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Today is Ginger Rogers' 115th birthday. Born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri, on July 16, 1911, she began her entertainment career as a teenager, performing in a travelling vaudeville act. In 1930, she became an overnight star with a lead role in the Broadway musical Girl Crazy by George and Ira Gershwin. Her success on the stage soon led to a contract with Paramount Pictures, and she made her feature film debut in Monta Bell's Young Man of Manhattan (1930). Dissatisfied with the parts she was given, she moved to RKO and was put to work with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio (1933), which started a highly successful partnership between the two stars. In their ten films together, they redefined the movie musical with their graceful performances and memorable dance routines. Beyond musicals, Rogers proved her versatility as a dramatic actress, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Kitty Foyle (1940).

Today is Frank Sinatra's 110th birthday. Regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century, he forged a highly successful career both in music and in film. He recorded 59 studio albums and 297 singles, and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He appeared in over 60 films, as well as several television shows, including his own variety series. He won an Academy Award, four Golden Globes, eleven Grammys, and many other honours throughout his career. He was a workaholic and a womanizer. He was temperamental, brash, and struggled with mental health. He had an immaculate sense of style and was obsessed with cleanliness. He was friends with mobsters, owned a casino, and was put under surveillance by the FBI. He was generous, outspoken against racism, and fought for desegregation and equal rights. He was a complex man, a musical genius, and the greatest singer who ever lived. To celebrate the «Chairman of the Board,» let us take a look at his life in pictures.  ...

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy led a surprise military strike against the American naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Commencing at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time, the attack was carried out by 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launching from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships stationed at the base were damaged, with four sunk. All but the USS Arizona , which exploded beyond repair after being hit by four armour-piercing bombs, were later raised, and six were returned to service for the remainder of the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. In addition, 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed, 2,430 Americans were killed, and 1,178 others were wounded. The following day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war against Japan, which fully plunged the United States into World War II. After the attack on Pea...