The British rock and pop singer and songwriter is 78 today. He
is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold
over 250 million records worldwide.

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
(3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973
    
    
    

English writer and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien was the author of
the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The great success of these two books led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused him to be popularly
identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature—or, more 
precisely, of high fantasy.   
    

ED DANAHUE

Apollo 8 crew (from left) Frank Borman, William Anders, and James Lovell.

On December 13, 1925, Dick Van Dyke, the actor who would
become known for his performances in such movie classics
as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as the
popular 1960s TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, was born
in West Plains, Missouri.

Van Dyke, who was raised in Danville, Illinois, served in the 
Army Air Force during World War II and in the 1950s took
various acting jobs and hosted a series of TV game shows.

1964

Initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966.