January 7, 2009

1,120 years ago
889

Born on this date
Li Bian. Emperor of Southern Tang, 937-943. Li Bian founded the Empire of Southern Tang, one of the Ten Kingdoms in Southern China created following the Tang dynasty. Li Bian died on March 30, 943 at the age of 54 after taking alchemists' medicines that he believed would lengthen his life, but instead, made him ill. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Li Jing.

170 years ago
1839

Died on this date
Hiram Lynn; Daniel Bedford; Albert Clark; Cornelius Cunningham; Joshua Doan; A. Perley. Canadian rebels. The six participants in the Upper Canada rebellion were executed in London, Upper Canada.

120 years ago
1889

Football
U.S. college
Yale coach Walter Camp named his first All-America team, creating a tradition that continues today. Original All-Americans included two Yale players: end Amos Alonzo Stagg, later a famous coach, and guard William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, the first professional player.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Francis Poulenc. Mr. Poulenc wrote music for solo piano as well as chamber music, opera, choral, and orchestral music. He was a pianist who was known for most of his career for light music, but wrote religious works in his later years. Mr. Poulenc died of a heart attack on January 30, 1963, 23 days after his 64th birthday.

Hockey
CAHL
Quebec (0-1) 1 @ Montreal (1-0) 7
Montreal Shamrocks (0-1) 3 @ Ottawa (1-0) 4

These were the first games ever played in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League.

90 years ago
1919

War
Montenegrin guerrilla fighters launched an unsuccessful rebellion against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia.

70 years ago
1939

Science
Marguerite Perey discovered Francium, the last element first discovered in nature, rather than by synthesis.

60 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Elin Wägner, 66. Swedish writer and activist. Miss Wägner was a novelist and journalist who was known for her promotion of women's suffrage and pacifism. She was the first female member of the Swedish Academy, serving from 1944 until her death.

War
An Israeli-Egyptian cease-fire took effect in the Negev desert, shortly after Israeli forces downed five British reconnaissance planes near the Egyptian border.

Chinese Communist forces entered Tientsin, North China's leading industrial city, in heavy fighting.

New clashes between Karen nationalists and government forces broke out in southern Burma.

World events
Dutch authorities released nine interned Indonesian leaders, but restricted four, including President Ahmed Sukarno and Prime Minister Mohammed Hatta, to the island of Banka.

Politics and government
U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall resigned for health reasons; U.S. President Harry Truman nominated former Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson to succeed him.

A U.S. federal court in Mobile, Alabama struck down an Alabama state law seeking to limit the Negro vote by requiring registered voters to "understand and explain" the Constitution.

Canadian-born U.K. press magnate Lord Beaverbrook quit the Conservative Party, charging that party leaders sought to foster Britain's economic dependence on the United States.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Truman submitted his annual economic report to Congress, urging enactment of the economic legislation advocated in his State of the Union address to ensure a 3-4% growth rate and one million more jobs for the coming year.

50 years ago
1959

Died on this date
Lillian Trimble Bradley, 83 or 84. U.S. theatrical director. Mrs. Bradley studied at the Moscow Art Theatre before returning to the United States and becoming Broadway's first female director, directing eight Broadway productions in association with producer George Broadhurst at the Broadhurst Theatre from 1918-1924. She married Mr. Broadhurst in 1925; the couple eventually retired and moved to Santa Barbara, California, remaining together until Mr. Broadhurst's death in 1952.

Space
U.S.S.R. scientists announced that they had successfully placed a probe in orbit around the Sun.

Diplomacy
The United States recognized the new revolutionary government in Cuba.

The United Arab Republic announced plans to establish consular relations with the East German government.

World events
Large numbers of dissident Rif tribesmen in northern Morocco surrendered their arms to Moroccan Army forces following an ultimatum issued by King Mohammed V.

Politics and government
East Germany asked the U.S.S.R. to negotiate the transfer of Soviet occupation functions in Berlin.

Democrats in the United States Senate re-elected Sen. Lyndon Johnson (Texas) as majority leader and Mike Mansfield (Montana) as majority whip.

Economics and finance
The U.S. State Department announced that the United States would lend Iran $47.5 million to finance economic development projects planned under Iran's second seven-year plan.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Eloise--Barry Ryan (4th week at #1)

War
The Damiya Bridge, the only link between the Jordan River's east bank and the Israeli-occupied west bank, was blown up during a two-hour exchange of fire.

Diplomacy
A plan to have the ambassadors of the U.S.A., U.S.S.R., U.K., and France meet to "open the road" to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East" was revealed by France. The proposal called for a settlement in which Israel and the Arabs would be "intimately associated" with the "Big 4" countries, with the cooperation of United Nations Secretary-General U Thant.

Politics and government
The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Abdullah Yaffi resigned in the wake of criticism for failing to protect Beirut's airport from the December 28, 1968 raid by Israeli commandos. President Charles Helou directed former Prime Minister Rashid Karami to form a new government.

The C.S.S.R. Communist Party presidium demoted Josef Smrkovsky, a Czech, from chairman of the national assembly to deputy chairman, replacing him with Dr. Peter Colotka, a Slovak.

In a letter to U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, former U.S. Postmaster General Larry O'Brien announced that he was resigning as chairman of the Democratic National Committee to accept a business opportunity.

Crime
The trial of Sirhan Sirhan, accused of the June 5, 1968 assassination of U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, began in Los Angeles.

Terrorism
A fire bomb damaged the home of the dean of the College of San Mateo in San Mateo, California.

Disasters
A bus plunged into the Nile River in northern Cairo, killing 15 people and leaving 20 missing.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland: Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord--Boney M. (4th week at #1)

War
Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government and installing the Cambodian United Front for National Salvation.

Football
NFL
AFC Championship
Houston 5 @ Pittsburgh 34

Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier rushed for touchdowns in the 1st quarter, and the Steelers scored 17 points in the last 48 seconds of the 2nd quarter on touchdown receptions by Lynn Swann and John Stallworth and a field goal by Roy Gerela to take a 31-3 halftime lead as they coasted to victory in freezing rain before 49,417 fans at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pittsburgh defense forced 9 turnovers.

NFC Championship
Dallas 28 @ Los Angeles 0

The Cowboys forced 5 turnovers in the 2nd half to break a 0-0 tie as they routed the Rams before 67,470 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Tony Dorsett rushed for 101 yards, including a 5-yard run for the game's first touchdown in the 3rd quarter and a 53-yard run to set up another TD in the 4th. Howard Cosell in his Speaking of Sports commentary the next day blasted the Rams' performance as one of the worst playoff performances in the history of the NFL.

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): La Donna Cannone--Francesco De Gregori

#1 single in Flanders (VRT Top 30): Happy Station--Fun Fun

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): You Are--Dolly Parton (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Only You--The Flying Pickets (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Only You--The Flying Pickets (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (5th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): Union of the Snake--Duran Duran (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Canada (RPM): Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Alfred Kastler, 81. French physicist. Dr. Kastler won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1966 "for the discovery and development of optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atoms."

World events
Brunei became the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): C'è da spostare una macchina--Francesco Salvi (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Orinoco Flow--Enya (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): First Time--Robin Beck

#1 single in France (SNEP): High--David Hallyday

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Especially for You--Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Every Rose Has its Thorn--Poison (3rd week at #1)
2 My Prerogative--Bobby Brown
3 Two Hearts--Phil Collins
4 Giving You the Best That I Got--Anita Baker
5 In Your Room--Bangles
6 Don't Rush Me--Taylor Dayne
7 Waiting for a Star to Fall--Boy Meets Girl
8 Look Away--Chicago
9 Armageddon It--Def Leppard
10 Smooth Criminal--Michael Jackson

Singles entering the chart were The Living Years by Mike + the Mechanics (#79); Girl You Know it's True by Milli Vanilli (#83); Roni by Bobby Brown (#92); Way Cool Jr. by Ratt (#96); I Wanna Be Loved by House of Lords (#97); and Dreamin' by Vanessa Williams (#98).

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): Every Rose Has its Thorn--Poison (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Hirohito, 87. Emperor of Japan, 1926-1989. Hirohito, now referred to in Japan as Emperor Shōwa, was named Regent of Japan on November 29, 1921 in place of his ailing father Emperor Taishō, and acceded to the throne upon his father's death on December 25, 1926. He was worshipped as a god by the Japanese people at the time he succeeded to the throne, and this worship helped to inspire Japanese aggression in World War II. When Japan surrendered to the Allies, Hirohito was forced to abandon his status as a deity, ruling as a constitutional monarch for the rest of his life, while avoiding prosecution as a war criminal. Hirohito was succeeded as Emperor by his son Akihito.

Hockey
NHL
Boston 1 @ Montreal 3
Edmonton 2 @ Calgary 7

10 years ago
1999

Politics and government
U.S. President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial began in the Senate.