February 15, 2009

490 years ago
1519

Born on this date
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Spanish explorer and politician. Admiral Menéndez was known for planning the first convoys across the Atlantic Ocean. He founded the city of St. Augustine, Florida, and served as its first Governor from 1565-1574. He returned to Spain and died on September 17, 1574 at the age of 55, shortly after being appointed as Governor of Cuba.

200 years ago
1809

Born on this date
Cyrus McCormick. U.S. inventor and businessman. Mr. McCormick patented a design for a mechanical reaper in 1834. He and his brother Leander founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company after moving to Chicago in 1847; the company merged with several others in 1902 to become International Harvester Company. Cyrus McCormick died at the age of 75 on May 13, 1884, four years after suffering a serious stroke.

170 years ago
1839

Died on this date
François Chevalier de Lorimier, 35; Pierre-Remi Narbonne; François Nicolas; Amable Daunais; Charles Hindenlang, 28. Canadian rebels. The five men were the last of the 12 leaders of the Frères Chasseurs (Hunters Lodges) to be hanged for their roles in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838. The men were hanged at Prison du Pied-du-courant in Montréal. Previous hangings of rebels had taken place on December 21, 1838 and January 18, 1839.

130 years ago
1879

Law
U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Georges Auric. French composer. Mr. Auric, a member of Les Six, wrote avant garde classical music in the 1920s and film scores from the 1930s through the 1960s. His best known score is probably that of Moulin Rouge (1952), the title song of which was the biggest-selling single in the United States in 1953 in a version by Percy Faith and his Orchestra. Mr. Auric died on July 23, 1983 at the age of 84.

Gale Sondergaard. U.S. actress. Miss Sondergaard, born Edith Sondergaard, won an Academy Award for her supporting performance in her first movie, Anthony Adverse (1936), the first year in which supporting performances were so honoured. Her other movies included The Life of Emile Zola (1937); The Letter (1940); The Spider Woman (1944); The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946); and Anna and the King of Siam (1946). Miss Sondergarrd's career in movies was virtually finished when she supported her husband, director Herbert Biberman, when he was accused of being one of the "Hollywood Ten" Communists in the late 1940s. Miss Sondergaard appeared in numerous television programs from the late 1960s through the '70s, and died on August 14, 1985 at the age of 86.

Hockey
Stanley Cup @ Montreal Arena
Winnipeg Victorias 1 @ Montreal Victorias 2 (First game of 2-game, total goals series)

Graham Drinkwater and Bob MacDougall scored for the defending champion Montreal Victorias as they edged their Winnipeg counterparts. Tony Gingras scored for Winnipeg. Winnipeg forward Dan Bain suffered an eye injury that kept him out of the second game.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Miep Gies!
Mrs. Gies is the last survivor of those who helped Anne Frank and her family when they were hiding from the Nazis in the Netherlands, and saved Miss Frank's papers when the family was captured. Mrs. Gies told her story in her autobiography Anne Frank Remembered (1987) and was interviewed for the documentary film Anne Frank Remembered (1995).

Disasters
250 people died in a fire at the Flores Theater in Acapulco, Mexico.

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
André Prévost, 58. French tennis player. Mr. Prévost was the losing finalist in the men's singles competition at the French Championships in 1900, and teamed with Georges de la Chapelle to win the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris.

60 years ago
1949

Scandal
Chinese acting President Li Tsung-jen appealed for an end to embezzlement of public funds by government officials and army officers, claiming that the Nationalist regime would otherwise be "ruined."

Archaeology
Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux began excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves in Palestine, where the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls had been discovered two years earlier.

Weather
The temperature in New York City reached 71 F., a record high for February 15.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in France (IFOP): Guitare et tambourin--Dalida

At the movies
Ride Lonesome, the fifth of seven Western collaborations between director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott, opened in theatres. The other Boetticher-Scott westerns were Seven Men From Now (1956); The Tall T (1957); Decision at Sundown (1957); Buchanan Rides Alone (1958); Westbound (1959); and Comanche Station (1960). Ride Lonesome, written by Burt Kennedy, was about a bounty hunter who attracted unwanted companions while bringing in a wanted criminal. The cast included Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, James Best, Lee Van Cleef, and, in his movie debut, James Coburn.

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Arlene Carlstrom!

Died on this date
Owen Richardson, 79. U.K. physicist. Dr. Richardson was awarded the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the thermionic phenomenon and especially for the discovery of the law named after him."

Politics and government
Italian Prime Minister-designate Antonio Segni announced the formation of a new cabinet drawn entirely from the Christian Democratic Party.

Society
Indian Health Minister D.P. Karmarkar told the Indian Family Planning Board that state-owned hospitals would be equipped to provide free voluntary sterilization of males in an effort to reduce population growth.

Crime
In raids throughout New York, narcotics agents and police smashed what was described as a major U.S. heroin ring led by Philip Orlandino.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Lily the Pink--The Scaffold (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da--The Marmalade (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Casatchok--Dimitri Dourakine and his Orchestra (7th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Scende la pioggia--Gianni Morandi (5th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Eloise--Barry Ryan (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Lonely Woods of Upton--Sean Dunphy (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Albatross--Fleetwood Mac (3rd week at #1)

Austria's Top 10 (Ö3)
1 Ob La Di Ob La Da--The Marmalade
2 Es geht eine Träne auf Reisen--Adamo
3 Sometimes--Mireille Mathieu
4 Eloise--Barry Ryan
5 My Little Lady--The Tremeloes
6 Little Arrows--Leapy Lee
7 Hey Jude--The Beatles
8 A Minute of Your Time--Tom Jones
9 Softly, Softly--The Equals
10 Those were the Days--Mary Hopkin

Singles entering the chart were Ob La Di Ob La Da; Softly, Softly; Only One Woman by the Marbles (#14); Race with the Devil by the Gun (#15); A Day Without Love by the Love Affair (#17); I'm the Urban Spaceman by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (#19); and Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf (#20).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Ain't Got No--I Got Life--Nina Simone (4th week at #1)
2 Hair--Zen
3 Atlantis--Donovan
4 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
5 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da--The Beatles
6 Albatross--Fleetwood Mac
7 Spooky's Day Off--Swinging Soul Machine
8 Kiele, Kiele, Kiele...--Toon Hermans en De Driedonken Blaaskapel
9 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
10 Antoinette--Leo Den Hop

Singles entering the chart were Casatchok by Ria Valk (#30); Ring of Fire by Eric Burdon and the Animals (#31); Frank Mills by Bojoura (#32); Capital Punishment by Sandy Coast (#36); Ik Weet Dat Jij Niet Nee Kan Zeggen by Confetti Combo (#37); and Every Day I Have to Cry by BZN (#38). Frank Mills was originally from Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
2 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
3 Touch Me--The Doors
4 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
5 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
6 Can I Change My Mind--Tyrone Davis
7 You Showed Me--The Turtles
8 I Heard it Through the Grapevine--Marvin Gaye
9 Hang 'em High--Booker T. & the M.G.'s
10 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations

Singles entering the chart were My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) by David Ruffin (#50); Run Away Child, Running Wild by the Temptations (#70); I Don't Know Why by Stevie Wonder (#77); Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon by Paul Revere and the Raiders (#82); Lovin' Things by the Grassroots (#83); Hot Smoke & Sasafrass by the Bubble Puppy (#84); Maybe Tomorrow by the Iveys (#86); Hello it's Me by the Nazz (#87); No Not Much by the Smoke Ring (#89); Anything You Choose by Spanky and Our Gang (#95); Switch it On by Cliff Nobles & Co. (#97); I Like What You're Doing (To Me) by Carla Thomas (#98); I Don't Want to Cry by Ruby Winters (#99); and Twenty-Five Miles by Edwin Starr (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
2 Touch Me--The Doors
3 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
4 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
5 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
6 Can I Change My Mind--Tyrone Davis
7 You Showed Me--The Turtles
8 This Magic Moment--Jay and the Americans
9 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
10 I'm Livin' in Shame--Diana Ross and the Supremes

Singles entering the chart were Run Away Child, Running Wild by the Temptations (#57); A Lover's Question by Otis Redding (#67); Lovin' Things by the Grassroots (#68); Try a Little Tenderness by Three Dog Night (#79); Tear Drop City by the Monkees (#80); Am I the Same Girl by Barbara Acklin (#82); I've Got to Have Your Love by Eddie Floyd (#85); When He Touches Me (Nothing Else Matters) by Peaches and Herb (#86); Cloud Nine by Mongo Santamaria (#89); The Letter by the Arbors (#93); Do Your Thing by the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (#95); and Baby Make Me Feel So Good by the Five Stairsteps + Cubie (#99). On the Looking Ahead chart, Lady Samantha by Elton John charted at #45, his first entry on an American chart.

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells (5th week at #1)
2 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
3 Touch Me--The Doors
4 Sweet Cream Ladies--The Box Tops
5 Feelin' So Good--The Archies
6 Cruel War--Sugar n' Spice
7 This Magic Moment--Jay and the Americans
8 Condition Red--The Goodees
9 Baby Let's Wait--The Royal Guardsmen
10 Games People Play--Joe South
Pick hit of the week: Star Crossed Lovers--Neil Sedaka

Music
The album Instant Replay by the Monkees was released on Colgems Records in the United States and on RCA Victor Records elsewhere. It was their first album to be released after the departure of Peter Tork from the group.

Politics and government
Willie May Rogers, appointed less than a week before as U.S. President Richard Nixon's adviser on consumer affairs, resigned because of conflict-of-interest accusations concerning her ties with the Good Housekeeping Institute.

Adventure
Four aquanauts began 60 days of living underwater in a capsule off the coast of Saint John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
Austria's top 10 (Ö3)
1 Y.M.C.A.--Village People
2 You're the Greatest Lover--Luv'
3 Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord--Boney M.
4 Ballade pour Adeline--Richard Clayderman
5 The Devil Sent You to Lorado--Baccara
6 Stumblin' In--Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro
7 Darlin'--Frankie Miller
8 Trojan Horse--Luv'
9 Catch the Cat--Cherry Laine
10 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart

Singles entering the chart were Darlin'; Trojan Horse; Too Much Heaven by the Bee Gees (#13); Kreuzberger Nächte by Gebrüder Blattschuss (#15); Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc (#18); Blue Bayou by Paola (#19); Le Freak by Chic (#21); Baby Make Love by La Bionda (#22); Andrea by Fabrizio de André (#23); and You've Got All of Me by Clout (#25).

Americana
Lori Heeren, representing Sioux City, Iowa, was named Miss Teenage America 1979. Miss Teenage Columbia, South Carolina was the first runner-up. The pageant, which took place at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, wasn't televised on a single network, but was shown on 64 stations over 13 different nights. This was the last year in which the Miss Teenage America pageant existed in its original form.

Diplomacy
Acting U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher protested to U.S.S.R. Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin "in the strongest terms the shock of the United States Government over the role played by Soviet advisers" in the previous day's murder in Kabul of U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Adolph Dubs. U.S. advisers claimed that Soviet advisers had provided weapons for the hotel at which Mr. Dubs had been killed during a shootout between police and Mr. Dubs' kidnappers, and had been involved in directing the attack.

World events
Iran's provisional government accused leftist People's Fedayeen guerrillas of attacks on government installations and foreign embassies in an attempt to destabilize the regime.

Politics and government
Don Dunstan resigned as Premier of South Australia because of poor health, ending almost a decade of sweeping social liberalization under his Labour Party government. He was succeeded by Deputy Premier Des Corcoran.

Crime
At least 32 people were killed in an explosion at a crowded bank in Warsaw.

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
Ethel Merman, 76. U.S. actress and singer. Born Ethel Zimmerman, Miss Merman was known for her booming voice, which made her a star in musical comedy plays on Broadway. Her signature song was There's No Business Like Show Business, which was also the title song of a movie in which she starred. Miss Merman was married four times; her fourth marriage, to actor Ernest Borgnine, was one of the strangest couplings in Hollywood history, and lasted just a few weeks, fortunately producing no children.

War
U.S. President Ronald Reagan formally notified Congress of his plan to remove most U.S. Marines from Beirut "within 30 days." Advancing Muslim forces had virtually surrounded the Marines. Many defeated Lebanese soldiers fled south to the Israeli lines in southern Lebanon. Lebanese President Amin Gemayel had reportedly decided to abandon the May 17, 1983 treaty with Israel providing for the withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian forces from Lebanon. Syria had said that the cancellation of the treaty was essential if Mr. Gemayel was to survive in office. Mr. Gemayel had reportedly accepted this and other provisions of a Saudi Arabian peace plan, which also included a simultaneous phased withdrawal of Israelis and Syrians; power-sharing talks between the Lebanese government and its Muslim opponents; and the replacement of Western peacekeepers with neutral United Nations troops.

Business
The U.S. Justice Department announced that it would sue to block the proposed merger of LTV and Republic Steel Corporation--the nation's third- and fourth-largest steel companies--on antitrust grounds. The announcement also cast doubt on plans announced on February 1 by America's largest steel maker, United States Steel, to buy National Steel Corporation, the nation's seventh-largest steel company.

Olympics
Czechoslovakia defeated Canada 4-0 in men's hockey at the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Hockey
NHL
Winnipeg 4 @ Edmonton 7

The Oilers ended a five-game losing streak with their win over the Jets at Northlands Coliseum.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Like a Yo-Yo--Sabrina (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Buffalo Stance--Neneh Cherry (2nd week at #1)

Austria's top 10 (Ö3)
1 First Time--Robin Beck (3rd week at #1)
2 Twist in My Sobriety--Tanita Tikaram
3 Das Phantom der Oper--Alexander Goebel & Luzia Nistler
4 Put a Little Love in Your Heart--Annie Lennox and Al Green
5 Tango Korrupti--Rainhard Fendrich
6 Stop!--Sam Brown
7 Patrona Bavariae--Original Naabtal Duo
8 Orinoco Flow--Enya
9 Kiss--The Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones
10 Listen to the Voices--Labi Siffre

Singles entering the chart were Des Phantom der Oper; Listen to the Voices; In The Air Tonight ('88 Remix) by Phil Collins (#15); Silent Water by Blue System (#16); Skin to Skin by Harry Belafonte (#22); When a Girl Cries by Bilgeri (#28); and Buffalo Station by Neneh Cherry (#29).

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Hiroshima, Mon Frere

War
The U.S.S.R. officially announced that all of its troops had left Afghanistan, crossing a bridge from Heiratan to Termez, in the Soviet Union. The last Soviet soldier to cross the bridge was Lieutenant General Boris Gromov, the Soviet commander. Soviet figures indicated that 15,000 of their soldiers had been killed and 37,000 wounded in fighting against Muslim rebels. It was estimated that 250 Soviet diplomats, spies, and military advisers remained in Afghanistan. The Soviet-backed Afghan army numbered about 140,000 soldiers. The Afghan government held the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad, outside of which, respectively, 30,000 and 15,000 mujahadeen rebels were massed.

World events
The day after Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa--a legal judgment--encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of the novel The Satanic Verses (1988), for being disrespectful to the prophet Muhammad, one of the Ayatollah's aides offered $1 million for the death of Mr. Rushdie, prompting the author to go into hiding.

Hockey
NHL
Calgary 6 Winnipeg 1

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Henry Way Kendall, 72. U.S. physicist. Dr. Kendall shared the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics with Jerome Isaac Friedman and Richard E. Taylor "for their pioneering investigations concerning deep inelastic scattering of electrons on protons and bound neutrons, which have been of essential importance for the development of the quark model in particle physics." Dr. Kendall was also a mountaineer and photographer; he was diving in a cave at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, Florida as a part of the Wakulla 2 Project when he neglected to turn on the oxygen supply to his rebreather, lost consciousness, and drowned.

Michael Morgan, 39. U.S. actor. Mr. Morgan, the son of stuntman Bob Morgan and actress Yvonne De Carlo, appeared as a guest star in various television programs in the 1970s and '80s, and was a regular member of the cast of Sons and Daughters (1974). He was in a halfway house in Los Angeles, dealing with addiction, at the time of his death; his older brother Bruce reportedly believed that Michael was murdered by a drug dealer. Bob Morgan died just a week later at the age of 82.

World events
Turkish agents captured Abdullah Ocalan, head of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a major group fighting for Kurdish independence in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. Mr. Ocalan was seized in Nairobi, Kenya after he left the Greek embassy there, where he had sought refuge.

Politics and government
Nunavut, which was two months away from officially becoming a territory separate from the Northwest Territories, held its first territorial election. 19 candidates were elected to the territory's first Legislative Assembly, with Paul Okalik being chosen among them to become Nunavut's first Premier.