January 30, 2008

120 years ago
1888

Died on this date
Asa Gray, 77. U.S. botanist. Dr. Gray had a medical degree, but was more interested in botany, which he taught at Harvard University from 1842-1873. He was instrumental in unifying the taxonomic knowledge of the plants of North America, with his most notable work being his Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, from New England to Wisconsin and South to Ohio and Pennsylvania Inclusive. Dr. Gray was a friend of Charles Darwin and a promoter of theistic evolution. He died two months after suffering a stroke.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
Forrest Winant, 39. U.S. actor. Mr. Winant appeared in various Broadway productions from 1907-1920, including Kick In (1914), which starred John Barrymore. Winant was in four movies: The Brink (1915); New York (1916); The Iron Heart (1917); and His Woman (1919). He died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Alameda, California.

75 years ago
1933

On the radio
The Lone Ranger, created by George W. Trendle, and written by Fran Striker, made its debut on station WXYZ in Detroit. Go to http://www.write101.com/loneranger.htm for more information.

Politics and government
Adolf Hitler took office as Chancellor of Germany.

60 years ago
1948

Died on this date
Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, 78. Indian independence activist. Mr. Gandhi, whose nickname means "high-souled" in Sanskrit, was the leading Hindu nationalist in India and advocate for independence from British rule, with a resume too lengthy to list here. He lived long enough to see India gain her independence in 1947. At Birla House in Delhi, the "great soul" emerged from his quarters to conduct a prayer meeting in the gardens. He was weak from a fast and was supported by a grandniece on each side. As the crowd parted for him, a man in a green pullover and khaki jacket rushed up to Mr. Gandhi, bowed briefly, and shot him once in the abdomen and twice in the chest. Mr. Gandhi shouted "Hai Rama! Hai Rama!", collapsed and died. The assassin, 37-year-old newspaper editor Nathuram Godse, was the ringleader of an 8-man conspiracy to kill Mr. Gandhi. He was a dedicated member of Hindu Mahasabha, an anti-Muslim organization that hated Gandhi for his tolerance of non-Hindu religions. Mr. Godse was afraid that Mr. Gandhi's policies would lead to a Muslim takeover of India. Winston Churchill, in a speech to his constituency association on February 23, 1931, had Mr. Gandhi pegged:

It is alarming, and also nauseating, to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceregal palace, while he is still organizing and conducting a defiant campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor...this malignant, subversive fanatic and the Viceroy of India.

Orville Wright, 76. U.S. aviator. Mr. Wright and his older brother Wilbur made the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air craft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, beginning the age of aviation. The brothers co-founded the Wright Company in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio in 1909. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912 at the age of 45; Orville sold the company in 1915, and made his last flight as a pilot in 1918. He spent his remaining years as an adviser with various aviation organizations. Orville Wright died of a heart attack.

Herb Pennock, 53. U.S. baseball pitcher and executive. Mr. Pennock played with the Philadelphia Athletics (1912-1915); Boston Red Sox (1915-1917, 1919-1922, 1934); and New York Yankees (1923-1933), compiling a record of 241-162 with an earned run average of 3.60 in 617 games, and batted .191 with 4 home runs and 103 runs batted in in 620 games. He was a member of five World Series championship teams, and posted a 5-0 record with a 1.95 ERA in 10 World Series games. Mr. Pennock was the Red Sox' pitching coach from 1936-1939 and was an executive in the Red Sox' farm system until becoming general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in December 1943, holding that position until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage, 11 days before his 54th birthday. Mr. Pennock was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame a few weeks after his death.

Arthur Coningham, 53. Australian-born U.K. military officer. Air Marshal Sir Arthur was an ace with the British Royal Flying Corps in World War and was a senior officer with the Royal Air Force in World War II, as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Flying Training Command. He was known as the "architect of modern air power doctrine regarding tactical air operations," based on the principles of air superiority as the first priority; centralized command of air operations co-equal with ground leadership; and innovative tactics in support of ground operations. Air Marshal Sir Arthur retired in 1947, and was among those aboard the British South American Airways plane Star Tiger when it disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle, 11 days after his 53rd birthday.

War
U.S. State Secretary George Marshall threatened to revoke the passports of Americans fighting on either side of the conflict in Palestine.

Diplomacy
The United Kingdom rejected a resolution of the United Nations Security Council's Palestine Committee urging the establishment of a Jewish militia in Palestine before the end of the British mandate.

Crime
Former McGill University professor Raymond Boyer received a two-year prison sentence in Montreal for conspiring to reveal Canadian war secrets to the U.S.S.R.

Energy
The U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy approved the priority of weapons development over civilian research in the U.S. atomic energy program.

Disasters
The British South American Airways Avro Tudor IV Star Tiger, with 25 passengers and 6 crew members aboard, disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle. The disappearance remains unexplained.

Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games opened in St. Moritz, Switzerland, with 27 nations participating.

50 years ago
1958

Crime
The hunt for fugitives Charlie Starkweather and Caril Fugate ended in Wyoming, almost 500 miles from its beginning several days earlier in Lincoln, Nebraska. 12 miles outside of Douglas, Wyoming, Mr. Starkweather spotted a Buick pulled over at the side of the road, and decided that it would be an excellent opportunity to change cars (he had been driving a 1956 Packard stolen from Lincoln businessman C. Lauer Ward, one of Mr. Starkweather's murder victims). Shoe salesman Merle Collison was sleeping in the Buick, and Charlie shot him 9 times (he later claimed that Caril had finished Collison off). An oil company worker named Joe Sprinkle came upon the Buick, intending to offer help, and met Mr. Starkweather pointing a rifle at him. Mr. Sprinkle decided to go down fighting, and rushed forward, wrestling for the gun. As they scuffled, a deputy sheriff just happened to arrive, and Caril ran to the deputy, screaming, "It's Starkweather! He's going to kill me!" The deputy fired at Charlie's boots when Mr. Starkweather refused to raise his hands. In the confusion, Mr. Starkweather ran back to the Packard and took off. In a chase that reached speeds of up to 110 miles per hour, Charlie crashed a roadblock, but finally stopped when his windshield was shattered by a police bullet, and his face was cut by the flying glass. Charlie's explanation to the deputy was "I shot all those people in self-defense. People kept coming at me and I had to shoot. What else would you do?" Charlie Starkweather was extradited to Nebraska, and went to the electric chair on June 25, 1959. Caril Fugate went to prison, and was paroled in 1976. The crime spree has inspired several movies, including Badlands (1973); Natural Born Killers (1994); and Starkweather (2004).

40 years ago
1968

War
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, believed to number 50,000, struck at 30 provincial capitals in South Vietnam in violation of a mutually agreed-upon ceasefire for Tet, the lunar new year. The attacks, which became known as the Tet offensive, caught Allied forces off guard. Saigon and Hue became major battlefields, and Communist forces occupied buildings of the U.S. embassy in Saigon for 6 hours before being wiped out. North Vietnam claimed that the attacks were being launched "to punish the American aggressors" for unilaterally cancelling the ceasefire in South Vietnam's five northern provinces the day before.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Mull of Kintyre--Wings (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): UFO--Pink Lady (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Credo--Elsa Baeza (5th week at #1)

Scandal
Francis Fox resigned as Canada's Solicitor-General, days after admitting to an affair with a married woman which had resulted in her pregnancy, followed by Mr. Fox forging the signature of the woman's husband on a hospital document in order to obtain an abortion for the woman. The incident was a typical example of Quebec morality.

25 years ago
1983

Football
NFL
Super Bowl XVII @ Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Washington 27 Miami 17

The Redskins scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat the Dolphins 27-17, avenging their defeat of 10 years earlier in Super Bowl VII. Washington fullback John Riggins set Super Bowl records with 38 carries and 166 yards rushing. His 43-yard touchdown run gave the Redskins a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter, and Joe Theismann's 6-yard scoring pass to Charlie Brown put the game away shortly after. Mr. Riggins, the game's MVP, also caught 1 pass for 15 yards, and his 181 yards of total offense was 5 yards more than the combined rushing and passing yardage of the Dolphins as a team. Washington's other touchdown came on a 4-yard pass from Theismann to Alvin Garrett. Miami scored on a 76-yard pass from David Woodley to Jimmy Cefalo in the first quarter, and a 98-yard kickoff return by Rick Walker in the second quarter. Mr. Theismann completed 15 of 23 passes for 143 yards. Mr. Woodley was just 4 for 14 (0 for 8 in the second half) for 97 yards, and Miami backup quarterback Don Strock was 0 for 3 in passing. The Redskins' defense held the Dolphins to just 9 first downs.