Happy Birthday Billy December Williams–77 Merle Haggard–77 John Ratzenberger–67 Patrika Darbo–66 Mary Lucy Henner–62 Paul Rudd–45 Anders Jensen–42 Zachary Braff–39 Candace Cameron–38 ; 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole. ; 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City.

Happy Birthday RIP Eldred Gregory Peck(1916–2003) Ruth “Bette” Davis(1908–1989) Spencer Tracy(1900–1967) ; Colin Powell–77 Maxwell Gail–71 Åse Agneta Fältskog–64 Thea Gill–44 Pharrell Williams–41 ; 1792 – U.S. President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.

Happy Birthday RIP Heath Ledger(1979–2008) Anthony Perkins(1932–1992) ; Estelle Nussbaum(“Harris”)–86 Craig T. Nelson–70 Hugo Weaving–54 Graham Walker(“Norton”)–51 David Cross–50 Robert Downey Jr–49 Nancy McKeon–48 James Rodriguez(“Roday”)–38 ; 1850 – The city of Los Angeles was incorporated ; 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Happy Birthday RIP Marlon Brando(1924–2004) ; Doris Kappelhoff(“Doris Day”)–91 Dame Valerie Jane Morris Goodall–80 Marsha Mason–72 Carson “Wayne” Newton–72 Michael Orlando Cassavitis(“Tony Orlando”)–70 Alexander “Alec” Baldwin III–56 David Hyde Pierce–55 Edward “Eddie” Murphy–53 Jamie Bamber Griffith–41 ; 1860 – The Pony Express began service between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif. ; 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

Happy Birthday RIP Alec Guinness de Cuffe(1914–2000) Marvin Gaye(1939–1984) Christian “Buddy” Ebsen(1908–2003) Ronald Paolillo(1949–2012) Rodney King III(1965–2012) ; Emmylou Harris–67 Christopher Meloni–53 Michael Fassbender–37 Aiden Turner–37 ; 1902 – “Electric Theatre”, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California ; 1956 – As The World Turns debuts on CBS-TV

Happy Birthday RIP Leonidas “Lon” Chaney(1883–1930) Gordon Jump(1932–2003) ; “Jane Powell”(Suzanne Bruce)–85 Mary “Debbie” Reynolds–82 Elizabeth “Ali” MacGraw–75 Barry Sonnenfeld–61 Susan Boyle–53 Rachel Maddow–41 Sam Huntington–32 Matt Lanter–31 Hillary Scott–28 ; 1891 – The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois ; 1970 – President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General’s warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertisements on television and radio in the United States, starting on January 1, 1971

Happy Birthday RIP Cesar Chavez(1927–1993) Anne “Liz” Claiborne(1929–2007) ; George Richard Chamberlain–80 Shirley Jones–80 Herbert Alpert–79 Ronald “Christopher” Walken–71 Gabriel Kaplan–69 Albert Gore Jr.–66 Rhea Perlman–66 William McNamara–49 Ewan McGregor–43 Evan Williams–42 ; 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.

Happy Birthday RIP Vincent van Gogh(1853–1890) ; “Peter Marshall”(Ralph LaCock)–88 John Astin–84 Henry Warren Beaty–77 Eric Clapton–69 Paul Reiser–57 Ian Ziering–50 Tracy Chapman–50 Céline Dion–46 Mark Consuelos–43 Geetali Norah Jones Shankar–35 Jason Dohring–32 ; 1964 – The TV game show “Jeopardy!” premiered on NBC

Happy Birthday RIP Pearl Bailey(1918–1990) ; Judith Guest–78 Evangelos “Vangelis” Papathanassiou–71 Eric Idle–71 Marina Sirtis–59 “Perry Farrell”(Peretz Bernstein)–55 Amy Sedaris–53 “Elle Macpherson”(Eleanor Gow)–50 Michel Hazanavicius–47 “Lucy Lawless”(Lucille Ryan)–46 ; 1882 – The Knights of Columbus are established. ; 1971 – A Los Angeles, California jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers

Happy Birthday Dianne Wiest–66 Reba McEntire–59 Bart Conner–56 Vince Vaughn–45 Julia Stiles–33 Stefani Germanotta(“Lady Gaga”)–28 ; 1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial melt down.