December 10, 2008

500 years ago
1508

Defense
The League of Cambrai was formed by Pope Julius II, King Louis XII of France, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and King Ferdinand II of Aragon as an alliance against Venice.

240 years ago
1768

Literature
The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was published in Edinburgh.

170 years ago
1838

War
Lower Canadian militia chased 400 Chasseur raiders out of the village of Beauharnois to end the second Lower Canada rebellion.

150 years ago
1858

Economics and finance
The Province of Canada issued Letters Patent, making legal tender the silver 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢ pieces, and copper cent.

140 years ago
1868

Technology
The first traffic lights were installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they used semaphore arms and were illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.

Journalism
The Times newspaper was first published in Moncton, New Brunswick.

130 years ago
1878

Born on this date
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari. Indian politician. Mr. Rajagopalachari was a lawyer and historian who supported civil disobedience against British rule in India. He held various offices, including Governor of Bengal from 1947-1949. Mr. Rajagopalachari was the only Indian-born, and the last, Governor-General of India, holding the office from June 26, 1948 until India became a republic on January 26, 1950. He died on December 25, 1972 at the age of 94.

120 years ago
1898

War
The Spanish-American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Spain recognized the independence of Cuba, and ceded Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the United States.

100 years ago
1908

Born on this date
Olivier Messiaen. French composer, organist, and ornithologist. Mr. Messiaen regarded birds as the best singers, and incorporated birdsong into his music. He died on April 27, 1992 at the age of 83.

90 years ago
1918

Economics and finance
The government of Canada authorized the issue of $50 million of $5 War Savings Stamps.

80 years ago
1928

Diplomacy
U.S. President-elect Herbert Hoover continued his goodwill tour of Latin America, landing at Valparaiso, Chile and going by train to Santiago, where 100,000 people hailed him, and the Chilean Army marched before him.

Communications
A Western Airways Fokker left Calgary's civic airport for Regina this morning, with 10 bags of letters and Christmas packages in Canada's first use of airplanes for daily mail delivery, and a test of proposed national airmail service.

Disasters
The White Star Line steamship RMS Celtic, bound from New York and Boston for Liverpool with more than 200 passengers, crashed in a gale on Cow-and-Calfrocks, at the entrance to Cork Harbour, near Cobh (now Queenstown), Ireland. Her passengers, among whom were 30 survivors of the wreck of the Vestric off the Virginia Capes, were taken off with the crew.

70 years ago
1938

Football
CRU
Grey Cup @ Varsity Stadium, Toronto
Toronto Argonauts 30 Winnipeg 7

Red Storey scored 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter and almost scored a fourth as the Argonauts rallied from a 7-6 deficit to rout the Blue Bombers before a then-Grey Cup-record crowd of 18,778. 2 field goals by Greg Kabat and a single by Art Stevenson had enabled Winnipeg to take a 7-5 halftime lead, with the Toronto scoring coming on an unconverted touchdown on a pass from Annis Stukus to Art West. A single by Annis Stukus made the score 7-6 after 3 quarters before Mr. Storey, who had shared the IRFU lead during the regular season with 5 touchdowns in 6 games, entered the game as a substitute for Doug McPherson. He took a lateral from quarterback Bill Stukus and ran 28 yards for his first touchdown, then quickly followed with a 40-yard interception return for his second TD. The Blue Bombers then marched into Toronto territory, but Bob Isbister intercepted on is own 4- or 5-yard line and lateralled to Mr. Storey, who returned the ball 100 or 102 yards--accounts differ--before being stopped on the Winnipeg 4- or 5-yard line. A tired Mr. Storey left the game briefly, and Bernie Thornton rushed for the next Toronto touchdown. Mr. Storey then returned to the game and rushed 12 yards for his third touchdown, setting a Grey Cup record set for touchdowns and tying a record set by Lionel Conacher of the Argonauts in 1921 with 15 points. Annis Stukus and Bill Stukus each kicked 2 converts.

60 years ago
1948

Abominations
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Human Rights, none of which were to be exercised contrary to the purposes of the United Nations. South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Soviet bloc nations abstained from voting on the declaration.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Harry Truman held a brief conference with Madame Chiang Kai-shek in Washington, but refused to commit himself on her request for military and economic aid for Chinese Nationalists.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged that Spain be admitted to the United Nations, praising the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco for refusing to help the Germans take Gibraltar during World War II.

Defense
The U.S.A., Canada, and the five Western European Union states began discussions in Washington on a North Atlantic security pact.

Politics and government
Hungarian Prime Minister Lajos Dinnyes resigned, following the defection of Finance Minister Miklos Nyaraddy to Switzerland. Mr. Dinnyes was replaced by Agriculture Minister and Peasant Party leader Istvan Dobi.

Chinese President Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek extended martial law to all Nationalist-controlled areas of southern and eastern China.

The West German Parliamentary Council in Bonn, working on a West German constitution, urged Germans to assume full responsibility for domestic affairs in the future state. The recommendation conflicted with earlier directives of Western Allied authorities, warning against giving too much authority to German officials.

Society
The U.S. National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital issued a report charging that discrimination against Negroes had become more prevalent in Washington during the past 50 years and was "planned as a matter of good business" by government and commercial leaders.

Economics and finance
The South Korean government signed an agreement with the United States providing for $300 million in economic aid during the next three years.

50 years ago
1958

Died on this date
Krishna Venta, 47. U.S. cult leader. Mr. Venta, born Francis Penkovic, decided to start his own religion in the late 1940s. Proclaiming himself to be Christ, he founded the WKFL (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love) Fountain of the World movement in Simi Valley, California in 1948, and legally changed his name to Krishna Venta in 1951. The cult required new members to donate all worldly assets to the organization; members were required to wear robes and go barefoot, with men being required to grow beards and wear their hair long. The cult performed various relief works, including fighting fires, and helping the needy. Mr. Venta and seven of his followers were killed, and two girls, aged 8 and 9, and a 59-year-old woman were seriously burned, in a suicide bombing in Chatsworth, California performed by Peter Duma Kamenoff and Ralph Muller, two disgruntled former members of the cult, who had accused Mr. Venta of mishandling cult funds and being intimate with their wives. Messrs. Kamenoff and Muller were also killed in the blast, and the cult gradually disappeared by the mid-1970s.

Diplomacy
Arguing that even American leaders considered the Eisenhower Doctrine "a unilateral declaration which is now passe," Lebanese Prime Minister Rashid Karami said that Lebanon no longer considered itself bound by the Doctrine's terms.

Politics and government
Luxembourg Prime Minister Pierre Frieden resigned after four socialists quit his coalition cabinet to protest a parliamentary censure vote against a socialist minister.

Protest
Rioting by supporters of defeated Venezuelan presidential candidate Wolfgang Larrazabal broke out in Caracas despite his pleas that the results of the election be respected. Democratic Action candidate Romulo Betancourt had won the presidential election on December 7.

Transportation
National Airlines began the first domestic passenger jet service in the United States, between New York and Miami.

Economics and finance
Malayan Commerce and Industry Minister Tan Siew Sin charged that the dumping of textiles by Communist China and tin by the U.S.S.R. constituted economic warfare against Malaya.

Boxing
Canadian and British Empire light heavyweight champion Yvon Durelle (79-20-2), from Baie Ste-Anne, New Brunswick, knocked world light heavyweight champion Archie Moore (175-21-9-1) down twice in the 1st round and again in the 5th, but Mr. Moore responded with 4 knockdowns of Mr. Durelle, finally knocking him out 49 seconds into the 11th round at the Montreal Forum to retain his title.



40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): My Little Lady--The Tremeloes

Died on this date
Karl Barth, 82. Swiss theologian. Professor Barth was a Reformed Protestant pastor who served as a pastor in Switzerland and then in Germany. He opposed the Nazis, and was largely responsible for the Barmen declaration (1934), which proclaimed that the church's allegiance to Jesus Christ took precedence over loyalty to any human ruler. Prof. Barth was forced to resign his position at the University of Bonn in 1935 and return to Switzerland after refusing to take an oath of loyalty to German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler. Although Prof. Barth opposed Nazism, he promoted socialism. He rejected mush of the religious liberalism that he was exposed to in his early years and claimed that God reveals himself to us through Jesus Christ, but denied biblical inerrancy. Prof. Barth rejected the assertion that he was the father of "neo-orthodoxy"--one of whose doctrines is that the Bible isn't the word of God objectively, but becomes the word of God as it interacts with the reader--but he has been hugely influential upon numerous prominent religious liberals. Prof. Barth's best-known books were The Epistle to the Romans (1919/1922) and his multi-volume Church Dogmatics (1932-1967).

Thomas Merton, 53. French-born U.S. Roman Catholic monk. Mr. Merton joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1938 and became a Trappist monk in 1941. He was a mystic who became increasingly interested in Eastern religions and promoting interfaith understanding. Mr. Merton's books included The Seven Storey Mountain (1948) and Seeds of Contemplation (1949). He was attending an interfaith conference in suburban Bangkok when he died suddenly, reportedly by accidental electrocution from a fan while stepping out of the bathtub. Ostensibly a Roman Catholic, Mr. Merton was moving toward New Age belief at the time of his death. Forty years later, he remains popular in some circles, especially with practitioners of contemplative spirituality and the pseudo-Christian movement known as the "Emerging Church." An example of this can be found here.

Terrorism
Charles Beasley was jailed for 6 years for hijacking a Toronto-bound flight from Moncton, New Brunswick to Cuba.

Diplomacy
Former Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton concluded his six-day, six-nation fact-finding tour of the Middle East on behalf of U.S. President-elect Richard Nixon.

Defense
The Supreme Soviet was told in Moscow that the U.S.S.R. defense budget for 1969 would rise 6% above that of 1968, to 17.7 billion rubles ($19.5 billion). The budget covered only direct support costs of of the military, and none of of the defense industry and military research and development hidden in other budgetary items. Sources outside the Soviet Union indicated that the actual 1969 military outlay would reach $53 billion.

Boxing
Joe Frazier (22-0), recognized as world heavyweight champion by the state athletic commissions of New York, five other states, Mexico, and South America, retained his title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Oscar Bonavena (38-5) at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.



Former world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston (46-3) knocked out his former sparring partner, Amos "Big Train" Lincoln (42-13-1), at 2:46 of the 2nd round at Baltimore Civic Centre.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Dreadlock Holiday--10cc (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: You're the Greatest Love--Luv' (3rd week at #1)

At the movies
Superman, directed by Richard Donner, and starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, and others, received its premiere screening at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.



Died on this date
Edward D. Wood, Jr., 54. U.S. movie director and writer. Mr. Wood wrote and directed some of the worst movies ever made, including Glen or Glenda (1953) (in which he starred, acting under the name Daniel Davis); Jail Bait (1954); Bride of the Monster (1955); and his best-known film, Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). His later years were marked by artistic, financial, and moral decline, as he ended up writing pornographic novels under various pseudonyms and directing pornographic films. Mr. Wood died of a heart attack while watching a football game on television.

Diplomacy
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat were jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance began shuttling between Israel and Egypt in attempts to break deadlocks over the peace process between the two countries.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew--The Rock Steady Crew (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Love of the Common People--Paul Young (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Only You--The Flying Pickets

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
2 All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie
3 Uptown Girl--Billy Joel
4 Love is a Battlefield--Pat Benatar
5 Union of the Snake--Duran Duran
6 Say it Isn't So--Daryl Hall-John Oates
7 Cum On Feel the Noize--Quiet Riot
8 Crumblin' Down--John Cougar Mellencamp
9 Islands in the Stream--Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
10 Church of the Poison Mind--Culture Club

Singles entering the chart were Pink Houses by John Cougar Mellencamp (#58); Think of Laura by Christopher Cross (#76); 99 Luftballons by Nena (#82); Ebony Eyes by Rick James featuring Smokey Robinson (#84); Wet My Whistle by Midnight Star (#86); Save the Last Dance for Me by Dolly Parton (with the Jordanaires) (#87); The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream) by Irene Cara (#88); Almost Over You by Sheena Easton (#89); and Rappin' Rodney by Rodney Dangerfield (#96).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie (3rd week at #1)
2 Islands in the Stream--Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
3 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
4 Uptown Girl--Billy Joel
5 Tonight I Celebrate My Love--Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
6 Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)--Sheena Easton
7 In a Big Country--Big Country
8 True--Spandau Ballet
9 Crumblin' Down--John Cougar Mellencamp
10 Love is a Battlefield--Pat Benatar

Singles entering the chart were That was Then But This is Now by ABC (#42); Running with the Night by Lionel Richie (#44); Karma Chameleon by Culture Club (#49); and She's Trouble by Musical Youth (#50).

Politics and government
Raul Alfonsin, winner of the October 30 presidential election, was inaugurated as President of Argentina, ending more than seven years of military rule. Former President Isabel Peron, who had been ousted in 1976, had returned from exile in Spain the previous day to witness the inauguration. In his inaugural address, Mr. Alfonsin promised "a decent government" and an end to "public immorality." He asked Congress to abrogate an amnesty granted in September to those who had committed human rights abuses.

Defense
The United States lifted a ban on military aid and arms sales to Argentina, based on an improvement in Argentina's record on human rights.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): È qui la festa?--Jovanotti (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Wee Rule--Wee Papa Girl Rappers (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Orinoco Flow--Enya (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Pourvu qu'elles soient douces--Mylène Farmer (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Mistletoe and Wine--Cliff Richard

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Mistletoe and Wine--Cliff Richard

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Look Away--Chicago

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Look Away--Chicago
2 Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Free Baby)--Will to Power
3 I Don't Want Your Love--Duran Duran
4 Giving You the Best That I Got--Anita Baker
5 Every Rose Has its Thorn--Poison
6 How Can I Fall?--Breathe
7 Walk on Water--Eddie Money
8 Waiting for a Star to Fall--Boy Meets Girl
9 My Prerogative--Bobby Brown
10 Welcome to the Jungle--Guns N' Roses

Singles entering the chart were Roni by Bobby Brown (#80); Is it Love by J.J. Fad (#85); Dial My Heart by Boys (#87); and If We Never Meet Again by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers (#88).

Died on this date
Richard S. Castellano, 55. U.S. actor. Mr. Castellano was best known for his Academy Award-nominated supporting performance in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) and his supporting performance in The Godfather (1972). He starred in the television comedy series The Super (1972). Mr. Castellano died of a heart attack.

Disasters
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raisa began visiting areas of Armenia that had been struck by an earthquake three days earlier.

10 years ago
1998

Space
The six-member crew of U.S. space shuttle mission STS-88 opened the doors to the new international space station.

Diplomacy
The Palestinian leadership scrapped constitutional clauses rejecting Israel's right to exist.

Politics and government
Jim Antoine was sworn in as Premier of the Northwest Territories, succeeding Don Morin.