January 8, 2009

Born on this date
Happy 74th birthday, Elvis Presley!

220 years ago
1789

Died on this date
Jack Broughton, 84 or 85. U.K. boxer. Mr. Broughton was a bare-knuckle fighter who was best known as the first person to codify a set of rules for bouts, which evolved into the London Prize Ring rules, and remained the standard for 100 years. A round was to last until a man was knocked down, and there was a 30-second break between rounds. Mr. Broughton was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990 as a pioneer.

130 years ago
1879

Born on this date
Charles Bryant. U.K.-born U.S. actor and movie director. Mr. Bryant was a stage actor who directed and appeared in several silent films with his then-wife Alla Nazimova in the 1910s and early '20s. He died on August 7, 1948 at the age of 69.

120 years ago
1889

Technology
Herman Hollerith was issued U.S. patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. Prime Minister of Ceylon, 1956-1959. Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike was a member of the United National Party until he founded the left-wing Sinhalese nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1951. He served in local and state politics before being elected to the Ceylonese House of Representatives in 1947, representing Attanagalla. Mr. Bandaranaike was Minister of Health and Local Government from 1947-1951. After founding the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, he was Leader of the Opposition from 1952-1956, becoming Prime Minister as head of a four-party coalition known as Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP). As Prime Minister, Mr. Bandaranaike removed British miltary bases, and established diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic of China. He was assassinated on September 26, 1959 at the age of 60 by Talduwe Somarama, a Buddhist monk, and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Wijeyananda Dahanayake.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Willy Millowitsch. German actor. Mr. Millowitsch was mainly a stage actor, but also appeared in television programs and several films in a career spanning about three-quarters of a century. He died of heart failure on September 20, 1999 at the age of 90.

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
Jim O'Rourke, 68. U.S. baseball player and manager. "Orator Jim" was an outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, and catcher with seven different teams in the National Association, National League, and Players' League (1872-1893, 1904), batting .314 with 12 home runs and 198 runs batted in in 225 National Association games, and .310 with 50 homers and 910 RBIs in 1,774 major league games. Mr. O'Rourke played at least 576 games in 14 seasons in the minor leagues (1895-1912). He managed the Buffalo Bisons (1881-1884) and Washington Senators (1893), compiling a record of 245-258. Mr. O'Rourke managed the Bridgeport Orators in the Connecticut State League (1899-1908), and died in Bridgeport from pneumonia.

80 years ago
1929

At the movies
Chelovek s kinoapparatom (Man with a Movie Camera), a documentary co-edited, written, and directed by Dziga Vertov, received its premiere screening in Kyiv.



60 years ago
1949

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Buttons and Bows--Dinah Shore and the Happy Valley Boys; Gene Autry

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)--Spike Jones and his City Slickers

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Buttons and Bows--Dinah Shore and the Happy Valley Boys (9th week at #1)
--The Dinning Sisters
--Betty Rhodes
2 On a Slow Boat to China--Kay Kyser Orchestra
--Freddy Martin and his Orchestra
--Benny Goodman and his Orchestra
--Eddy Howard and his Orchestra
--Art Lund
3 All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)--Spike Jones and his City Slickers
4 My Darling, My Darling--Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae with the Starlighters
--Doris Day and Buddy Clark
5 A Little Bird Told Me--Evelyn Knight and the Stardusters
--Paula Watson
--Blue Lu Barker
6 Maybe You'll Be There--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
7 Twelfth Street Rag--Pee Wee Hunt and his Orchestra
8 Until--Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra
9 Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)--Sammy Kaye and his "Swing and Sway" Orchestra
--Dinah Shore
10 You were Only Fooling (While I was Falling in Love)--Blue Barron and his Orchestra
--The Ink Spots
--Kay Starr

Singles entering the chart were The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!), with versions by Patty Andrews and Bob Crosby; and Perry Como with the Fontane Sisters (#22); Powder Your Face with Sunshine (Smile! Smile! Smile!) by Evelyn Knight and the Stardusters (#28); and I Love You So Much it Hurts by the Mills Brothers (#32).

On the radio
Tales of Fatima, starring Basil Rathbone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: The Strange Mr. Smith

This was the first episode of this mystery series, which was sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes.

Died on this date
Yoshijirō Umezu, 67. Japanese military officer. General Umezu was Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office from July 18, 1944-September 1945, and a member of the Supreme War Council. He signed the Japanese surrender on behalf of the armed forces on September 2, 1945. on November 12, 1948, Gen. Umezu was convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo of war crimes for waging a war of aggression, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He converted to Christianity while in prison, and died of rectal cancer, four days after his 67th birthday.

World events
Soviet troops and East German police began digging trenches across main roads to West Berlin to tighten their blockade of the city.

War
The United Kingdom announced plans to station troops in the Transjordan Red Sea port of Aqaba to prevent further Israeli incursions into Arab territory.

Politics and government
Peru's 13-man military junta assumed legislative powers for the country.

Labour
The Congress of Industrial Organizations inaugurated a Southern organizing "crusade" with a convention in Atlanta.

50 years ago
1959

At the movies
Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich (Here I Am, Here I Stay), directed by Werner Jacobs, and starring Caterina Valente and Hans Holt, with a guest appearance by Bill Haley and his Comets, received its premiere screening at the Gloria-Palast in Stuttgart.



Politics and government
Charles de Gaulle was proclaimed the first President of the Fifth Republic of France at a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Mr. de Gaulle's first act as President was to appoint Michel Debre as his Prime Minister, heading a 27-member cabinet. The installation of President de Gaulle marked the end of an eight-month transitional period following near civil war when French residents of Algeria protested against independence.

War
Israeli and Egyptian jet fighters clashed over the Sinai Desert.

World events
Jubilant crowds welcomed guerrilla leader Fidel Castro as he entered Havana after a week-long victory march from Santiago de Cuba.

Belgian authorities announced the arrest of Leopoldville's Mayor, Joseph Kasavubu, a leader of the Abako Party.

Economics and finance
The All-India Congress Committee, ruling body of the Congress Party, voted to commit the party to increased economic planning to turn India into "a democratic and socialist society."

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (Record Retailer): Lily the Pink--The Scaffold (4th week at #1)

Australia's top 10 (Go-Set)
1 White Room--Cream (2nd week at #1)
2 Little Arrows--Leapy Lee
3 Hey Jude/Revolution--The Beatles
4 Love Child--Diana Ross and the Supremes
5 Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin
6 Chewy Chewy--Ohio Express
7 Hold Me Tight--Johnny Nash
8 Elenore/Surfer Dan--The Turtles
9 All Along the Watchtower--The Jimi Hendrix Experience
10 (The Lament of the Cherokee) Indian Reservation--Don Fardon

No new singles entered the chart.

Politics and government
Stanislas Razl took office as Premier of the new Czech Soviet Socialist Republic.

Protest
Police restrained 1,000 demonstrators when they tried to occupy the administration building of San Fernando Valley State College in Los Angeles. Teachers at San Jose State College joined a strike.

Disasters
13 people were killed in Seoul when a bus was hit by a train and burst into flames.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Y.M.C.A.--Village People (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Chameleon Army--Pink Lady (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Tú--Umberto Tozzi (6th week at #1)

On television today
The game show Password Plus, hosted by Allen Ludden, debuted on NBC.

War
Hundreds of Khmer Rouge troops fled Cambodia after being crushed by Vietnamese-led rebel forces. Four years of brutal dictatorship by Pol Pot ended when he and many of his soldiers fled to the countryside, and the capital, Phnom Penh, was seized. Defeated soldiers crossed the border into Thailand, where they were arrested and jailed as illegal immigrants.

Diplomacy
The United States government advised Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi to leave his country permanently.

Defense
U.S. President Jimmy Carter scrapped plans for another 90,000-ton aircraft carrier, but he gave the go-ahead for the building of a new generation of smaller carriers. The U.S. Navy already had three of the supercarriers. According to Senator Gary Hart (Democrat--Colorado), a critic of the supercarrier, the new 60,000-ton carriers would be more able to protect vital sea lanes.

Protest
Mobs burned buildings in Tabriz, Iran.

Music
The rock band Rush were named Canada's official Ambassadors of Music.

Disasters
The French tanker Betelgeuse exploded twice while unloading crude oil in Bantry Bay, Ireland, splitting in two and killing 50.

Hockey
The Canadian Olympic team defeated Moscow Dynamo Riga 4-1 in an exhibition game at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Flashdance...What a Feeling--Irene Cara

#1 single in Switzerland: ? (Fragezeichen)--Nena

On the radio
The Stories of Sherlock Holmes, on Springbok Radio
Tonight's episode: Tragedy at Torridge Lodge



Diplomacy
The foreign ministers of Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador agreed to a peace plan proposed by the nations of the Contadora Group--Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela. Provisions of the plan included an inventory of arms, bases, and soldiers in each country; a timetable for reducing and removing foreign military advisers; free elections; respect for human rights; and an end to the use of one country's base for attacks against another.

Football
NFL
NFC Championship
San Francisco 21 @ Washington 24

AFC Championship
Seattle 14 @ Los Angeles Raiders 30

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Teardrops--Womack & Womack (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Orinoco Flow--Enya (5th week at #1)

Defense
At a conference in Paris on chemical weapons, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze said that the U.S.S.R. would soon begin to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons. The conference had been called by French President Francois Mitterand.

Disasters
British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashed into the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, England, killing 47 of the 126 people on board. The plane crashed when both engines of the new aircraft failed. The odds of a double engine failure were estimated at 100,000,000 to 1. The flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Belfast was forced to divert to East Midlands 10 minutes after takeoff when one engine caught fire. The remaining engine failed when the plane began its descent. A report by the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch found that the crew had shut down the wrong engine, i.e., the second one that was working, not the first one that had caught fire.

Hockey
NHL
Calgary 0 @ Edmonton 6

Football
NFL
AFC Championship
Buffalo 10 @ Cincinnati 21

Ickey Woods rushed for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the Cincinnati defense limited the Buffalo offense to 10 first downs and 181 yards in total offense as the Bengals beat the Bills before 59,747 fans at Riverfront Stadium.

NFC Championship
San Francisco 28 @ Chicago 3

Joe Montana passed for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns as the 49ers scored a touchdown in each quarter to beat the Bears before 66,946 fans at Soldier Field in a windchill of -26 F.