February 3, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Louise Taylor!

500 years ago
1509

War
The Portuguese Navy defeated a joint fleet of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Republic of Ragusa in the Battle of Diu in India.

200 years ago
1809

Born on this date
Felix Mendelssohn. German composer. Mr. Mendelssohn was a pianist and one of the most popular composers of the Romantic era, with several symphonies, Songs Without Words, and music for A Midsummer Night's Dream among his best-known works. He was born into a Jewish family, but was baptized as a Christian at the age of 7. Mr. Mendelssohn died on November 4, 1847 at the age of 38 after a series of strokes, which seemed to run in his family.

Americana
The Territory of Illinois was created by the 10th United States Congress.

150 years ago
1859

Born on this date
Hugo Junkers. German aircraft designer and engineer. Mr. Junkers pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. He founded the company that became Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG, and was Germany's leading aircraft manufacturer between the two world wars. He died on February 3, 1935, his 76th birthday.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Carl Theodor Dreyer. Danish film director. Mr. Dreyer was best known for his films The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928); Vampyr (1932); and Day of Wrath (1943). He died on March 20, 1968 at the age of 79.

Died on this date
Belle Starr, 40. U.S. outlaw. Mrs. Starr, a veteran horse thief who had been associated with the James Gang and the Younger brothers, was killed two days before her 41st birthday in a shotgun ambush near King Creek, Indian Territory by person or persons unknown.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Café Filho. 18th President of Brazil, 1954-1955; Vice President of Brazil, 1951-1954. Mr. Filho was a journalist before helping to found the Social Nationalist Party of Rio Grande do Norte (PSN) in 1933. He represented Rio Grande de Norte in the Chamber of Deputies from 1935-1937, but fled the country briefly when threatened with arrest, returning in 1938. Mr. Filho co-founded the Progressive Republican Party (PRP), representing Rio Grande de Norte again from 1946-1951, until he was elected Vice President. He acceded to the presidency upon the suicide of President Getúlio Vargas. Mr. Filho instituted economic reforms, but a cardiovascular ailment led to his temporary removal from office on November 8, 1955, replaced by Chamber of Deputies President Carlos Luz. Mr. Filho attempted to resume his powers, but his removal was approved by Congress on November 22 and approved by the Supreme Court in December. Mr. Filho died on February 20, 1970, 17 days after his 71st birthday.

90 years ago
1919

Died on this date
Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, 69. Queen consort of Bavaria, 1913-1918. Maria Theresa, the only child of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, married the future King Ludwig III of Bavaria on February 20, 1868. He succeeded his insane cousin Otto on the throne in 1913, but King Ludwig III was forced to abdicate on November 7, 1918, four days before the World War I armistice.

Mary Moore, 28 or 29. U.K.-born U.S. actress. Miss Moore, a native of Ireland, emigrated to the United States with her brothers Matt, Tom, Joe, and Owen in 1896, and all achieved success in movies. She appeared in at least 17 films from 1913-1917, including Under Southern Skies (1915) and Ignorance (1916). Miss Moore went to France during World War I to serve with the Red Cross, and was doing so when she died of influenza.

60 years ago
1949

War
Burmese government forces reported defeating Karen nationalists at Insein near Rangoon, removing the rebel threat to the capital.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Harry Truman told a White House press conference that he would not meet alone with U.S.S.R. dictator Josef Stalin unless Mr. Stalin came to Washington as his personal guest.

World events
The treason trial of Hungarian Roman Catholic Primate Josef Cardinal Mindszenty and six co-defendants opened in Budapest. Cardinal Mindszenty read a statement admitting to most of the prosecution's charges that he had engaged in illegal currency dealings and plotted with Western agents to overthrow the government and restore the Hungarian monarchy.

The Western Allies imposed a blockade on truck traffic between Western Europe and the Soviet zone of Germany.

Law
In Heidelberg, enlisted men sat on a U.S. Army court martial for the first time, convicting two privates of manslaughter and sentencing each to seven years in prison.

Soviet authorities in Berlin forced a division of the city's court system between eastern and western sectors.

Journalism
An Editor and Publisher survey reported that U.S. newspaper circulation in 1948 had hit a record high for the eighth straight year: 52,285,297 daily, and 46,308,081 for Sunday.

Americana
Independence, Missouri Mayor Roger Sermon announced plans for a $3.5-million library and museum to honour President Truman.

Football
NFL
Assistant coaches Buddy Parker and Phil Handler were named co-head coaches of the Chicago Cardinals, succeeding Jimmy Conzelman, who had resigned and taken a job with a local advertising agency.

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Emergency Only, starring Lin McCarthy, Paula Raymond, and Jocelyn Brando



Died on this date
Vincent Astor, 67. U.S. businessman and philanthropist. Mr. Astor, the son of millionaire John Jacob Astor IV, donated much of his family's fortune to social betterment projects such as housing complexes that included playgrounds for children. He served with the U.S. Navy during both world wars, and was chairman of the board of directors of Newsweek magazine from 1937 until his death from a heart attack.

J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, 28; Buddy Holly, 22; Ritchie Valens, 17. U.S. musicians. Mr. Richardson, Mr. Holly, and Mr. Valens, all currently popular rock and roll artists, were killed along with their pilot, Roger Peterson, 21, when the Beechcraft Bonanza they were travelling in crashed shortly after takeoff near Mason City, Iowa, at approximately 1:05 A.M. CST. Go here for a detailed account of the crash.

Music
The musicians who hadn't been killed in the plane crash in Iowa arrived in Fargo, North Dakota as part of the Winter Dance Party tour. The performers included Dion and the Belmonts; Frankie Sardo; and Buddy Holly's backing musicians, Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings. The tragic deaths of Mr. Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper created an opening for a local Fargo lad named Bobby Vee, who performed that night with his brothers. It was Mr. Vee's first big break in the music business.

Politics and government
The British Colonial Office announced that 6 of 18 Aden Protectorate states had agreed on a constitution for a proposed western Aden federation.

South Korea's governing Liberal Party ended a boycott of the National Assembly begun during a dispute over the controversial National Security Law.

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower accepted the resignation of Thomas Gates as Secretary of the Navy, and announced that Undersecretary William Franke would succeed him.

Protest
Maltese workers struck in a "national day of mourning" to protest the suspension of the Maltese constitution and imposition of a U.K.-nominated cabinet.

Economics and finance
Gold bullion was traded on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange for the first time.

Disasters
65 people were killed when American Airlines Flight 320, a Lockheed Electra bound from Midway International Airport, Chicago to LaGuardia Airport, New York crashed in the East River near New York. Eight people survived the crash (a ninth survivor was pulled from the water, but died later that day in hospital).

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Namida no Kisetsu--Pinky & the Killers (15th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Eloise--Barry Ryan (3rd week at #1)

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Crimson and Clover--Tommy James and the Shondells
2 I Started a Joke--The Bee Gees
3 Touch Me--The Doors
4 Worst that Could Happen--Brooklyn Bridge
5 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations
6 If I Can Dream--Elvis Presley
7 Build Me Up Buttercup--The Foundations
8 Everyday People--Sly & the Family Stone
9 You Showed Me--The Turtles
10 Hooked on a Feeling--B.J. Thomas

Singles entering the chart were Give it Up or Turnit a Loose by James Brown (#74); This Girl's in Love with You by Dionne Warwick (#78); To Susan on the West Coast Waiting by Donovan (#80); Purple Haze by Dion (#86); The Greatest Love by Dorsey Burnette (#87); Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#88); Traces by Classics IV (#90); Great Balls of Fire by Tiny Tim (#91); Only the Lonely by Sonny James (#93); She's Not There by the Road (#94); Johnny One Time by Brenda Lee (#95); If by Al Hirt (#96); Fox on the Run by Manfred Mann (#97); Let it Be Me by Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry (#98); Soul Shake by Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson (#99); and The Carroll County Accident by Porter Wagoner (#100).

Died on this date
C. N. Annadurai, 59. Indian politician. Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, a member of the Justice Party, sat in the Madras General Assembly from 1957-1962 and the Indian Rajya Sabha from 1962-1967. He was Chief Minister of Madras from 1967-1969, when the state's name was changed to Tamil Nadu. Mr. Annadurai was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for just 20 days before his death in office, from cancer.

Eduardo Mondlane, 48. Mozambican guerrilla leader. Mr. Mondlane was an anthropologist who became a United Nations official and in 1962 was elected president of the anti-Portuguese Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO). He supported not only Mozambican independence from Portugal, but the creation of a socialist society. Mr. Mondane was assassinated in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania when a bomb was planted in a book that was sent to him, and exploded when he opened the package. The assassination remains unsolved.

Defense
The United States Army reported that the number of Reserve Officer Training Corps commissions it had granted rose from 10,727 in 1967 to 14,176 in 1968, despite several colleges limiting or ending academic credit for ROTC on their campuses. The schools with compulsory ROTC had dropped from 132 to 95 in 5 years. 343 campuses now had ROTC units, with 270,000 students enrolled.

Boxing
At Madison Square Garden in New York, former world middleweight and welterweight champion Emile Griffith (57-10) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Andy Heilman (38-5-3) in a middleweight bout, while Clyde Gray (10-0) won a 6-round unanimous decision over Lorenzo Harris (4-2) in a welterweight bout. In the main event, Buster Mathis (29-1) won a 12-round unanimous decision over George Chuvalo (53-15-2) in a heavyweight bout.



30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)--Leo Sayer (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Too Much Heaven--Bee Gees (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Y.M.C.A.--Village People (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Heart of Glass--Blondie

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Y.M.C.A.--Village People (3rd week at #1)
2 Le Freak--Chic
3 Stumblin' In--Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman
4 (You Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back--Peter Tosh (support vocals: Mick Jagger)
5 Paradise by the Dashboard Light--Meat Loaf
6 Song for Guy--Elton John
7 Chiquitita--ABBA
8 A Little More Love--Olivia
9 You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)--Meat Loaf
10 I Love the Night Life (Disco Round)--Alicia Bridges

Singles entering the chart were Now that We Found Love by Third World (#21); Nee Darr Trappen We Niet In by Vader Abraham met De Ruimtesmurfen m.m.v. 5 P.K. (#27); Some Kind of Wonderful by Grand Funk (#30); Maak Van Uw Scheet Een Donderslag! by De Breedbekkikkers (#32); Linda-Linda by the Tee Set (#33); and Toppers Van Toen by Robert Paul (#38).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Le Freak--Chic (6th week at #1)
2 Y.M.C.A.--Village People
3 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart
4 A Little More Love--Olivia Newton-John
5 Too Much Heaven--Bee Gees
6 My Life--Billy Joel
7 Every 1's a Winner--Hot Chocolate
8 Fire--Pointer Sisters
9 September--Earth, Wind & Fire
10 I Will Survive--Gloria Gaynor

Singles entering the chart were Dog + Butterfly by Heart (#82); All the Time in the World by Dr. Hook (#84); Four Strong Winds by Neil Young (#86); For You and I by 10cc (#87); Bustin' Loose (Part 1) by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers (#88); Oh Honey by Delegation (#89); and Survivor by Cindy Bullens (#90).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?--Rod Stewart
2 Le Freak--Chic
3 Y.M.C.A.--Village People
4 Too Much Heaven--Bee Gees
5 Fire--Pointer Sisters
6 A Little More Love--Olivia Newton-John
7 Every 1's a Winner--Hot Chocolate
8 September--Earth, Wind & Fire
9 Lotta Love--Nicolette Larson
10 Got to Be Real--Cheryl Lynn

Singles entering the chart were Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits (#61); All the Time in the World by Dr. Hook (#84); Dog + Butterfly by Heart (#85); Contact by Edwin Starr (#86); Bustin' Loose (Part 1) by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers (#87); Survivor by Cindy Bullens (#88); He's the Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge (#89); Now that We Found Love by Third World (#97); and Run Home Girl by Sad Cafe (#98).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Y.M.C.A.--Village People (2nd week at #1)
2 Too Much Heaven--Bee Gees
3 My Life--Billy Joel
4 Le Freak--Chic
5 Hold the Line--Toto
6 Sharing the Night Together--Dr. Hook
7 Ooh Baby Baby--Linda Ronstadt
8 Promises--Eric Clapton and his Band
9 We've Got Tonite--Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
10 A Little More Love--Olivia Newton-John

Singles entering the chart were I Just Fall in Love Again by Anne Murray (#77); I Go to Rio by Pablo Cruise (#80); Lonely Wind by Kansas (#88); Every Which Way But Loose by Eddie Rabbitt (#91); You're Like the Wind by Prism (#98); Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father) by Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder (#99); and Tell Me You are Listening by Hellfield (#100).

Scandal
The trial of U.S. Representative Daniel Flood (Democrat--Pennsylvania), former chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, Education and Welfare, was declared a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict after 12 hours of deliberation on 11 charges of bribery, conspiracy, and perjury. The case against Rep. Flood was based on the testimony of five government witnesses who said they had given him bribes totalling $49,500 in cash and $4,000 in bank stock. Mr. Flood was beginning his 16th term in Congress. On February 9, the U.S. Justice Department began an investigation into possible jury tampering in the case, two days after The New York Times reported that a juror who had held out for acquittal on eight of the counts, while the other 11 had voted for conviction, had disclosed information in the deliberations that had not been presented in the trial, but which was similar to a statement given by a witness to the Federal Bureau of Investigation a year earlier.

Hockey
NHL
Montreal 6 Toronto 3

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Waterfront--Simple Minds

Space
The U.S. space shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-B launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a five-man crew commanded by Vance Brand. Trouble began eight hours after launch when Western Union Corporation's Westar 6 communications satellite was released, but apparently exploded, trailing debris in its wake and failing to reach its intended orbit.



Medicine
John Buster and the research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center announced history's first embryo transfer from one woman to another resulting in a live birth. The baby had been born in Los Angeles in January. Sperm used in the artificial insemination had come from the husband of the infertile woman. The transfer of the embryo, which had begun to develop, involved no surgery and could be performed in a doctor's office.

Religion
Campus Crusade for Christ speaker Michael Horner delivered the last of three noon hour lectures at SUB Theatre, as Christian Awareness Week at the University of Alberta wound down. The title of his talk was Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?

Environment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prohibited the use of ethylene dibromide (EDB) on grain products. The pesticide, identified as a cause of cancer in animals, had been detected in many products, especially in cake, muffin, and pancake mixes. The EPA also set guidelines for maximum safe levels on EDB in grain and foods already contaminated. Several states had also begun to move independently against products linked to EDB.

Economics and finance
Testifying before the United States Senate Budget Committee, U.S. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan said that the senators could throw away the report by Martin Feldstein, chairman of President Ronald Reagan's council of economic advisers, who had expressed concern about budget deficits in recent years. Messrs. Reagan and Regan held that the U.S. economic recovery would generate enough tax revenues to cut the annual deficits to manageable levels.

The United States Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in January had fallen to 7.9%.

Hockey
NHL
Calgary 5 @ Edmonton 10

The Oilers were playing the first of six straight games without centre Wayne Gretzky, who was out with an injury, but Pat Hughes had the biggest game of his career, scoring 5 goals to lead the Oilers over the Flames at Northlands Coliseum.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): First Time--Robin Beck (4th week at #1)

Died on this date
Lionel Newman, 73. U.S. composer and conductor. Mr. Newman, the brother of composers Alfred and Emil Newman and uncle of composer and performer Randy Newman, spent 46 years with 20th Century Fox, eventually becoming the studio's musical director for films and television. He was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, finally sharing the award with Lennie Hayton for the score of Hello Dolly! (1969). He wrote themes for television series such as Adventures in Paradise (1959-1962) and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963).

John Cassavetes, 59. U.S. actor and director. Mr. Cassavetes acted in movies such as Edge of the City (1957), The Killers (1964), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Rosemary's Baby (1968), and became one of Hollywood's most respected independent directors with such films as Shadows (1959); Faces (1968); and A Woman Under the Influence (1974). Heavy drinking eventually led to his death from cirrhosis of the liver.

World events
Two days of violence in Asuncion concluded with the overthrow of Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner in a military coup led by his longtime associate, General Andres Rodriguez, who assumed the presidency. A nine-member cabinet was also sworn in. Western diplomats estimated that as many as 300 people died in the fighting. Gen. Stroessner had taken power in a military coup in 1954.

Diplomacy
U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle visited El Salvador and warned that U.S. aid to El Salvador might be lost if that nation's human rights record did not improve.

Politics and government
Two weeks after suffering a stroke, South African President P. W. Botha resigned as leader of the National Party; he stayed on as President for six more months.

Baseball
Former major league first baseman and broadcaster Bill White was named president of the National League, becoming the highest-ranking Negro in professional sports history.

10 years ago
1999

Died on this date
Jack Service, 89. Chinese-born U.S. diplomat. Mr. Service, the son of American missionaries, spent his childhood in the Chinese province of Sichuan, moving to California as a teenager. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1933, and became one of the State Department's "China hands." Mr. Service was the political analyst with the "Dixie Mission" (1944-1947), the first U.S. attempt to establish relations with the Communist Party of China. He praised the Communists, while criticizing the Nationalist Chinese regime of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Mr. Service passed loyalty reviews in the late 1940s, but in March 1950, U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican--Wisconsin) accused him of being a Communist, and Mr. Service was soon fired by Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Mr. Service took his dismissal to court, and in 1957, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Mr. Service reinstated, ruling that Mr. Acheson had violated State Dept. regulations in firing him. Mr. Service resumed work with the State Dept., but was never promoted until his retirement in 1962. He worked as a librarian with the University of California's Center for Chinese Studies in later years.

Gwen Guthrie, 48. U.S. musician. Miss Guthrie was a singer-songwriter and pianist who sang backup vocals for artist such as Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, and Stevie Wonder, and wrote songs for various artists. She achieved some success as an artist in her own right, most notably with the single Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent (1986), which reached #1 on the Billboard rhythm and blues and dance charts, and #42 on the Hot 100 pop chart. Miss Guthrie died of uterine cancer.