December 6, 2008

360 years ago
1648

Politics and government
In what came to be known as "Pride's Purge," Colonel Thomas Pride of the New Model Army purged the Long Parliament of MPs sympathetic to King Charles I of England, in order for the King's trial to go ahead.

170 years ago
1838

War
A court martial began in Montreal for Lower Canada rebels accused of high treason. 9 were acquitted and 99 condemned to death; by May 1, 1839, 12 would be executed, 58 deported to Australia, and 27 freed under a caution.

100 years ago
1908

Aviation
Alexander Graham Bell and the Aerial Experimentation Association tested the original Silver Dart airplane, made of steel tube, bamboo, friction tape, wire, wood, and covered with rubberized silk balloon-cloth at Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Designer J.A.D. McCurdy made the first controlled powered flight in Canada on February 23, 1909 from the ice at Baddeck.

80 years ago
1928

Radio
John Aird was appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King to chair the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, and to discuss the merits of public broadcasting; the need to stop privately owned Canadian stations falling into American hands; and the need to provide alternative to U.S. programming coming across the border. Mr. Aird was assisted by Charles Bowman, editor of the Ottawa Citizen.

Abominations
As many as 3,000 United Fruit Company workers in Ciénaga, Colombia, who had been on strike since November 12, were massacred by Colombian military forces, who had been sent by President Miguel Abadía Méndez.

Economics and finance
A severe break in the New York stock market came when interest on call loans was pushed up to 12%.

Disasters
30 fishing villages were swept away and widespread suffering and loss of life were reported as a result of flood waters spreading miles on each side of the Volga River near its mouth at the Caspian Sea and forming into layers of ice because of the intense cold of the Russian winter.

70 years ago
1938

Disasters
16 miners were killed when a cable broke, sending a riding rake plummeting into a mine at Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia.

60 years ago
1948

On the radio
The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis, on MBS

Died on this date
Bert Hall, 63. U.K. military aviator. Mr. Hall was a soldier of fortune who served the Ottoman Empire before eventually making his way to France, where he joined the French Flying Corps shortly after the start of World War I. Mr. Hall was one of the original seven members of the Lafayette Escadrille, the U.S. unit created in 1916 to fly for France. In the mid-1930s, Mr. Hall served time in a U.S. federal penitentiary for contracting to buy surplus planes from the U.S. government to set up an air service for China, without getting the permission of the U.S. State Department. He settled in Castalia, Ohio in the 1940s, and started the Sturdy Toy Factory. Mr. Hall died of a heart attack while driving on a highway in Ohio.

Literature
Maurice Druon, author of Les Grandes Famillies, won the Goncourt Prize for the best novel by a young Frenchman.

War
Israel and Iraq signed a cease-fire for northern Palestine.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeals of former Japanese officials Kenji Doihara and Koki Hirota, sentenced to death by the Tokyo war crimes tribunal.

U.S. President Harry Truman, in a report to Congress, criticized the Greek government for permitting a "military stalemate" to develop in its war against Communist guerrillas. He claimed that the Greek Army had failed to follow its summer victories with a "determined effort" to eliminate remaining guerrilla resistance.

Defense
The U.K. House of Commons passed the National Service Bill, lengthening the term of compulsory service from 12 to 18 months.

Chinese President Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek requested that the United States divert all military shipments bound for China to the island of Taiwan.

Politics and government
A U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee subcommittee travelled to New York to hear further testimony from Whittaker Chambers on Communist spy activity in the U.S. State Department. Mr. Chambers accused Alger Hiss, former State Department economist Henry Wadleigh, and chemist William Pigman of transmitting secret documents to him for delivery to Colonel Boris Bykov, head of Soviet espionage in the United States during the late 1930s.

Arthur Hill resigned as chairman of the U.S. National Security Resources Board, following rejection of his demand for extensive authority over defense-related actions of other government agencies.

Economics and finance
American Dental Association President Clyde Minges announced his organization's opposition to President Truman's proposed national health insurance program.

Business
The Allied Far Eastern Commission instructed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan General Douglas MacArthur to remove all limits on the number of foreign businessmen who could enter Japan.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)--Domenico Modugno; Dean Martin (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): La Paloma--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): When--The Kalin Twins (13th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Hoots Mon--Lord Rockingham's XI (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio (3rd week at #1)
2 To Know Him, is to Love Him--The Teddy Bears
3 It's Only Make Believe--Conway Twitty
4 One Night--Elvis Presley
5 Beep Beep--The Playmates
6 I Got Stung--Elvis Presley
7 Topsy II--Cozy Cole
8 Lonesome Town--Ricky Nelson
9 Problems--The Everly Brothers
10 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters

Singles entering the chart were The Chipmunk Song by the Chipmunks with David Seville (#51); The Diary by Neil Sedaka (#62); 16 Candles by the Crests (#72); Fake Out by Frankie Sardo (#74); Need Your Love by Bobby Freeman (#84); Lovers Never Say Goodbye by the Flamingos (#94); Hold It by Bill Doggett (#97); Yellow Bird by the Mills Brothers (#98); and My Happiness by Connie Francis (#100).

Space
The United States launched the lunar probe Pioneer 3 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft failed to go past the Moon and into a heliocentric orbit as planned, but did reach an altitude of 63,600 miles before falling back to Earth. The revised spacecraft objectives were to measure radiation in the outer Van Allen radiation belt using two Geiger-Müller tubes and to test the trigger mechanism for a lunar photographic experiment.

Defense
Lebanese and Syrian troops were alerted on the Israeli border following Arab reports of an Israeli buildup.

The U.S.A., U.S.S.R., and U.K. approved a draft treaty article pledging signatories to prohibit nuclear tests on their territories and to refrain from participation in such tests anywhere.

The West German Defense Ministry announced that the Bundeswehr had received its first shipment of Honest John short-range guided missiles and launching ramps.

Science
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the National Science Foundation to set up a Science Information Service to index the increasing volume of scientific information in the U.S.A. and abroad.

Protest
Hunger riots broke out in drought-stricken northern Brazil, where damage to crops was estimated at $75 million.

Football
CFL
Shrine Game @ Civic Stadium, Hamilton
West 9 East 3

The WIFU All-Stars defeated the IRFU All-Stars before a shivering crowd of about 7,000 in the fourth annual Shrine Game. The game's only touchdown came on a pass from Saskatchewan Roughriders' quarterback Frank Tripucka to Winnipeg Blue Bombers' halfback Kenny Ploen, set up by a 45-yard pass from Mr. Tripucka to his Roughrider teammate Jack Hill. The score came while the West enjoyed the advantage of a 35 mph wind in the second quarter. The East, with the wind in the first quarter, took a 3-0 lead on a punt single by Cam Fraser of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and a safety touch conceded by Jackie Parker of the Edmonton Eskimos. The only scoring of the second half came on three punt singles by Vic Chapman of the British Columbia Lions. At least one player regarded the 1958 game as the coldest one he ever played in, which, along with the low attendance, probably had much to do with the fact that this was the last post-season CFL all-star game until it was moved indoors to B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver in 1983. The CFL All-Star Game wasn't held at all until 1970, when a pre-season game was held between the defending Grey Cup champions and the CFL All-Stars.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Little Arrows--Leapy Lee

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Love Child--Diana Ross and the Supremes
2 Little Arrows--Leapy Lee
3 Wichita Lineman--Glen Campbell
4 The Straight Life--Bobby Goldsboro
5 Abraham, Martin and John--Dion
6 Bitter Green--Gordon Lightfoot
7 Kentucky Woman--Deep Purple
8 Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin
9 Both Sides Now--The Johnstons
10 I Put a Spell on You--Creedence Clearwater Revival

Singles entering the chart were I Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye (#26); Right Relations by Johnny Rivers (#27); Crosstown Traffic by the Jimi Hendrix Experience (#29); and See Saw by Aretha Franklin (#30).

Edmonton's top 10 (CJCA)
1 Hey Jude/Revolution--The Beatles (13th week at #1)
2 Little Arrows--Leapy Lee
3 Love Child--Diana Ross and the Supremes
4 Abraham, Martin and John--Dion
5 Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin
6 Wichita Lineman--Glen Campbell
7 Magic Carpet Ride--Steppenwolf
8 Sunday Sun--Neil Diamond
9 Stormy--Classics IV
10 Porpoise Song--The Monkees

Politics and government
The leadership convention of the Social Credit Party of Alberta elected Municipal Affairs Minister Harry Strom on the second ballot at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton to succeed retiring Ernest Manning as party leader and as Premier of Alberta. Mr. Strom defeated five other candidates, and led after the first ballot with 47.6% of the vote. He had 54.9% after the second ballot, with Highways Minister Gordon Taylor next, with 36.3% (up from 16.5% on the first ballot). Mr. Manning had been party leader and Premier since the spring of 1943, when he had succeeded William Aberhart, who died in office. Mr. Strom took office as Premier on December 12.

The French Communist Party, the second-largest in western Europe, issued a manifesto asserting that it was developing a socialist program taking into account "French particularities" and by means other "than those used in Russia and other countries."

Protest
Five days of violent protests by New York City area high school students, mostly Negro, and mostly in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville area of Brooklyn, concluded with 132 arrests. The students were protesting the lengthened school day and cancelled vacations imposed to make up for time lost during the teachers' strike over the issue of school decentralization.

Baseball
General William D. "Spike" Eckert, widely regarded as an ineffective figurehead, was fired after three years as Commissioner of baseball.

40 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord--Boney M.

Politics and government
Spain ratified the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum, ending years of dictatorship.

Hockey
NHL
Pittsburgh 6 Toronto 4

25 years ago
1983

Terrorism
In the first terrorist bombing in Israel in four years, a bomb destroyed a bus in Jerusalem, killing 5 Israelis and wounding 45.

Medicine
Swedish journalist Lars Ljungberg became the first person in the United Kingdom to receive a successful heart and lung transplant. The operation took place at Harefield Hospital in north London.

20 years ago
1988

Died on this date
Roy Orbison, 52. U.S. singer-songwriter. "The Big O" was (and is) one of this blogger's favourite artists. When I heard of his death the next day (he died late on the 6th of a heart attack after a relaxing day at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee), it ruined my whole day. The only other celebrity death that affected me in that way was that of Jackie Gleason a year and a half earlier. Mr. Orbison, originally from Texas, was one of the artists at Sun Records at Memphis in the mid-1950s. Ooby Dooby was a minor hit in 1956, but subsequent success eluded Mr. Orbison at Sun and RCA until he moved to Monument Records in 1959. His breakthrough hit, Only the Lonely, shot to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1960, and Mr. Orbison remained one of pop music's most popular artists through 1964. He hit #1 on the Hot 100 with Running Scared in 1961 and Pretty Woman in 1964. Mr. Orbison's popularity extended to Great Britain, and he topped the bill on a tour with the Beatles in 1963. It was on this tour that he found that he'd forgotten his glasses at home, and began wearing sunglasses on stage, a practice that became his trademark. Mr. Orbison had ten top 10 singles on the British chart, hitting #1 with Only the Lonely in 1960 and It's Over and Pretty Woman in 1964. When Mr. Orbison's contract with Monument expired in 1965, he was the subject of an unprecedented bidding war, and he signed with MGM, which offered him the chance to work in movies. However, Mr. Orbison's career promptly went into decline. The MGM singles and albums didn't sell well, despite being of high quality in his early years there. His wife Claudette was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1966 (Roy was riding right behind her), and two of his young sons died in a fire at his home in 1968 while Roy was on the road. Mr. Orbison starred in just one movie, the 1967 western The Fastest Guitar Alive, which contained no memorable songs, and demonstrated that Mr. Orbison lacked star power (the script wasn't that great, either--Elvis Presley turned it down). Mr. Orbison remarried and started a new family, but his recording career (which included a return to Monument in 1976-1977) remained sporadic. That Lovin' You Feeling Again, a duet recorded with Emmylou Harris for the 1980 movie Roadie (in which he appeared), won a Grammy, while another such duet, a 1987 remake of Crying with k.d. lang, recorded for the soundtrack of the movie Hiding Out , won a Grammy in 1989. Mr. Orbison died just as his popularity was on the upswing. A double album of re-recorded versions of his early '60s hits in 1987 sold well, and a new album called Mystery Girl was set for release in January 1989. Mr. Orbison was a member of the Traveling Wilburys, whose debut album, Volume One, and single, Handle With Care, were ascending the charts at the time of Mr. Orbison's death. You Got It, the first single from Mystery Girl, hit #12 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the early months of 1989, his biggest U.S. hit since Pretty Woman. You Got It hit #1 in Canada, and was #10 for the entire year of 1989. Mr. Orbison had recorded enough material for another album, and King Of Hearts was released late in 1992. I saw the Big O in concert at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton in 1981. Mr. Orbison did a good one-hour set of his Monument hits (plus a couple of more recent songs), but it would have been nice to hear some of his MGM songs. Ride Away, Crawling Back, and Walk On, among others, can stand with the Monument hits, and his albums The Orbison Way and The Classic Roy Orbison are as good as any he did. While collections of Mr. Orbison's Monument recordings are easy to find (and even his Sun recordings from 1956-1958 aren't too hard to find), his MGM material is less easily available. A two-record collection titled The MGM Singles 1965-1973 was issued by Polydor in 1989, and is well worth getting. A collection of the seven songs he recorded for RCA in 1958-1959 called The RCA Days was released in the fall of 1989, but as far as I know, it was issued only on cassette.

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis and her five-man crew landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California to conclude its secret four-day mission for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Politics and government
The Australian Capital Territory was granted self-government.

U.S. Vice President and President-elect George Bush announced names of some of his nominees for his coming administration. He named Houston businessman Robert Mosbacher, Sr. as Secretary of Commerce; career diplomat Thomas Pickering as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Stanford University economist Michael Boskin as chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers; and Washington, D.C. lawyer Carla Hills as U.S. trade representative. William Webster was retained as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

10 years ago
1998

Politics and government
Hugo Chávez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the Venezuelan government six years earlier, was elected President. Running as the candidate of the Fifth Republic Movement, he won 56.2% of the vote to 39.97% for Project Venezuela candidate Henrique Salas Römer.

Football
NFL
New York Jets 32 Seattle 31

On a play that contributed to the return of instant replay as an NFL officiating tool, the New York quarterback Vinny Testaverde was ruled to have scored on a 5-yard sneak with 20 seconds left against the Seahawks, even though he never got into the end zone. The Jets won as time ran out. New York head coach Bill Parcells said, "God's playing in some of these games, and he was on our side today."