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Biz Markie died on this day 3 years ago, aged 57. - Markie's real name was Marcel Hall. His stage name arose during the late 1970s when he took the name of a member of the L Brothers hip-hop group called Busy Bee, and started calling himself 'Bizzy Bee Markie' before abbreviating it. - Markie performed at nightclubs and college campuses, and in 1988 would briefly appear in the background of the music video for Rob Base's "It Takes Two". In 1989, Markie was catapulted into stardom with his song "Just a Friend": The song peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. - Markie was sued by Gilbert O'Sullivan in 1991 for his song "Alone Again", who claimed it used an unauthorized sample of "Alone Again (Naturally)". The lawsuit ended up causing artists to make sure the original artist is okay with using their work as sampling: Throughout the decade, Markie often collaborated with artists such as Will Smith and the Beastie Boys. - Markie would begin to have acting roles in the 2000s with appearances in Men in Black II and Wild n' Out, and had a recurring segment on Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba! called "Biz's Beat of the Day": He would also voice act, which included cartoons such as Cartoon Network's Mad (as a rapping Bilbo Baggins), Adventure Time (as Snorlock, a giant beatboxing slug Finn and Jake need to help), and SpongeBob SquarePants (as Kenny the Cat in the episode with the same name). - Markie suffered from diabetes in his later years, with death rumors arising two weeks before it actually occurred.

Will Ferrell is 57.

7/15/2024 111 Years & Years — King 106 Ella Henderson — Ghost 102 Pitbull ft. Kesha — Timber 94 Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars — Uptown Funk 67 Pharrell Williams — Happy +2 31 Ellie Goulding — Love Me Like You Do 29 Omi — Cheerleader +2 24 Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne — Not Letting Go 22 Calvin Harris — Summer 20 Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne — Rather Be 13 Little Mix — Black Magic -3 9 Mr Probz — Waves -3

7/15/2024 32 Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 31 Tears for Fears - Mad World 30 The Beat - Can’t Get Used to Losing You 28 Eurythmics - Who’s That Girl? 27 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence 27Yazoo - Don't Go 24 Ph.D -- I Won't Let You Down 24 Yazoo - Nobody’s Diary 22 The J. Geils Band - Centerfold 22 Soft Cell - What? 22 Pigbag - Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag 21 Malcolm McLaren - Double Dutch 20 Kool & The Gang - Get Down on It 20 Culture Club - Time (Clock of the Heart) 20 Wah! - The Story of the Blues 20 JoBoxers - Boxerbeat 20 Howard Jones - New Song 20 Shakin’ Stevens - Cry Just a Little Bit 17 The Belle Stars - Sign of the Times 17 Haircut 100 - Love Plus One 15 The Style Council - Long Hot Summer/Paris Match 15 Culture Club - Victims 15 Michael Jackson - Beat It 14 Odyssey - Inside Out 11 Toto - Africa +4 08 Rod Stewart - What Am I Gonna Do -4 06 Duran Duran - Union of the Snake -2

General Tom Thumb died on this day 141 years ago, aged 45. - General Thumb's real name was Charles Stratton, and his body effectively stopped growing when he was six months old. His final height was 3'4" (102 cm). - PT Barnum heard about Stratton, and as such made a deal with his father to take him on a tour with his show, and Stratton was given acting roles such as that of Cupid and Napoleon Bonaparte. - Stratton was known for his acting and comedic skills, which led to him becoming one of the most recognizable actors of the mid-19th century. Stratton is believed to have been responsible for changing public perception on freak shows from negative to positive due to his talent. Among the shows he performed on Barnum's tour included one with another dwarf actor- Commodore George Nutt, who was often portrayed as General Tom Thumb's rival. The two of them became good friends, and Nutt was the best man at Stratton's wedding- which was to another dwarf in Barnum's employment, Lavinia Warren: Stratton's fame inevitably led to wealth, and he was known for owning many expensive suits, a steam yacht, and a house designed to cater to his short stature on Connecticut's Cut in Two Island. Stratton would also donate money to PT Barnum when he was having financial woes, and the two soon became business partners. - Stratton (and his wife) were survivors of the 1883 Newhall House Hotel Fire- the deadliest fire in Milwaukee's history. - After Stratton's death, Barnum purchased a life-sized statue to put atop his even larger tombstone: 20,000 fans attended his funeral.

Forest Whitaker is 63.

7/14/2024 108 Years & Years — King 102 Ella Henderson — Ghost 100 Pitbull ft. Kesha — Timber 88 Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars — Uptown Funk 50 Pharrell Williams — Happy +2 39 Ellie Goulding — Love Me Like You Do 34 Omi — Cheerleader +2 32 Little Mix — Black Magic 29 Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne — Not Letting Go 26 Calvin Harris — Summer 20 Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne — Rather Be 12 KDA ft. Tinie Tempah & Katy B — Turn The Music Louder -3 12 Mr Probz — Waves -3

7/14/2024 26 The Beat - Can’t Get Used to Losing You 26 Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye  30 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence 30 Tears for Fears - Mad World 26 Eurythmics - Who’s That Girl? +2 25 Yazoo - Don't Go +2 25 Malcolm McLaren - Double Dutch 24 Pigbag - Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag 24 Ph.D -- I Won't Let You Down 24 Yazoo - Nobody’s Diary 22 The J. Geils Band - Centerfold 20 Kool & The Gang - Get Down on It 20 Haircut 100 - Love Plus One 20 Odyssey - Inside Out 20 Soft Cell - What?  20 Culture Club - Time (Clock of the Heart) 20 Wah! - The Story of the Blues 20 JoBoxers - Boxerbeat 20 Howard Jones - New Song 20 Shakin’ Stevens - Cry Just a Little Bit 19 Michael Jackson - Beat It 17 Toto - Africa +4 17 The Belle Stars - Sign of the Times 17 The Style Council - Long Hot Summer/Paris Match 17 Rod Stewart - What Am I Gonna Do 11 Culture Club - Victims 10 Duran Duran - Union of the Snake -2 8 Adam & The Ants - Ant Rap -4 Gonna take a lot to drag me away from this song.

1987: Ozzy Osbourne (1/31) 1989: Frank Bruno, Mike Ditka, Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, David Jenkins (5/32) 1990: Mike Ditka, Rex Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Terry Waite (4/42) 1991: Leo Beenhakker (1/40)  1992: Shaun Ryder (1/37) 1993: George Lineker (1/56) 1994: Edmund White, Holly Johnson, Peter Shilton (3/50) 1995: Holly Johnson (1/50) 1996: Mr T (1/50) 1997: (0/50) 1998: (0/50) 1999: Nick Leeson, Carly Simon (2/50) 2000: Louis Farrakhan (1/50) 2001: Liza Minnelli (1/50) 2002: (0/50)  2003: (0/50) 2004: (0/50) 2005: Hamed Karzai (1/50) 2006: (0/50)  2007: Tim Johnson, Louis Farrakhan (2/50) 2008: Russell Watson, Hamed Karzai, Charles Taylor (3/50) 2009: (0/50) 2010: (0/50) 2011: Ali Khamenei, Dick Cheney, Michael Douglas (3/50) 2012: Dick Van Dyke, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (2/50) 2013: (0/50) 2014: Dick Van Dyke (1/50)  2015: Jake Roberts (1/50) 2016: Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Tommy Chong, Sandy Gall, Paul Gascoigne (5/50) 2017: Jimmy Carter, Sandy Gall, Emperor Akihito (3/50) 2018: Linda Nolan, Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Dick Van Dyke, Stanley Baxter, Mel Brooks, Louis Farrakhan, Ronnie Wood, Joni Mitchell, Paul Gascoigne (10/50) 2019: Jimmy Carter, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Dick Van Dyke, Vanessa Redgrave, Cleo Laine, Prunella Scales (7/50)  2020: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Jimmy Carter, Prunella Scales, Willie Nelson, Dick Cheney, Imelda Marcos, Joanne Woodward, Jean-Marie Le Pen, David Attenborough (11/50) 2021: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Jimmy Carter, Ali Khamenei, Prunella Scales, Dick Cheney, Bob Newhart, Imelda Marcos, Yoko Ono, Linda Nolan, Joanne Woodward, Mel Brooks, Willie Nelson, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Raul Castro, Stanley Baxter, Vanessa Redgrave, Shannen Doherty (18/50) 2022: Dick Van Dyke, Alan Greenspan, Nigel Starmer-Smith, Jimmy Carter, Dick Cheney, Mel Brooks, David Attenborough, Emperor Akihito, Sandy Gall, Desmond Morris, Jean-Marie Le Pen, James Whale, Cleo Laine, Denis Law, Prunella Scales, Stanley Baxter, Noam Chomsky, Norman Tebbit, Douglas Hurd, Marianne Faithfull, Linda Ronstadt (21/50) 2023: Dick Van Dyke, Alan Greenspan, Nigel Starmer-Smith, Jimmy Carter, Dick Cheney, Mel Brooks, Robert Wagner, Norman Tebbit, Sandy Gall, Joanne Woodward, Ethel Kennedy, Desmond Morris, Stanley Baxter, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Cleo Laine, Alan Alda, Prunella Scales, Yoko Ono, Marianne Faithfull, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Imelda Marcos, Ali Khamenei, Pete Murray, Bob Newhart, Willie Nelson, Dennis Skinner, Sonny Rollins, Hal Linden, Linda Nolan, Andy Taylor (31/50) Updated for Shannen Doherty.

Ivana Trump died on this day 2 years ago, aged 73. - Ivana was a native of Czechoslovakia, her maiden name being 'Zelníčková', and was a professional skier. She married ski instructor Alfred Winklmayr in 1971, but divorced him in 1973. - She would then move to Canada and then the US, before meeting Donald Trump in 1976, and marrying him the following year. The couple would often work together on Donald's construction projects, such as Trump Tower and the Trump Taj Mahal casino. They also had three children- Don Jr, Ivanka, and Eric. - Ivana and Donald's relationship was often tabloid news during the 1980s, and by the end of the decade the marriage had become quite strained- Donald soon began seeing Marla Maples, and in 1990, the two divorced. - Following the divorce, Ivana would seek out business ventures of her own, developing lines of clothing, jewelry, and makeup. She would also write several books regarding divorce, and ran an advice column for the Globe tabloid newspaper from 1995 to 2010. - In 2010, Ivana competed on the 7th season of the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, placing 6th of the 12 contestants. - Ivana Trump died following a fall down her stairs, and was buried at her ex-husband's golf club in New Jersey:

Jane Lynch is 64.

Video: https://x.com/SawyerHackett/status/1812249339978265078?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1812249339978265078|twgr^1dd01bfce424c3783b883acd18595dca0c749736|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fitsnews.com%2F2024%2F07%2F13%2Fshots-fired-at-donald-trump%2F

7/13/2024 25 Michael Jackson- Beat It +1 24 Soft Cell- Say Hello, Wave Goodbye  24 Tears for Fears- Mad World 24 Yazoo- Nobody’s Diary  24 Siouxsie and the Banshees- Dear Prudence 22 Yazoo - Don't Go 22 The J. Geils Band- Centerfold 21 Toto- Africa +3 20 Adam & The Ants- Ant Rap 20 Kool & The Gang- Get Down on It 20 Haircut 100- Love Plus One 20 Pigbag- Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag 20 Ph.D- I Won’t Let You Down 20 Odyssey- Inside Out 20 Soft Cell- What? 20 Wham!- Young Guns (Go For It!) 20 Culture Club- Time (Clock of the Heart) 20 Wah!- The Story of the Blues 20 The Belle Stars- Sign of the Times 20 JoBoxers- Boxerbeat 20 The Beat- Can’t Get Used to Losing You 20 Malcolm McLaren- Double Dutch 20 The Style Council- Long Hot Summer/Paris Match 20 Rod Stewart- What Am I Gonna Do 20 Howard Jones- New Song 20 Duran Duran- Union of the Snake 20 Shakin’ Stevens- Cry Just a Little Bit 20 Culture Club- Victims 14 Eurythmics- Who’s That Girl? 12 Julio Iglesias- Quiéreme Mucho (Yours) 08 David Bowie & Bing Crosby- Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy -4 04 The Kids from “Fame”- Starmaker -2

7/13/2024 #2 108 Years & Years — King 100 Pitbull ft. Kesha — Timber 98 Ella Henderson — Ghost 88 Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars — Uptown Funk 43 Pharrell Williams — Happy +2 40 Little Mix — Black Magic 34 Omi — Cheerleader +2 34 Calvin Harris — Summer 33 Ellie Goulding — Love Me Like You Do 31 Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne — Not Letting Go 21 Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne — Rather Be 16 Adele — Hello 15 Mr Probz — Waves 15 KDA ft. Tinie Tempah & Katy B — Turn The Music Louder 6 Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones — I Got U -6

7/13/2024 #1 108 Years & Years — King 100 Pitbull ft. Kesha — Timber 98 Ella Henderson — Ghost 88 Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars — Uptown Funk 41 Pharrell Williams — Happy +2 40 Little Mix — Black Magic 34 Calvin Harris — Summer 33 Ellie Goulding — Love Me Like You Do 32 Omi — Cheerleader +2 31 Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne — Not Letting Go 21 Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne — Rather Be 17 Mr Probz — Waves -1 17 KDA ft. Tinie Tempah & Katy B — Turn The Music Louder 14 Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones — I Got U -3 12 Adele — Hello -2

7/13/2024 68 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Souvenir 67 The Vapors - Turning Japanese  57 Madness - Baggy Trousers 41 Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry -5 29 Earth, Wind & Fire - Let’s Groove +4 06 Spandau Ballet - Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On) -1

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor died on this day 1000 years ago, aged 51. - Henry was the son of duke Henry II of Bavaria, and succeeded his father as the duke following his death in 995. - In 1002, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III died childless, creating a succession crisis. Henry attempted to gain the crown by getting the nobles' support, but after failing to, had himself crowned by the archbishop of Mainz. Some of his rivals, such as Hermann II of Swabia, would continue to politically contest him afterwards, but Henry would consolidate power by the end of 1003. - Henry would lead an invasion of Italy to oust king Arduin of Ivrea, and also led multiple wars against Poland. - Henry died after ruling Germany for 22 years due to an unspecified UTI. He had taken an oath of celibacy, and was the last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty (Conrad II of the Salian dynasty was elected afterwards).

This announcer of Jeopardy! turns 96 today. Who is Johnny Gilbert?

Alexander Hamilton died on this day 220 years ago, aged 47. - Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis, eventually settling in New York in 1772. - Serving in a New York militia during the American Revolution, Hamilton would participate in the Battle of Princeton in early 1777, and soon became an aide to George Washington. Hamilton was among the leaders of the Battle of Yorktown, the final major battle of the war. - Hamilton served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and supervised The Federalist Papers- a publication in which he (alongside James Madison and John Jay) wrote to convince the state legislatures to ratify the Constitution. - Hamilton became the first Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, and would divide the national debt into categories (national, state, foreign and domestic), and would establish the National Bank and US Mint. As such, Hamilton remains depicted on the 10 dollar bill: - Hamilton would resign from office in 1795 in order to care for his wife Elizabeth following a miscarriage. In 1797, Hamilton would become embroiled in a sex scandal alleging that he had an affair in office (in 1791)- said affair was set up by a man seeking to extort Hamilton, who ended up being arrested in an unrelated incident for counterfeiting money. - In 1804, a letter written by Hamilton voicing his opposition to Aaron Burr being nominated as the Federalist nominee for governor of New York was published in a newspaper. Burr viewed this as disrespecting him and demanded Hamilton write an apology letter, but he refused, believing he was not being insulting to him, and soon a duel was arranged between them. Burr shot Hamilton, who died the following day from his wound: Coincidentally enough, Hamilton's son Philip was killed in a duel in 1801. This duel was also known for effectively ending Burr's political career.

Brock Lesnar is 47.

7/12/2024 60 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Souvenir 57 Madness - Baggy Trousers 57 The Vapors - Turning Japanese 43 Earth, Wind & Fire - Let’s Groove +4 36 Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry 17 ABBA - One Of Us 15 Godley & Creme - Under Your Thumb -2 11 Spandau Ballet - Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On)  6 Bad Manners - Special Brew -4

7/10/2024 98 Years & Years — King 94 Pitbull ft. Kesha — Timber 82 Ella Henderson — Ghost 72 Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars — Uptown Funk 51 Pharrell Williams — Happy +2 49 Little Mix — Black Magic 34 Omi — Cheerleader +2 33 Calvin Harris — Summer 32 Mr Probz — Waves 31 Ellie Goulding — Love Me Like You Do 28 KDA ft. Tinie Tempah & Katy B — Turn The Music Louder 27 Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne — Not Letting Go 25 Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones — I Got U 24 Adele — Hello 21 Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne — Rather Be 19 David Guetta ft. Sam Martin — Lovers On The Sun 16 Kiesza — Hideaway 14 Sigma — Nobody To Love 10 Aloe Blacc — The Man 0 Magic — Rude -6

7/10/2024 57 The Vapors - Turning Japanese 53 Madness - Baggy Trousers 50 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Souvenir 42 Jona Lewie - Stop the Cavalry 35 Earth, Wind & Fire - Let’s Groove +4 26 ABBA - One Of Us 21 Rainbow — I Surrender 20 Bad Manners - Special Brew  15 Godley & Creme - Under Your Thumb -1 11 Spandau Ballet - Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On)  0 Madness - My Girl -3 0 Bad Manners - Can Can -2 Two songs with one stone.

Leopold I, Margrave of Austria died on this day 1030 years ago, aged ~54. - Leopold's parentage is disputed. He has been named either the son of Berthold, Count of the Nordgau, or the son of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria (which would put his birth year no later than 937). - Leopold was a staunch follower of Holy Roman Emperors Otto I and Otto II, and the latter would appoint him the margrave of Austria in 976 following the deposition of margrave Burkhard due to Burkhard participating in a rebellion against Otto. - Leopold would seek to wrest control of Austrian territory from supporters of Burkhard, particularly the city of Melk. He would fully take control of the city by 984, taking residence there and founding a monastery to commemorate his feat. By 991, Leopold had expanded Austrian territory to the Wienderwald Mountains and Fischa River. - Leopold would travel to Wurzburg (in modern-day Germany) in 994 to help his probable cousin Henry of Schweinfurt settle a dispute. While there, Leopold and Henry would enter a tournament; Leopold ended up getting hit in the eye by an arrow and died of his wounds two days later. - Leopold was the first Austrian ruler from the House of Babenberg, and was succeeded as margrave by his son Henry I. The Babenbergs would rule Austria until 1246.

James "the Angry Video Game Nerd" Rolfe is 44.