Frankie Valli (Francesco Stephen Castelluccio) was born in Newark, New Jersey.
Frankie Valli has been the front man with the Four Seasons since 1960. The groups hits included "Big Girls Don’t Cry" and "Sherry." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Four Seasons. Frankie had 29 Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons and 9 more as a solo artist. Before fame, Frankie Valli once worked as a barber until his singing career was able to support him.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21 1527)
Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer of the Renaissance period. He has often been called the father of modern political science.
On this day in 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities were legally unenforceable.
In his debut at Yankee Stadium against the St. Louis Browns on this day in 1936, the “$75,000 rookie”, Joe DiMaggio recorded a triple and two singles in six plate appearances, showcasing that consistently sweet swing that fans would come to know and love.
He was the only Yankees player to get a hit off of Browns’ relief pitcher Russ Van Atta that day, as New York defeated St. Louis, 14-5.
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006)
Singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader, James Brown is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul". In a career that lasted 50years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia.
Six people were killed and more than a thousand injured when a van exploded in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center in New York City on this day in 1993. The bomb had been built by Islamic extremists.
The Tower Commission rebuked President Reagan on this day in 1987 for failing to control his national security staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.
Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the Island of Elba on this day in 1815. He then began his second conquest of France.
Singers who were born on this day:
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017)
John R. Cash (J. R. Cash) (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003)
On this day in 1776, Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ.
Map of Delaware River area depicting route George Washington and his Army made during the crossing. (click to enlarge)
On this day in 1991, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
On this day in 1989, ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed following a popular uprising.
"Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria (above) on this day in 1818.
Josephus Franciscus Mohr (December 11, 1792 – December 4, 1848)
The German words for the original six stanzas of the carol we know as "Silent Night" were written by Joseph Mohr in 1816, when he was a young priest assigned to a pilgrimage church in Mariapfarr, Austria.