On this day

April 23, 1977

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from April 23, 1977

Pressed by U.S., New York City Plans Rise in Minority Teachers

By Leonard Buder

NYC Educ Bd, responding to Fed charge of discriminatory personnel practices, proposes broad changes to bring more teachers from racial minorities into school system and to avoid their concentration in community school dists that are heavily composed of minority members; corrective legis sought by bd noted; bd admits that there were disparities in hiring and assignment of school employees, but denies it violated any law prohibiting discrimination; denial detailed (M)

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Novelist's Suit Charges ‘Roots’ Copied Parts of Her 1966 Book

By Robert D. McFadden

Dr Margaret Walker Alexander has filed copyright infringement suit against Alex Haley charging that unspecified portions of his book Roots have been largely copied from her novel Jubilee; Harold Courlander, author of novel The African says he had noted numerous similarities of theme, structure and language to his book; Haley says he has not read Walker book; his literary agent Paul R Reynolds, editor Elizabeth Drew and spokesman for publisher Doubleday & Co, scoff at suggestions of plagiarism (M)

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Carter Reports ‘Some Stabilizing’ Of Military Status in South Zaire

By Graham Hovey Special to The New York Times

Pres Carter repts 'some stabilizing' of mil situation in Zaire's Shaba Prov, news conf; says Govt has no direct participation in Katangan invasion but does have information that Cubans in Angola have trained Katangan exiles; says it was 'extremely unlikely' that he would approve sale of Amer M-60 tanks to Zaire; stresses 'nonlethal' character of $15-million in supplies Adm has approved for Zaire; indicates approval of Morocco's decision to send troops (M)

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9,400 New City Workers to Be Hired

By Lee Dembart

Mayor Beame's fiscal '78 budget envisions small increase in total number of NYC workers, 1st gain after 3 yrs of cuts, which will enable city to halt erosion of services that is legacy of fiscal crisis; about 9,400 workers will be hired with nearly $111-million of Fed money that is expected to become available under Comprehensive Employment and Training Act; city's hiring freeze, in effect since '74, will be lifted on July 1; chart shows changes in full-time city employment, Dec 31 '74 to June 30 '78 (estimated); Beame illus (M)

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of April 20, 1977, covering April 23, 1977.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Hotel California by Eagles

    Hotel California

    Eagles

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    18
  2. 2
    Album cover for Rumours by Fleetwood Mac

    Rumours

    Fleetwood Mac

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    9
  3. 3
    Album cover for A Star Is Born (Soundtrack) by Barbra Streisand & Kris Kristofferson

    A Star Is Born (Soundtrack)

    Barbra Streisand & Kris Kristofferson

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    20
  4. 4
    Album cover for Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder

    Songs In The Key Of Life

    Stevie Wonder

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    28
  5. 5
    Album cover for Leftoverture by Kansas

    Leftoverture

    Kansas

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    25

Notable Births

John Cena

1977John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor[†]

John Felix Anthony Cena is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2001, where he is the current Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is his record 17th WWE world championship win overall. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

Andruw Jones

1977Andruw Jones, Curaçaoan baseball player[†]

Andruw Rudolf Jones is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Jones was a strong defensive player for much of his career, winning the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year from 1998 through 2007. He had a strong throwing arm in addition to his elite fielding. He was an MLB All-Star five times, and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005.

David Kidwell

1977David Kidwell, New Zealand rugby league player and coach[†]

David Kidwell is a professional rugby coach who is the defence coach at Los Pumas, the national rugby union team of Argentina, and a former rugby league player. As a player, he represented New Zealand as a member of the 2005 Tri-Nations and 2008 World Cup winning New Zealand teams. He primarily played as a second-row, though he started his career as a centre.

Willie Mitchell (ice hockey)

1977Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player[†]

William Mitchell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is known primarily as a physical defensive defenceman. Mitchell played Junior A in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) before joining the college ranks with the Clarkson Knights of ECAC Hockey in 1997. He won an ECAC championship with Clarkson in 1999, while also earning playoff MVP and ECAC First Team All-Star honours.

John Oliver

1977John Oliver, English comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter[†]

John William Oliver is a British and American comedian who hosts Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work in the United States as the senior British correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 2006 to 2013. Oliver won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing for The Daily Show and became its guest host for an eight-week period in 2013. He also co-hosted the comedy podcast The Bugle with Andy Zaltzman, with whom Oliver had previously worked on the radio series Political Animal and The Department. From 2010 to 2013, he hosted the stand-up series John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. His acting roles include Ian Duncan on the NBC sitcom Community and voice work in the animated films The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), and The Lion King remake (2019).

Kal Penn

1977Kal Penn, Indian-American actor[†]

Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration.

Bram Schmitz

1977Bram Schmitz, Dutch cyclist[†]

Bram Schmitz is a retired Dutch professional road cyclist.

Lee Young-pyo

1977Lee Young-pyo, South Korean international footballer[†]

Lee Young-pyo is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called him "the best left back in Holland".

Historical Context for April 23, 1977

In 1977, the world population was approximately 4,217,863,796 people[†]