1951 : Frank Sinatra marries his second wife, actress Ava Gardner. The marriage, her third, lasts six years and is credited for moving Sinatra into his “mature” phase as a singer, with Nelson Riddle stating: “It was Ava who did that, who taught him how to sing a torch song. That’s how he learned. She was the greatest love of his life and he lost her.”

1974 : Hard rocker Ted Nugent (The Amboy Dukes) becomes national squirrel shooting champion.

2003 : With tourism suffering because of the SARS outbreak, the Hong Kong government hires The Rolling Stones to perform a concert there to assure people it is safe. The rockers play to 13,000 people at the city’s Harbourfest.

2011 : Adele, just 23, has laser surgery on her vocal chords at a hospital in Boston. The singer had to cancel many tour dates in 2011 because of her throat problems.