January 19, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Inese!

1,630 years ago
379

Politics and government
Emperor Gratian elevated Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.

1,370 years ago
639

Died on this date
Dagobert I, 35 or 36. King of Austrasia, 623-629; King of the Franks, 629-634; King of Neustria and Burgundy, 634-639. Dagobert I succeeded his father Chlothar II as King of Austrasia and then as King of the Franks, and was the last Merovingian monarch to wield any real power. He became King of Neustria and Burgundy after the partitioning of Gaul, and was succeeded by his 4-year-old son Clovis II.

1,360 years ago
649

War
The forces of Kucha surrendered after a 40-day siege led by Tang dynasty General Ashina She'er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.

590 years ago
1419

War
The Siege of Rouen ended with King Henry V of England capturing the city from the Norman French, completing his reconquest of Normandy.

380 years ago
1629

Died on this date
Abbas I, 57. Shah of Persia, 1588-1629. Abbas "the Great" acceded to the throne when his father Mohammad Khodabanda was deposed. Abbas I was the fifth Shah of the Safavid dynasty, and is regarded as one of Persia's greatest rulers. He incorporated foreign slave-soldiers into the military and civil service, which helped him to record military victories over Ottoman and Uzbek forces, regaining provinces that had been lost in wars. Shah Abbas moved the Persian capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. He was generally tolerant of Christianity, and initiated diplomatic contacts with Europe in order to help defeat the Ottomans. Shah Abbas eventually became suspicious of his three surviving sons, and had them either executed or blinded. Shah Abbas I died after a brief illness, eight days before his 58th birthday, and was succeeded by his grandson Safi.

280 years ago
1729

Died on this date
William Congreve, 58. English playwright. Mr. Congreve wrote five comedies of manners from 1693-1700, the most successful of which were The Old Bachelor (1693); Love for Love (1695); and The Way of the World (1700). He made enough money from his plays to retire, except for the occasional poem or translation. Mr. Congreve suffered from gout and cataracts in both eyes in later years, and was injured in a carriage accident in September 1728, from which he never recovered. He died five days before his 59th birthday.

200 years ago
1809

Born on this date
Edgar Allan Poe. U.S. writer. Mr. Poe was known for his macabre short stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado; poems of lost love such as The Raven and Annabel Lee; and for creating the genre of detective fiction with his character Arsene Lupin. He died on October 7, 1849 at the age of 40, of uncertain causes.

170 years ago
1839

Born on this date
Paul Cézanne. French painter. Mr. Cézanne was a leading figure in the Post-Impressionist movement who influenced artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. He died on October 22, 1906 at the age of 67.

War
The British East India Company captured Aden.

110 years ago
1899

Africana
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was formed.

90 years ago
1919

War
Some Canadian troops of the 68th Canadian Artillery Battery, Siberian Expeditionary Force, took part in first day of the Battle of Shenkursk, a military intervention in the Russian Civil War in support of the White Russian government of Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Some Hudson's Bay Company property was threatened in northern Russia; the HBC also helped evacuate White Russian refugees. Most Canadians, under Major General James H. Elmsley, served in policing duties in the volatile port city of Vladivostok, and returned to Canada between April and June 1919.

70 years ago
1939

Exploration
The German Antarctic Expedition led by Kriegsmarine Captain Alfred Ritscher arrived at Princess Martha Coast aboard the freighter MS Schwabenland, 33 days after leaving Hamburg and began charting the region, which had recently been claimed by Norway as Dronning Maud Land. The Germans renamed the area Neu-Schwabenland (New Swabia) after the ship, which in turn was named after the German region of Swabia.

60 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Josef Horak, 33. Czech-born U.K. military aviator. Lieutenant Horak, a native of Lidice, flew with the Royal Air Force, and was mistakenly tied to the 1942 assassination in Prague of SS-Obergruppenführer, General of Police, and acting Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich, which prompted the Germans to massacre the entire male population of Lidice and destroy the village in reprisal. Lt. Horak died in Bristol, England of injuries received in a plane crash.

War
The Chinese Nationalist cabinet adopted a statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and the start of peace negotiations with the Communists.

World events
The Hungarian government published an alleged confession by Josef Cardinal Mindszenty admitting to cooperating with Western agents in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Defense
U.S. Defense Secretary James Forrestal reported that the armed services had reached the personnel goals set by President Truman for fiscal 1950, eliminating the need for conscription in the near future.

Politics and government
U.S. President Harry Truman signed a bill raising his annual salary to $100,000.

Agriculture
The U.S. Export-Import Bank authorized a $35-million loan to Israel for agricultural development.

Business
U.S. federal Judge Philip Forman, in Trenton, New Jersey, found General Electric, Westinghouse, Corning Glass, and six other manufacturers guilty of violating anti-trust laws by conspiring to monopolize the incandescent electric lamp industry in the United States.

Labour
U.S., U.K., and Dutch representatives withdrew from the World Federation of Trade Unions in Paris, charging that the organization had become a Communist front.

A U.S. National Labor Relations Board trial examiner invalidated union shop provisions in the United Mine Workers of America with coal mines owned by steel firms.

Disasters
The Gulf Oil tanker Gulfstream rammed into the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Eastwind near Barnegat, New Jersey, resulting in 13 deaths and 18 injuries.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Las Chicas De La Cruz Roja--Ana María Parra (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters
2 My Happiness--Connie Francis
3 The Chipmunk Song--The Chipmunks with David Seville
4 Donna--Ritchie Valens
5 16 Candles--The Crests
6 A Lover's Question--Clyde McPhatter
7 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer
8 Whole Lotta Loving--Fats Domino
9 Stagger Lee--Lloyd Price
10 To Know Him, Is to Love Him--The Teddy Bears

Singles entering the chart were Don't Take Your Guns to Town by Johnny Cash (#71); Teasable, Pleasable You by Buddy Knox (#85); Lovers Never Say Goodbye by the Flamingos (#86); The Lonely One by Duane Eddy and the Rebels (#89); I'll Sail My Ship Alone by Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano (#93); Matilda by Cookie and his Cupcakes (#94); My Man by Peggy Lee (#96); There Must Be a Way by Joni James (#97); and Who Cares by Don Gibson (#100). Teasable, Pleasable You was the other side of That's Why I Cry, which had peaked at #88 on January 12 and was now off the chart.

For Mark Steyn's article about Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, go here.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Gotta Travel On--Billy Grammer (2nd week at #1)
2 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes--The Platters
3 My Happiness--Connie Francis
4 To Know Him is to Love Him--The Teddy Bears
5 Donna/La Bamba--Ritchie Valens
6 I Got Stung/One Night--Elvis Presley
7 Queen of the Hop--Bobby Darin
8 Manhattan Spiritual--Reg Owen and his Orchestra
9 I Got a Feeling/Lonesome Town--Ricky Nelson
10 A Lover's Question--Clyde McPhatter

Singles entering the chart were Don't Take Your Guns to Town by Johnny Cash (#46); There Must Be a Way by Joni James (#47); Raspberries, Strawberries/Sally by the Kingston Trio (#50); I Got a Wife by the Mark IV (#54); Walk with Faith in Your Heart by Johnny Nash (#55); Evening Rain by Earl Grant (#56); O' Falling Star by the Four Knights (#57); and It's Only the Beginning by the Kalin Twins (#59).

World events
28 Africans and 2 whites went on trial for the second time in Pretoria on charges of high treason for their opposition to South Africa's racial policy of apartheid.

Diplomacy
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro issued invitations to 400 U.S., U.K., Canadian, and Latin American officials and journalists to attend trials and tour Cuba.

Politics and government
Leaders of the Congolese Nationalist Movement announced that they had agreed in principle to cooperate with Belgian plans for the preparation of Congolese independence.

Education
The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that state laws for maintaining racial segregation in schools violated the state constitution.

Agriculture
North Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh said that his government planned to establish farm cooperatives to improve "the people's living standards," but would not establish rural communes on the Communist Chinese pattern.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower submitted to Congress a balance budget, proposing cuts in federal expenditures to $77 billion and estimating $77.1 billion in revenues.

40 years ago
1969

Died on this date
Jan Palach, 20. Czechoslovakian student. Mr. Palach died three days after committing public self-immolation in Wenceslas Square in Prague in protest against the demoralization of the Czechoslovakian people following the 1968 Soviet invasion of the country and the resulting loss of freedom as compared with the previous year's "Prague Spring" liberalization.

Protest
The death of Jan Palach provoked a wave of student and worker protests in Czechoslovakia.

Football
AFL
All-Star Game @ Gator Bowl, Jacksonville
West 38 East 25

Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Len Dawson was named the game's most valuable offensive player, while Houston Oilers' linebacker George Webster was named the most valuable defensive player. 41,058 fans were in attendance.

NFL
Pro Bowl @ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
West 10 East 7

Bill Brown of the Minnesota Vikings rushed 1 yard for a touchdown late in the game to give the West its win over the East before 32,050 rain-drenched fans. Mr. Brown's touchdown climaxed a 55-yard drive led by quarterback Roman Gabriel of the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles kicker Bruce Gossett kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the West a 3-0 lead, but the East took the lead in the 3rd quarter when Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys passed 34 yards to Paul Warfield of the Cleveland Browns for a touchdown, converted by Sam Baker of the Philadelphia Eagles. Mr. Meredith completed 8 of 13 passes for 135 yards in the final game of his 9-year NFL career.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Mary's Boy Child--Boney M. (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (4th week at #1)

On television tonight
The Paper Chase, on CBS
Tonight's episode: Losing Streak



War
In their largest raid into Lebanon since their invasion in March 1978, Israeli troops killed 40 Palestinians and Lebanese in a pre-dawn attack over the border. The attack was in retaliation for a bomb explosion the previous day in a Jerusalem marketplace.

Protest
A million people took to the streets of Tehran in support of exiled Shi'ite Muslim leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and against the government of Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar. Mr. Bakhtiar insisted that he wouldn't give up the government of Iran to the people "because they have been persuaded by a religious personality."

Scandal
Former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell was released on parole from a federal prison at Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama after serving 19 months of a 2 1/2-8 year sentence for conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He was the last person to be freed among those convicted of offenses in connection with the June 1972 break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and the subsequent cover-up. A total of 25 men served prison terms ranging from 25 days to 52 1/2 months for Watergate crimes, with several remaining on parole.

Energy
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission withdrew its support of its 1975 safety study that had concluded that the probability of a serious nuclear accident occurring was once in a million years. The commission said that it did not consider the numerical estimate of risk to be reliable.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 3 @ Vancouver 3

WHA
Birmingham 3 @ Edmonton 11

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Max Bentley, 63. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Bentley was a centre with the Chicago Black Hawks (1940-43; 1945-47); Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-53); and New York Rangers (1953-54), scoring 245 goals and 299 assists in 645 regular season games. In 51 playoff games he scored 27 goals and 18 assists. Mr. Bentley won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer (1945-46; 1946-47); the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the most gentlemanly player (1942-43); and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (1945-46). Mr. Bentley had starred on a line with his brother Doug (another brother, Reg, briefly joined the line in 1942-43), but Max was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs early in the 1947-48 season for five players in the biggest deal of its era. Mr. Bentley helped the Maple Leafs win Stanley Cups in 1947-48 and 1948-49 and again in 1950-1951. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, long after he had retired to his family farm near Delisle, Saskatchewan. He died in Saskatoon.

Diplomacy
The Organization of the Islamic Conference voted to readmit Egypt to membership. Egypt's membership had been suspended after signing the Camp David Accords with Israel in 1979.

U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz reported "absolutely no movement" toward resuming nuclear arms reduction talks with the U.S.S.R.

Economics and finance
The United States Commerce Department reported that real personal income, adjusted for inflation, had risen 3.2% in 1983

In its annual report, State of Black America, the National Urban League stated that the economic circumstances of Negro Americans had declined in 1983. The report said that Negro unemployment was more than twice as much as white unemployment; that 42% of Negro households were headed by single mothers; and 1/3 of all Negroes were living in poverty.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Finnish Singles Chart): Back to the Stone Age--Stone (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Especially for You--Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan (3rd week at #1)

Abominations
Heather Erxleben became the first female combat soldier in Canada, after completing her training at the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle School, Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta.

Economics and finance
The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 4.4% in 1988, matching the 1987 increase and much higher than the 1.1% increase in 1986.

Business
Canadian Airlines International acquired Wardair, Canada's third largest carrier, for $250 million.

10 years ago
1999

Business
British Aerospace agreed to acquire the defense subsidiary of General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.