January 23, 2008

320 years ago
1688

Born on this date
Ulrika Eleonora. Queen of Sweden, 1718-1720. Ulrika Eleonora, the youngest child of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, was Queen Regnant of Sweden from 1718-1720 and Queen Consort to King Frederick I from 1720 until her death from smallpox on November 24, 1741 at the age of 53.

100 years ago
1908

Died on this date
Edward MacDowell, 47. U.S. composer and pianist. Mr. MacDowell is best known for his second piano concerto and the piano suites Woodland Sketches (1896), Sea Pieces (1898), and New England Idylls (1902). In 1896 he was considered America's finest composer, but his reputation began to wane around World War I, perhaps as a result of the instant American dislike for all things German (Mr. MacDowell had spent some time in Germany, and was heavily influenced by German romanticism). Mr. MacDowell was chairman of the music department at Columbia University for a number of years, but left after a dispute with university president Nicholas Murray Butler over the importance of fine arts as an educational requirement. Mr. MacDowell and his wife then settled in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where they established an artists' colony. Mr. MacDowell died of a progressive degenerative nervous disease; his wife continued to operate the colony, and the MacDowell Colony continues to this day. Its alumni include composer Aaron Copland and writer Thornton Wilder.

50 years ago
1958

Politics and government
Marco Perez Jimenez, President of Venezuela since December 2, 1952, was deposed by a military coup and fled to the Dominican Republic. Wolfgang Larrazabal was appointed interim President.

40 years ago
1968

War
Four North Korean patrol boats seized the U.S. Navy electronic surveillance ship Pueblo and her 83-man crew in the Sea of Japan, and took them to the port of Wonsan.

30 years ago
1978

Died on this date
Jack Oakie, 74. U.S. actor. Mr. Oakie was a comic actor best known for his portrayal of Italian dictator "Benzino Napaloni" in Charlie Chaplin's satire The Great Dictator (1940).

Football
NFL
Pro Bowl @ Tampa Stadium
NFC 14 AFC 13

Running back Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears was the game's Most Valuable Player. Bud Grant of the Minnesota Vikings was the head coach of the National Football Conference team, while John Madden was head coach of the American Football Conference squad.