On this day in 1975: WGPR-TV 62 signs on air, becoming the nation's first Black-owned and operated commercial television station. Amyre Porter, Doug Morison, and Sharon Crews become the nation's first Black prime time news team.

On this day in 1980: Stevie Wonder's "Hotter Than July" album is released.

On this day in 1997: The Detroit Association of Women's Clubs celebrates its new Michigan Historical marker. The previously one had been stolen; an unnamed donor sponsored the new marker.

On this day in 1967: Gladys Knight and The Pips' "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is released.

On this day in 1977: President Jimmy Carter nominates U.S. District Court Judge Damon J. Keith for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

On this day in 1971: City of Detroit Mayor Roman S. Gribbs appoints auto dealership pioneer Ed Davis to head the city's Department of Street Railways.

On this day in 1976: Stevie Wonder’s "Songs in the Key of Life" album is released on Motown Records' Tamla label.

On this day in 1991: Jazz great and one-time Detroit resident Miles Davis dies. michiganadvance.com/2021/09/28/o...

On this day in 1954: Jazz great Miles Davis performs at the Blue Bird Inn located at 5021 Tireman in Detroit.

On this day in 1958: The Spirit of Detroit statue is formally dedicated. michiganadvance.com/briefs/on-th...

On this day in 1962: Mary Wells' "You Beat Me to the Punch" is the nation's top R&B song.

On this day in 1980: Diana Ross’ "Upside Down" is the nation’s top song. Released on the Motown Records label and written by disco mavens Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of the recording act Chic, the track is also a chart topper in Italy, Norway and Switzerland.

On this day in 1973: A groundbreaking ceremony, which includes Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, is held for the Pontiac Silverdome.

On this day in 1961: Jazz pianist Horace Silver performs at the Minor Key on Dexter Avenue at Burlingame.

On this day in 1948: Ralph J. Bunche is confirmed as acting United Nations mediator in Palestine. Bunche was baptized at Second Baptist Church of Detroit.

On this day in 1984: U.S. House of Representatives passes House Bill 430, which is called the “Mandela Freedom Resolution." It is sponsored by George W. Crockett, Jr. (D-Detroit).

On this day in 1987: Pope John Paul II arrives in metro Detroit and is greeted by Gov. Jim Blanchard, City of Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, and others.

On this day in 1986: Detroit Athletic Club votes to admit woman as full members. City of Detroit Councilwoman Maryann Mahaffey helped to lead the effort to change the policy.

On this day in 1952: Michigan Gov. G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams graces the cover of Time magazine.

Today, September 15 reminds us of the four Birmingham, Ala. Black girls who were murdered due to race-based hate in 1963.

On this day in 1963: Willie Horton of the Detroit Tigers hits his first career home run, a pinch-hit 2-run shot to tie the game in the 8th inning. Tigers defeat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 at Tiger Stadium.

On this day in 1993: Dennis W. Archer and Sharon McPhail finish one and two in City of Detroit Government mayoral primary election.

Leading a Detroit History Tour centered on Underground Railroad for U-M students on Tuesday.

On this day in 1960: FCC bans "payola," the practice of paying DJs for playing songs, as a result of the scandal involving, among others, Dick Clark and Alan Freed. It comes after radio station WXYZ-AM 1270 fired disc jockey Mickey Shorr in late 1959. Officials there say he took payola.

On this day in 1806: Detroit is incorporated by Michigan Territorial Gov. William Hull. Solomon Sibley is appointed as the first mayor.

On this day in 1907: The Michigan Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church voted against ordaining Black bishops. The vote denied Black clergy leadership positions even within predominantly Black congregations.

On this day in 1957: City of Detroit Mayor Albert Cobo dies from a heart attack at age 63.

On this day in 1961: Detroit activists Coleman A. Young and Daisy Elliott are among Democrats who win state Constitutional Convention seats. The state's framework document will be overhauled for the first time since 1908.

On this day in 1973: State Sen. Coleman A. Young (D-Detroit) and former Detroit Police Department commissioner John Nichols are nominated by voters to vie for mayor.

On this day in 1971: The Jackson 5's animated series debuts on ABC television.

On this day in 1925: Man killed during mob attack on Black physician’s Detroit home. michiganadvance.com/briefs/on-th...

On this day in 1935: Eleanor Roosevelt helps dedicate Detroit housing project. michiganadvance.com/briefs/on-th...

On this day in 2019: Lizzo’s "Truth Hurts" is the nation’s top pop song. It is the first No.1 track for the hip-hop performer who was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson in Detroit in 1988. Her family moved to Houston, Texas when she was 10.

COMING SOON: Leading two Detroit history tours for Wayne County Community College District. A third for a U-M class. Honored!

On this day in 1974: Marvin Gaye performs at Olympia Stadium.

On this day in 1980: "Upside Down" by Diana Ross is the nation's top pop song. Nile Rodgers of Chic wanted Aretha Franklin to record the track; she declined.

On this day in 1980: "Upside Down" by Diana Ross is the nation's top pop song.

On this day in 1846: St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church begins mission work with African Americans led by the Rev. William C. Monroe, a Black man. Monroe has served previously as pastor of Second Baptist Church of Detroit, the state's first Black congregation. Second Baptist was founded in 1836.

On this day in 1966: The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" is the nation's top song.

On this day in 1932: Gov. Wilbur Brucker declares it "Eddie Tolan Day" throughout the state. Tolan, a Cass Technical High School and University of Michigan graduate, recently earned two gold medals at the 1932 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California between July 30 and August 14.

On this day in 1964: The Beatles perform two sold-out shows at Olympia Stadium. The "Fab Four" reside at the Whittier Hotel during their stay in the Motor City.

On this day in 1980: The City of Detroit lays off 690 police officers amid a general budget crisis. Seventy-five percent of them are African American men and women who have been hired in recent years. On Oct. 13, 1979, city government laid off 400 police officers, of whom 71 percent were Black.

On this day in 1964: Kevin Maurice Saunderson is born in Brooklyn, New York. At age nine, he will move west to Belleville, Michigan and attend Belleville High School, where he will hook up with Derrick May and Juan Atkins. They will become techno music pioneers.

On this day in 1960: U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.) appears in downtown Detroit at the Labor Day parade and addresses thousands during a rally held at Cadillac Square. Kennedy is the Democratic Party nominee for U.S. president.

On this day in 1975: President Gerald Ford survives an assassination attempt by former Charles Manson follower Lynette (Squeaky) Fromme.

On this day in 2011: President Barack Obama visits Detroit on Labor Day.

On this day in 1973: Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" is the nation's top single.

On this day in 1960: JFK lands in metro Detroit ahead of Labor Day parade. michiganadvance.com/2022/09/04/o....

On this day in 1990: Dizzy Gillespie helps to close out Montreux-Detroit International Jazz Festival on Labor Day in Hart Plaza. The trumpeter, who helped to create bebop jazz genre in the 1940s, along with saxophonist Charlie Parker, plays a jaw-dropping set, which includes "A Night in Tunisia."

On this day in 1907: Walter Reuther was born in Wheeling, W.V. michiganadvance.com/briefs/on-th... @uaw.org