January 23, 2009

290 years ago
1719

Europeana
The Principality of Liechtenstein was created within the Holy Roman Empire.

220 years ago
1789

Academia
Georgetown College (now Georgetown University), the first Roman Catholic University in the United States, was established in Georgetown, Maryland (now part of Washington, D.C.).

160 years ago
1849

Academia
Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York, becoming the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.

130 years ago
1879

War
In the Anglo-Zulu War, the Battle of Rorke's Drift in Natal, South Africa ended with a British victory, with just over 150 U.K. and colonial troops defeating 3,000-4.000 Zulus.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Glen Kidston. U.K. military officer, auto racing driver, and aviator. Lieutenant Commander Kidston served with the Royal Navy in World War I, and tested submarines in the 1920s. He teamed with Woolf Barnato to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1930, and completed a record breaking flight from Netheravon, Wiltshire to Cape Town, South Africa in April 1931, covering the distance in 6½ days. However, Mr. Kidston was 32 when he was killed on the return journey on May 5, 1931, when his borrowed de Havilland Puss Moth broke up in mid-air while flying through a dust storm over the Drakensberg mountains.

Politics and government
The Malolos Constitution was inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic, with Emilio Aguinaldo sworn in as the first President.

100 years ago
1909

Crime
In what became known as the Tottenham outrage, Jewish Latvian socialist immigrants Paul Helfeld and Jacob Lepidus stole £80 of workers' wages from the Schnurmann rubber factory in Tottenham, North London. A two-hour, six-mile police chase and shootout with the criminals resulted in 23 casualties, and the deaths of Police Constable William Tyler and bystander Ralph Joscelyne, 10. Mr. Lepidus, 25, committed suicide when caught; Mr. Helfeld, 21, shot himself, but didn't die until February 12.

Disasters
The Italian ship Florida rammed the White Star liner Republic off Nantucket, but all but 6 of Republic's 1,600 passengers were saved. Jack Binns, Republic's wireless operator, sent a CQD signal (the predecessor of SOS); it was the first time that radio was used in a major sea rescue.

80 years ago
1929

Died on this date
Laddie Boy, 8. U.S. presidential dog. Laddie Boy was an Airedale Terrier owned by U.S. President Warren G. Harding (1921-1923). Laddie Boy was the first presidential dog to attract national press attention, and was a poster boy for animal welfare issues. After Mr. Harding's death in 1923, First Lady Florence Harding gave Laddie Boy to Secret Service agent Harry Barker. Laddie Boy was a beloved pet of the Barker family until his death.

Baseball
Jacob Ruppert, co-owner of the New York Yankees, announced that in the coming season the team would wear numerals on the backs of their uniforms corresponding with their position in the batting order to help fans identify the players. Babe Ruth got #3 and Lou Gehrig #4. Soon, all teams had numbers on their uniforms.

60 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Joe Blythe, 58. U.S. politician. Mr. Blythe was treasurer of the Democratic National Committee.

Politics and government
Japan's third postwar parliamentary election gave an absolute majority in the Diet to Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida's Democratic Liberal Party, as they took 269 of 466 seats in the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party, led by Takeru Inokai, was second with 70 seats, a loss of 62 from the previous election. The Socialist Party, led by Tetsu Katayama, lost 96 seats, dropping to 48, while the Communists, led by Kyuichi Tokuda, increased from 4 seats to 35.

Disasters
The U.S. Air Force inaugurated "Operation Haylift" to drop feed to livestock cut off as a result of a series of blizzards over the west central and mountain states.

Fire destroyed the Regina transit barns, torching most of its 38 buses and streetcars.

Golf
Patty Berg won the Women's Golf Open in Tampa.

Tennis
Frank Kovacs won the men's singles title, and Welby Van Horn and Jim Evert won the men's doubles title at the National Professional Clay Court meet in St. Augustine, Florida.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): The Day the Rains Came--Jane Morgan

Diplomacy
Mexico broke diplomatic relations with Guatemala, following the strafing of Mexican shrimp boats by Guatemalan fighter planes.

Communist Chinese Premier Chou En-lai, in a note to India, repudiated the MacMahon line as a "product of British policy of aggression against the Tibet region of China."

Education
A special three-judge U.S. federal court enjoined state and city officials from closing any Norfolk, Virginia public schools under terms of Virginia's school closure law.

Energy
Scientists with the Soviet-bloc United Institute for Nuclear Research disclosed that they had put the world's largest atom smasher into full operation in Dubna, Russia.

Economics and finance
Finland and the U.S.S.R. began negotiations on a long-term trade pact to replace their current five-year trade accord.

40 years ago
1969

On television tonight
Dragnet 1969, on NBC
Tonight's episode: B.O.D.: DR-27



Labour
A five-day strike of 1,200 teachers began in Jersey City, New Jersey, closing the city's 35 public schools.

Disasters
Tornadoes striking at dawn killed 29 people and injured hundreds along a 40-mile stretch in the hill country of southern Mississippi.

15 miners were killed and 13 injured in an explosion in a gold mine in Weikom, South Africa.

30 years ago
1979

War
Israelis fired on guerrilla bases in Lebanon in the heaviest shelling there since the invasion of March 1978.

Politics and government
U.S. President Jimmy Carter delivered his State of the Union address, urging Congress to help his administration build a "new foundation" for the future by controlling inflation and supporting the projected Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)-II pact with the U.S.S.R.



The Republican National Committee chose Detroit as the site for its 1980 convention; chairman Bill Brock said that the choice emphasized the party's effort to win over urban and Negro voters.

Labour
Railway engineers in the United Kingdom went on their third one-day strike in an eight-day period.

Baseball
Willie Mays, the New York and San Francisco Giants' supreme center fielder who retired in 1973 with 660 home runs and 3,283 hits, was elected to the Hall of Fame; he was elected on the first ballot, with 409 of a possible 432 votes.

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Karma Chameleon--Culture Club (6th week at #1)

Defense
U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent to Congress a report alleging seven violations or possible violations by the U.S.S.R. of arms control agreements. They included the use of chemical weapons in Afghanistan and southeast Asia; electronic encoding of signals from missile test flights; and development of a second intercontinental ballistic missile beyond the one permitted by SALT II.

Politics and government
U.S. Attorney General William French Smith resigned in order to participate in the 1984 re-election campaign of President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Reagan nominated Edwin Meese to succeed Mr. Smith.

Weather
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Edmonton. The snow was melting, and it was nice enough to drive with the windows down--not at all like the weather in Edmonton today.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Kokomo--The Beach Boys (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Smooth Criminal--Michael Jackson (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Salvador Dali, 84. Spanish artist. Mr. Dali was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century and was a leading figure in the Surrealist movement.

Crime
The day before he was to be executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison in Starke, U.S. serial murderer Ted Bundy granted an interview to Christian psychologist James Dobson, claiming that his life of crime had begun with an early attraction to pornography. Some, then and since, have questioned Mr. Bundy's sincerity in his last interview, but his comments served as a powerful statement on the evils of pornography.

Disasters
274 people were killed when an earthquake struck the Soviet republic of Tajikistan.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Jay Pritzker, 76. U.S. businessman. Mr. Pritzker and his brother Donald founded the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957, and Jay owned Braniff Airlines from 1983-1988.

Diplomacy
Pope John Paul II continued his visit to Mexico City, meeting with heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Mexico.