Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens! As you know by now, if you've Googled anything today, it's the author's birthday—he was born 200 years ago, across the pond in England. But he has plenty of New York ties. Dickens first came here in 1842, spending a month in the city giving lectures, as well as raising support for copyright laws. On Valentine's Day that year "a Boz Ball was held in his honor at the Park Theater, with 3,000 guests. Among the neighborhoods he visited were Five Points, Wall Street, and The Bowery," he even peeked his into The Tombs! He took notes of his American travels, and wrote of New York at night: more ›

A Long Island City woman pleaded guilty to shooting and killing her sister the night of her sister's 27th birthday party. Melanie Webb, 25, admitted to fatally shooting her sister Tara Webb, as well as non-fatally shooting her sister's boyfriend Terrell Carmichael on March 26 in the Long Island City apartment they all shared. No motive was given for the shooting. more ›

For today's roundup of Kim Kardashian-related happenings, we have some good news, some bad news, and some very metrosexual news. Let's begin! more ›

The first ever episode of Saturday Night Live aired on this date, back in 1975—so it's time to say Happy Birthday to Lorne Michaels & Co. (may we suggest some Schweddy Balls?). Recently, we revisited the early days with these audition tapes, and below, you can check out scenes from Season 1. Here is host George Carlin's opening monologue from the first night, which he begins, "Thank you! Talk about a live show! It's nice to see you, welcome, and thanks for joining us—live. Um.. I'm kinda glad that we're on at night, so that we're not competing with all the football and baseball. So many, man.. And this is the time of year when there's both, you know?" more ›

Yoko Ono will briefly depart her digs at the Dakota for a move down to Wooster Street. She's leasing a 10,000-square foot brick building at 76 Wooster Street (between Spring and Broome) for a celebration of what would have been John Lennon's 71st birthday. And you're invited over. more ›

Over the weekend Sting turned 60 years olds, and on the eve of his birthday, he took the stage at Beacon Theatre for a birthday concert and benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation. Joining him were the likes of Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, and Robert Downey, Jr., amongst others. more ›

Gather 'round for a night of highbrow art appreciation this Friday at the New York Public Library, which is celebrating the 70th birthday of avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson, with a little help from some of his famous friends. Wilson collaborators like musician/author/elder statesman Lou Reed, operatically inclined singer Rufus Wainwright and dancer/choreographer Lucinda Childs will all be on hand to toast to Wilson's life and works. more ›

Today would have been Michael Jackson's 53rd birthday! The King of Pop died in 2009, and since then there has been an annual celebration in Brooklyn around the time of his birthday—but alas, his year's has been postponed (due to weather, of course) to a yet to be determined date. So while we wait, let's look back at some of our favorite MJ moments. Check out the videos below, and here's a look at MJ in NYC (also: never forget that time he went on a post-9/11 road trip with Marlon Brando and Liz Taylor). more ›

Today would have been punk legend (and very popular street sign namesake) Joey Ramone's 60th birthday, and there's a whole lot of Blitzkreig Bopping going on around town to celebrate (sorry, we had to). Whether you want to bust out your leather jacket and hit the town or just remember the shaggy-haired rocker from the privacy of your own home, here are some options: more ›

That's correct, the first modern crossword puzzle was published on this very day, back in 1913, in the New York World newspaper (and it was the very one you see pictured above!). According to Inside the Apple, the paper was owned by Joseph Pulitzer at the time, who "raised its circulation through sensational news coverage, stunt reporting, and a focus on distractions and pastimes." Enter: the crossword! Or as it was called back then, the "word-cross." It was created by Arthur Wynne, and ran in the Sunday Fun section of the paper—where it became an instant hit... among most. Oddly enough, the New York Public Library and the New York Times both criticized the game. more ›

This Saturday night, Snooki (of Jersey Shore fame) is celebrating her 23rd birthday right here in New York City—at the VIP room at Pacha, to be exact. The reality starlet will be distributing LifeStyles condoms to attendees, in case they meet anyone who's DTF while there. According to the NY Post, however, while Snooki was cool with the condom company sponsoring the party, she wouldn't accept any liquor sponsors because "she doesn't want her friends to drink cheap booze" (just like with the handbags, top shelf alcohol companies probably don't want to be associated with her). Anyway, this, coming from someone who drinks Ron Ron Juice. more ›

Yesterday would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday, and celebrations and tributes took place across the universe. Ex-wife Cynthia Lennon and son Julien unveiled the "Peace and Love" sculpture in his native Liverpool, England. Yoko Ono was joined by son Sean and Ringo Starr (as well as George Harrison’s widow Olivia and son Dhani Harrison, among others) for a performance with the Plastic Ono Band, and to light the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, Iceland. And in the city, hundreds gathered at the Strawberry Field memorial, across the street from the Dakota apartment building where Lennon and Ono lived for nearly a decade. You can see a video from yesterday below. more ›

Yesterday, Spike Lee held hosted another birthday party in Prospect Park for the late Michael Jackson, who would have turned 52 years old (here are some shots from last year's celebration). This year Snoop Dogg showed up and performed a few of MJ's hits! more ›

Rep. Charles Rangel may be getting worked over by colleagues and constituents over his many, many Ethics violations, but last night was time to par-tay: His birthday party/fundraiser attracted many top Democrats, including Governor Paterson, gubernatorial hopeful Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Mayor Bloomberg (okay, he's a former Democrat). And former Mayor David Dinkins, Rangel's longtime friend and fellow Gang of Four member, flipped the bird at a protester outside the Plaza Hotel! That's what friends are for—that's also one of the songs that Dionne Warwick sang during the event. more ›