great Pyramids in Egypt overcomes years of frustration when it abandons modern construction techniques in favor of the method employed by the ancient Egyptians. Located at Giza outside Cairo, some of the oldest manmade structures on earth were showing severe signs of decay by […]
Continue readingThe Hillside Stranglers
Angelo Buono, one of the Hillside Stranglers, is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the rape, torture, and murder of 10 young women in Los Angeles. Buono’s cousin and partner in crime, Kenneth Bianchi, testified against Buono to escape the death penalty. Buono, a successful auto upholsterer, and Bianchi began their serial […]
Continue readingSamantha Smith Leaves For Visit To The USSR
Samantha Smith, an 11-year-old American girl, begins a two-week visit to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Soviet leader Yuri Andropov. Some American observers believed that Smith was merely being used by the Soviets for their own propaganda purposes, while others saw her visit as a positive step toward improving U.S.-Russian relations. In April […]
Continue readingFirst American Wwoman In Space
From Cape Canaveral, Florida, the space shuttle Challenger is launched into space on its second mission. Aboard the shuttle was Dr. Sally Ride, who as a mission specialist became the first American woman to travel into space. During the six-day mission, Ride, an astrophysicist from Stanford University, operated the shuttle’s robot arm, which she had […]
Continue readingPioneer 10 Departs Solar System
After more than a decade in space, Pioneer 10, the world’s first outer-planetary probe, leaves the solar system. The next day, it radioed back its first scientific data on interstellar space. On March 2, 1972, the NASA spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet. In […]
Continue readingIrene Cara has A #1 Pop Hit With The Flashdance Theme
Irene Cara’s song “Flashdance (What a Feeling)”, from the Flashdance movie soundtrack, goes to the top of the U.S. pop charts on this day in 1983. “Flashdance (What a Feeling)” was not the first hit song from a movie soundtrack for Irene Cara, whose star was launched by the 1980 film Fame. Cara not only […]
Continue readingIslanders Win Fourth Consecutive Stanley Cup
On May 17, 1983, the New York Islanders win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup, sweeping the Edmonton Oilers four games to none with a 4-2 win at home on New York’s Long Island. After struggling in their inaugural season as an expansion team in 1972-73, losing 60 games and winning only 12, the Islanders hired […]
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