January 17, 2009

640 years ago
1369

Died on this date
Peter I, 40. King of Cyprus and King of Jerusalem, 1358-1369. Peter I acceded to the throne upon the abdication of his father Hugh IV. Peter I achieved military success, but internal disputes led to his assassination in his bed by three of his knights. King Peter I was succeeded on the throne by his son Peter II.

210 years ago
1799

Died on this date
Mikiel Xerri, 61. Maltese clergyman and political activist. Dun Mikiel was a leader in a revolt against the occupying forces of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had taken over the islands from the Knights of Malta in June 1798, and had acted against the Maltese nobility and the Roman Catholic Church. Dom Mikiel and other patriots planned an attack against the French forces in Valletta and in Cottonera, but the plot was discovered, and Dom Mikiel and 49 others were executed by firing squad in Valletta.

170 years ago
1839

Politics and government
John Colborne, Baron Seaton was appointed Governor of British North America.

140 years ago
1869

Died on this date
Alexander Dargomyzhsky, 55. Russian composer. Mr. Dargomyzhsky was known for his operas, especially The Stone Guest.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Al Capone. U.S. gangster. Mr. Capone was boss of the Chicago Outfit during the 1920s, and became the most notorious gangster in the United States. His career ended when he was convicted of income tax evasion in 1931, and advancing syphilis, combined with cocaine addiction, turned him into a blithering idiot. Mr. Capone was paroled in 1939, and he died in Florida on January 25, 1947, eight days after his 48th birthday.

Nevil Shute. U.K. author. Nevil Shute Norway was an aeronautical engineer who was best known for his novels, especially On the Beach (1957). He moved to Australia in 1950 and died of a stroke on January 12, 1960, five days before his 61st birthday.

Americana
The United States took possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.

90 years ago
1919

War
Estonian forces liberated northern Estonia, including Narva, from invading Soviet forces.

Disasters
460 died when the French ship Chaonia was lost in the Straits of Messina.

80 years ago
1929

Popular culture
Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, first appeared in the comic strip Thimble Theatre.

75 years ago
1934

Crime
Edward Bremer, 37, was kidnapped in St. Paul, Minnesota.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley and George Spelvin (Wendell Holmes)
Tonight's episode: The Fabulous Celebrities

The Casebook of Gregory Hood, starring Elliott Lewis, on MBS

Died on this date
Grenville Baker. U.S. banking heir. Mr. Baker, heir to the banking fortune created by George Fisher Baker in the 19th century, was shot to death on the family's palatial Horseshoe Plantation near Tallahassee, Florida.

War
Former U.S. Army aviator Martin Monti pled guilty to treason for defecting to the Axis during World War II, and was sentenced in New York to 25 years' imprisonment.

Politics and government
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Senate-approved measure increasing the salaries of the President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House. U.S. President Harry Truman asked Congress for permanent power to reorganize executive departments and agencies.

Crime
The trial of 11 Communist Party U.S.A. leaders on charges of advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. government began in New York.

Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that imprisoned former German-American Bund leader August Klaprott had not received a fair trial in 1941 and must be retried on charges leading to revocation of his American citizenship.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Io--Domenico Modugno (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): La Paloma--Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra (9th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): It's Only Make Believe--Conway Twitty (4th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters
2 The Chipmunk Song--The Chipmunks with David Seville
3 My Happiness--Connie Francis
4 Tom Dooley--The Kingston Trio
5 One Night--Elvis Presley
6 To Know Him, is to Love Him--The Teddy Bears
7 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer
8 16 Candles--The Crests
9 Donna--Ritchie Valens
10 The Little Drummer Boy--Harry Simeone Chorale

Singles entering the chart were Peter Gunn by Ray Anthony and his Orchestra (#70); Good Rockin' Tonight by Pat Boone (#72); My Man (#80)/Alright, Okay, You Win (#87) by Peggy Lee; Gazachstahagen by the Wild-Cats (#86); Raspberries, Strawberries (#90)/Sally (#94) by the Kingston Trio; First Anniversary by Cathy Carr (#93); and Don't Take Your Guns to Town by Johnny Cash (#95). Peter Gunn was a version of the theme from the television series. Good Rockin' Tonight was the other side of With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair, charting at #45.

War
Laos formally protested to the United Nations that North Vietnamese troops had entered and occupied Laotian territory.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower conferred with U.S.S.R. First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan on the problems of Berlin, disarmament, and increased Soviet-American trade.

World events
500 members of former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista's armed forces and Senator Roland Masferrer's private army were reported to have fled to the Escambray Mountains of Las Villas and the Sierra Maestre to escape trial and possible execution.

Economics and finance
Representatives of Chad, Gabon, French Congo, and the Central African Republic signed agreements in Paris establishing a customs union and common transport, postal, and communications administration.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Love Child--Diana Ross and the Supremes

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Going Up the Country--Canned Heat
2 Son-of-a Preacher Man--Dusty Springfield
3 I Love How You Love Me--Bobby Vinton
4 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye
5 If I Can Dream--Elvis Presley
6 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
7 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
8 Stand by Your Man--Tammy Wynette
9 Bella Linda--The Grass Roots
10 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees

Singles entering the chart were Worst that Could Happen by Brooklyn Bridge (#22); Papa's Got a Brand New Bag by Otis Redding (#24); Sweet Cream Ladies by the Box Tops (#25); Build Me Up Buttercup by the Foundations (#26); You Showed Me by the Turtles (#27); This Magic Moment by Jay and the Americans (#28); and Long Line Rider by Bobby Darin (#29).

Died on this date
Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter, 26; John Huggins, 23. U.S. terrorists. Messrs. Carter and Huggins were members of the Black Panther Party, the most prominent organization in the Black Power movement in the United States in the 1960s. During a meeting of the University of California at Los Angeles' Black Student Union at Campbell Hall, a dispute arose involving members of the Black Panther Party and the rival Organization US. Messrs. Carter and Huggins were reportedly shot by Organization US member Claude "Chuchessa" Hubert, 21. Mr. Hubert was never found, but Donald Hawkins and brothers George and Larry Stiner were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of second-degree murder.

Space
The Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4, with Vladimir Shatalov aboard, landed in the U.S.S.R. after three days in space.

Disasters
11 were presumed dead when a Panamanian freighter sank in heavy seas off Sardinia.

40 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (3rd week at #1)

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Tatiana Sokolova!

Politics and government
Former Manitoba Premier Ed Schreyer was installed as Governor General of Canada, succeeding Jules Léger.

Society
U.S. National Urban League president Vernon Jordan said that Negro Americans were on "the brink of disaster" because of the reduced federal budget and the threatened recession. Releasing the NUL's annual "State of Black America Report," Mr. Jordan claimed that unemployment among Negro youth was the single most serious problem for Negro Americans, and placed most of the blame on the United States Congress, which he accused of being "recalcitrant, insensitive, callous."

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 7 @ Los Angeles 3

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Say, Say, Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (2nd week at #1)

Diplomacy
The 35-nation Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe opened in Stockholm. The first objective of the conference was to find ways to reduce the risk of war in Europe.

Society
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission voted 6-2 to adopt a statement on the use of racial quotas to promote Negroes, asserting that "such racial preferences merely constitute another form of unjustified discrimination, create a new class of victims and, when used in public employment, offend the constitutional principle of equal protection of the law for all citizens."

30 years ago
1989

Crime
Patrick Edward Purdy, a former student at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California who was now in his mid-20s, returned to the school armed with a semiautomatic rifle and two pistols. He opened fire at the school grounds, killing 5 students and wounding 29 others and a teacher before shooting himself to death with a pistol. The dead children were all refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam.

Scandal
An internal report issued by the U.S. Justice Department criticized Edwin Meese, who had led the department as Attorney General from 1985-1988. The report, prepared by the Office of Professional Responsibility, found that ethical breaches by Mr. Meese would have called for disciplinary action by the president if Mr. Meese were still in office. The report asserted that Mr. Meese had violated departmental standards of conduct and an executive order on ethics. It cited assistance to friend and sometime creditor E. Robert Wallach; a delay in paying income taxes; and his ownership of telecommunications stock while dealing with matters in the department related to telephone companies. Mr. Meese's lawyers said there was "no basis" for criticizing his conduct.

Disasters
At least 51 people, including 35 schoolgirls, were killed when a train struck a bus in southern Sri Lanka.

10 years ago
1999

Football
NFL
NFC Championship
Atlanta 30 @ Minnesota 27 (OT)

Morten Andersen's 38-yard field goal with 3:08 remaining gave the Falcons their win over the Vikings before 64,060 fans at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis in one of the most exciting playoff games in National Football League history. The Vikings led 27-20 late in the 4th quarter, but Gary Anderson, who hadn't missed a field goal or extra point attempt all year, missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 2:07 remaining. The Falcons tied the game on a 16-yard touchdown pass by Chris Chandler to Terance Mathis, converted by Mr. Andersen, with 49 seconds remaining in regulation time.



AFC Championship
New York Jets 10 @ Denver 23

Terrell Davis rushed for 167 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter, to help the Broncos defeat the Jets before 75,482 fans at Mile High Stadium. Denver quarterback John Elway, in the final home game of his career, completed just 13 of 34 passes, but connected with Howard Griffith for an 11-yard touchdown to begin a 20-point 3rd quarter for the Broncos.