November 26, 2008

720 years ago
1288

Born on this date
Go-Daigo. Emperor of Japan, 1318-1339. Go-Daigo, born Takaharu-shinnō, acceded to the throne upon the abdication of his second cousin Emperor Hanazono. Go-Daigo overthrew the Kamagura shogunate in 1333 and established the Kenmu Restoration, which in turn was overthrown by the Ashikaga shogunate in 1336. He was the last Emperor to have real power until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Go_Daigo died on September 19, 1339 at the age of 50, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Emperor Go-Murakami.

230 years ago
1778

Exploration
In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook became the first European to visit Maui.

120 years ago
1888

Born on this date
Ford Beebe. U.S. movie director and screenwriter. Mr. Beebe wrote and/or directed more than 200 films, specializing in "B" Westerns and action serials, in a career spanning 60 years. He died on November 26, 1978, his 90th birthday.

90 years ago
1918

Europeana
The Montenegran Podgorica Assembly voted for a "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia.

80 years ago
1928

Diplomacy
U.S. President-elect Herbert Hoover began his goodwill tour of Latin America with visits to Honduras and El Salvador.

Society
The Italian government of Duce Benito Mussolini restricted migration from farms to cities, and ordered many needy provincials in overcrowded centres to move back to the country. An extensive press and oratorical campaign to induce a serious "back to the country" movement had begun, and "Decrowd the crowded cities!" had become a national slogan.

Labour
In Bergamo, Italy, the local Industrialists' Association, in conjunction with the Workmen's Syndicates, decided to "exclude without pity or false humanitarian concepts, all those who belong to peasant families," when considering the employment of additional workmen in the factories there.

Disasters
Storms over western Europe and its coasts over the past four days had killed over 100 people and destroyed dikes and ships. Heavy seas broke dikes in the vicinity of Antwerp, Belgium, and torrents poured into the surrounding area. Broken dikes near Ostend and Ghent, Belgium caused floods in that area, with two villages under water. The death toll from the storm in the Netherlands was 24. Snow and rains in the Black Forest in southern Germany gave rise to Rhine River floods. Throughout France, and in the Rhine Valley, rains and wind caused damage to farms and cities.

70 years ago
1938

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Rich Little!

The master impressionist was born in Ottawa, Ontario.

Football
IRFU
Finals
Toronto 5 @ Ottawa 3 (Toronto won 2-game total points series 14-4)

ORFU
Finals
Montreal 0 @ Sarnia 15 (Sarnia won 2-game total points series 24-5)

Annis Stukus kicked a 25-yard field goal in the 1st quarter and Bob Isbister punted for 2 singles later in the game as the Argonauts eliminated the Rough Riders before 13,000 fans at Lansdowne Park. The Ottawa points were scored in the 2nd half in unusual manners on kicking plays. Dave Sprague blocked one of Mr. Isbister's punts into the Toronto end zone in the 3rd quarter and the Argonauts recovered, giving Mr. Sprague a single. In the 4th quarter, Eddie Rocano's punt was fielded by Toronto's Art West in the field of play and he went back into his own end zone and was trapped for a safety touch.

The Imperials took a 13-0 lead in the 2nd quarter and coasted to victory over the Nationals before 4,000 fans in a snowstorm at Davis Field. The winning point came on the opening kickoff when Sarnia's Hugh "Bummer" Stirling returned the ball 80 yards to the Montreal 20-yard line and lateralled to Pat Parsons, who almost took it for a touchdown, but fumbled into the Montreal end zone, and Montreal's Jules Atcheson kicked it through the end zone for a single point. Mr. Stirling was ejected in the 2nd quarter--much to the displeasure of the fans--after the Imperials had built their big lead.

NCAA
Army 14 Navy 7 @ Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia

60 years ago
1948

War
Israeli-Egyptian armistice negotiations bogged down over United Nations mediator Ralph Bunche's demand for complete Israeli withdrawal from the Negev desert.

Politics and government
The Unity Commission of the Western European Union convened in Paris to discuss plans for a European federation; French National Assembly President Edouard Herriot was elected chairman.

Belgian Prime Minister Paul-Henri Spaak revived his Socialist-Social Christian coalition government.

The Irish Parliament passed the Republic of Ireland Bill, severing Ireland's tied with the British Crown.

The Chinese Legislative Assembly named Sun Fo, the son of Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen, to succeed Wong Wen-hao as Premier, following the latter's resignation.

A U.S. federal court in Charlestown, South Carolina ruled that Negroes were entitled to belong to the state Democratic Party and vote in its primaries.

The U.S. House of Representatives Labor and Un-American Activities Committees dropped contempt of Congress charges against 50 witnesses who refused to testify if they were Communists.

Environment
The U.S.A. announced the ratification of a world whale conservation agreement with the U.S.S.R., U.K., S.A., Australia, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Business
Jack Benny sold his NBC radio program to CBS for a reported $2 million-$3 million.

Labour
The Congress of Industrial Organizations ended a five-day national convention in Portland, Oregon after re-electing Philip Murray as President and passing a resolution attacking the U.S.S.R. for its opposition to the Marshall Plan and veto "abuses" in the United Nations. Mr. Murray criticized leaders of leftist CIO affiliates, including the United Office and Professional Workers of America and the United Public Workers union, stating that he would "never permit Communist infiltration into the national CIO movement."

Boxing
The National Boxing Association followed the California State Athletic Commission in suspending former world middleweight champion Rocky Graziano for withdrawing from a fight with Fred Apostoli scheduled for December 1 in Oakland. Mr. Graziano claimed that he was "homesick" and "too mixed up mentally" to train properly.

Baseball
The Baseball Writers Association of America named Cleveland Indians' shortstop Lou Boudreau as the Most Valuable Player in the American League for 1948. Mr. Boudreau managed the Indians to the World Series championship, while batting .355 with 18 home runs and 108 runs batted in in 152 games.

50 years ago
1958

At the movies
From the Earth to the Moon, directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, and Debra Paget, opened in theatres in New York City.

Literature
Thomas and Geraldine Makris settled their libel suits against Peyton Place authoress Grace Metalious and her publisher, Julian Messner, out of court in Laconia, New Hampshire, by compromise agreements.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles indicated that the United States had tempered its refusal to recognize East German authority in Berlin, and "might" permit the East German government to act as a Soviet "agent" in administering Western communications to Berlin.

Science
George de Hevesey, the Hungarian-born Swedish chemist who had won the Nobel Prize in 1943, was named the recipient of the $75,000 Atoms for Peace Award for pioneering the use of radioactive isotopes in research on plant and animal life.

Economics and finance
French Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer agreed to oppose the United Kingdom's free trade zone proposal in favour of a looser "multilateral association" of Common Market members with Britain and other non-members.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade): Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin (6th week at #1)

Space
A new telescope, described as the third-largest in the world, was dedicated at McDonald Observatory in Texas.

War
South Vietnam ended its boycott, and agree to send a delegation to the peace talks in Paris. United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescued an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire, earning the Medal of Honor.

Diplomacy
The United States and Romania signed a two-year cultural exchange agreement, calling for an exchange of undergraduate as well as graduate students for four-year study programs, and for exchange of television and radio coverage of public events.

Defense
France reduced its 1969 military budget by $80 million, and also postponed its nuclear tests in the South Pacific Ocean.

Society
The Race Relations Act 1968 came into force in the United Kingdom, making it illegal to refuse housing, employment or public services to people because of their ethnic background.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Substitute--Clout (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: You're the Greatest Love--Luv'

Died on this date
Ford Beebe, 90. U.S. movie director and screenwriter.

Disasters
10 people were killed and 34 injured when fire swept through the Holiday Inn in Greece, New York; authoritis said the fire was caused by arson.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 8 @ Pittsburgh 2

Football
CFL
Grey Cup @ Exhibition Stadium, Toronto
Edmonton 20 Montreal 13

Before 54,695 fans at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, the Edmonton Eskimos became the first western team to win a Grey Cup game played in the east since 1964 when they defeated the defending champion Montreal Alouettes 20-13. Dave Cutler led the Eskimos' scoring with 4 field goals in 5 attempts, a single, and a convert. Jim Germany scored the Eskimos' only touchdown on a 2-yard run at 10:53 of the first quarter. The score resulted from a fumble by Alouettes' running back David Green, recovered by the Eskimos. The drive was kept alive by a fake field goal, when holder Tom Wilkinson flipped a short pass to Tom Scott for a first down. With the Eskimos leading 17-3 near the end of the third quarter, a botched handoff from Mr. Wilkinson to Mr. Germany resulted in a fumble, recovered by the Alouettes. Quarterback Joe Barnes rushed 10 yards for a converted touchdown to get Montreal within striking distance. A Don Sweet field goal midway through the quarter cut the lead to 17-13, but the Alouettes were unable to complete the comeback. Veteran Sonny Wade relieved Mr. Barnes late in the game and drove the Alouettes to the Eskimos' 27-yard line in the final minute, but three passes fell incomplete. For Mr. Wade, who had quarterbacked the Alouettes to victory in Grey Cups in 1970, 1974, and 1977, it was his last game. For the Eskimos, it marked the beginning of a run of five straight Grey Cups. Mr. Wilkinson was named the game's outstanding offensive player, completing 16 of 26 passes for just 119 yards. Eskimos' defensive tackle was chosen as the outstanding defensive player. Angelo Santucci, who rushed 6 times for 26 yards and caught 5 passes for 25 in relief of the injured Don Warrington in the Eskimos' offensive backfield, won the Dick Suderman Memorial Trophy as the outstanding Canadian player. Rookie Eskimo quarterback Warren Moon came in for one play, and rushed for 3 yards on a third-down short-yardage gamble. George McGowan, one of the CFL's best receivers of the 1970s, was held to 1 catch for 4 yards in what turned out to be the last game he played in that counted. Although the 1978 Grey Cup, like most Edmonton-Montreal Grey Cups, was a dull game, it's interesting to watch the video of the game to see how much has changed since then. There were no painted faces in the crowd, and no one with a painted watermelon on his head. Broadcasters Don Chevrier and Don Wittman of CBC and Pat Marsden and Mike Wadsworth of CTV are now dead. The Grey Cup is no longer played in the afternoon. Exhibition Stadium no longer exists. Viewers with a keen knowledge of CFL rules will notice a play where Junior Ah You of the Alouettes got upset with Tom Scott when the Eskimos' receiver dove at Mr. Ah You's legs while the Alouettes' defensive end was blocking Willie Martin of the Eskimos. Today that would be a 15-yard penalty for a major foul--chop block. In 1978, that play was still legal. And David Boone's high hit on Joe Barnes, which knocked the Montreal quarterback out of the game, would draw an unnecessary roughness penalty today. In 1978, it didn't draw a penalty. The play occurred at the sidelines in front of the Alouettes' bench, but there was no protest. And I don't recall any media reports mentioning that as a key play in the game.



25 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in France: Comment ça va--The Shorts (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew--The Rock Steady Crew

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Uptown Girl--Billy Joel (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K.: Uptown Girl--Billy Joel (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie
2 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
3 Islands in the Stream--Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
4 Uptown Girl--Billy Joel
5 Cum On Feel the Noize--Quiet Riot
6 Love is a Battlefield--Pat Benatar
7 Total Eclipse of the Heart--Bonnie Tyler
8 One Thing Leads to Another--The Fixx
9 Say it Isn't So--Daryl Hall-John Oates
10 Heart and Soul--Huey Lewis and the News

Singles entering the chart were Running with the Night by Lionel Richie (#55); That's All by Genesis (#69); In the Mood by Robert Plant (#82); Send Me an Angel by Real Life (#83); The Sign of Fire by the Fixx (#86); and State of the Nation by Industry (#88).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 All Night Long (All Night)--Lionel Richie
2 Islands in the Stream--Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
3 In a Big Country--Big Country
4 Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)--Sheena Easton
5 Uptown Girl--Billy Joel
6 Say Say Say--Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
7 True--Spandau Ballet
8 Modern Love--David Bowie
9 Making Love Out of Nothing at All--Air Supply
10 Crumblin' Down--John Cougar Mellencamp

Singles entering the chart were Blue World by the Moody Blues (#45); Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder (#47); You Don't Believe by Alan Parsons Project (#49); and Tender is the Night by Jackson Browne (#50).

World events
The government of El Salvador cracked down on 21 military and security men who were suspected of having ties to death squads that had murdered thousands of Communists, labour leaders, advocates of land reform, and other civilians.

Crime
An armed gang stole £25 million worth of gold bullion from the Brinks Mat warehouse near Heathrow Airport in London.

Canadiana
Pam Dennis, a 20-year-old nurse at McMaster University Medical Centre, was named Miss Grey Cup 1983 in Vancouver. Miss Dennis represented the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (FIMI): I Don't Want Your Love--Duran Duran (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Teardrops--Womack & Womack (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Teardrops--Womack & Womack (6th week at #1)

#1 single in France (SNEP): Amor de mis amores--Paco (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): First Time--Robin Beck

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): First Time--Robin Beck (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Bad Medicine--Bon Jovi (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Bad Medicine--Bon Jovi
2 Desire--U2
3 Wild, Wild West--Escape Club
4 Kissing a Fool--George Michael
5 How Can I Fall?--Breathe
6 Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Free Baby)--Will to Power
7 Look Away--Chicago
8 I Don't Want Your Love--Duran Duran
9 The Loco-Motion--Kylie Minogue
10 Walk on Water--Eddie Money

Singles entering the chart were Holding On by Steve Winwood (#54); Born to Be My Baby by Bon Jovi (#66); As Long as You Follow by Fleetwood Mac (#72); Walking Away by Information Society (#78); Kiss by The Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones (#87); My Song by Glass Tiger (#89); and Cross My Heart by Eighth Wonder (#90).

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz denied Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat permission to travel to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly because of his "association with terrorism."

Law
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet declared illegal the November 16 declaration by Estonia's Supreme Soviet that it had the right to veto national legislation affecting Estonia.

Religion
This blogger and fellow observer Chris Milner attended a performance by disgraced televangelist Peter Popoff at the Chateau Lacombe hotel in Edmonton. Mr. Popoff claimed that he had prayed that a recently-deceased man who was being transported for burial would be raised to life. According to Mr. Popoff, the man woke up in the hearse, and the driver of the hearse, a backslidden Pentecostal preacher, promptly pulled the car over, got down on his knees, and rededicated himself to the Lord. I found that story very hard to believe.

10 years ago
1998

Diplomacy
Tony Blair became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.

Politics and government
Northwest Territories Premier Don Morin was forced out of office after conflict of interest allegations over the illegal shipment of government owned bison to a friend, Mike Mrdjenovich, in 1996; Mr. Mrdjenovich received 70 wood bison for his ranch in Alberta in exchange for building the Edjericon Bison Ranch in Fort Resolution, a community in Mr. Morin's riding.

Law
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that authorities at elementary and secondary schools have the right to search a student without first obtaining a search warrant.

Disasters
A rail disaster took 212 lives in Khanna, Ludhiana, India.