October 10, 2009

1,990 years ago
19

Born on this date
Tiberius Gemellus. Roman royal family member. Tiberius Gemellus, a son of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla, and grandson of Emperor Tiberius, was a joint heir to the throne with Caligula, but was either killed by Caligula or was forced to kill himself in late 37 or early 38 at the age of 18. Tiberius Gemellus's twin brother Tiberius Claudius Caesar Germanicus II Gemellus died in 23 at the age of 3 or 4.

Died on this date
Germanicus, 33. Roman military officer and politician. Germanicus Julius Caesar, a nephew of Tiberius, was known for his victories in Germania, and was regarded as the "ideal Roman" because of his military record, virtuous character, and physique. He was a consul in 12 and 18, and died in Antioch, Syria of an illness, and was suspected by many to have been poisoned.

650 years ago
1359

Died on this date
Hugh IV, 64 (?). King of Cyprus, 1324-1358. Hugh IV, the son of Guy, Constable of Cyprus and grandson of King Hugh III, acceded to the throne upon the death of his uncle Henry II, who had no sons. Hugh IV was nominal King of Jerusalem as Hugh II, but was content to rule Cyprus. He was succeeded by his son Peter I.

410 years ago
1599

Born on this date
Étienne Moulinié. French composer. Mr. Moulinié wrote sacred and secular music, including works for ballet and lute. He died in 1676 at the age of 76 or 77.

325 years ago
1684

Born on this date
Jean-Antoine Watteau. French artist. Mr. Watteau was a painter who revitalized the Baroque style, shifting it to Rococo. He was credited with inventing the genre of fêtes galantes, scenes of bucolic and idyllic charm, suffused with a theatrical air. Mr. Watteau long suffered from poor health, and died on July 18, 1721 at the age of 36, from what may have been tuberculous laringytis.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Han van Meegeren. Dutch painter. Mr. van Meegeren achieved modest success painting under his own name, but achieved tremendous success as a forger; the most prominent critics in the Netherlands, as well as wealthy collectors (including high-ranking Nazis such as Herrmann Goering), paid huge prices for paintings that were believed to be authentic "lost" masterpieces by Johannes Vermeer that in fact were painted by Mr. van Meegeren. He died on December 30, 1947 at the age of 58, just six weeks after being convicted and sentenced to a year in prison for forgery and fraud.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Shripad Amrit Dange. Indian politician. Mr. Dange was a longtime Communist who was Chairman of the Communist Party of India (1962-1978), and respresented Bombay Central (1957-1962) and Bombay Central South (1967-1970) in the Lok Sabha. Increasing rifts in the Communist Party led to his expulsion in 1981, so he became leader of the new All India Communist Party, which failed to achieve electoral success, and merged into the United Communist Party of India in 1987. Mr. Dange died on May 22, 1991 at the age of 91.

60 years ago
1949

Died on this date
George Parker, 63. U.S. journalist. Mr. Parker was chief editor of the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, and won the 1936 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.

Literature
The novel The Way West by A.B. Guthrie, Jr. was published by William Sloane Associates.

Space
University of Chicago physicist Gerard Kuiper propounded the condensation theory of the solar system, postulating that the planets had been formed from a nebula of gas and dust rotating around the Sun three billion years ago.

Aviation
Former U.S. Navy pilots Woody Jongeward and Bob Woodhouse landed their two-place Aeronca in Yuma, Arizona after setting an endurance record of 1,124 hours 14 minutes.

War
Nationalist Chinese General Pai Chung-hsi retreated with his 200,000-man army from the Canton defense area to Kwangsi Province in southwestern China.

Diplomacy
The French government cancelled the diplomatic status of eight members of the Chinese embassy staff in Paris after they announced their allegiance to the Communists.

Politics and government
The governing Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, retained its majority in the Storting in the Norwegian general election. Labour took 85 of 150 seats, an increase of 9 from its total in the most recent election in 1945. The Conservative Party, led by Arthur Nordlie, was second with 25 seats, followed by the Liberal Party, led by Jacob Worm-Müller, with 21 seats.

Economics and finance
The International Monetary Fund granted Yugoslavia a $3-million loan for trade with the United States.

Labour
The American Federation of Labor ended an eight-day national convention in St. Paul, Minnesota after passing resolutions urging U.S. aid to Nationalist China, and threatening a membership raid on the leftist International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union in Hawaii.

Boxing
Luther Rawlings (22-5-3) scored a technical knockout of Talmadge Bussey (34-17-2) 6 seconds into the 9th round of a lightweight bout before 900 fans at Arcadia Gardens in Detroit. Mr. Bussey had been knocked down just before the bell to end the 8th round, but was allowed to come out for the 9th, was promptly knocked unconscious, and referee Herman Spinelli stopped the fight. Mr. Bussey was taken to hospital and died the next morning, 11 hours after being knocked out. Mr. Rawlings had defeated Mr. Bussey in an 8-round split decision on August 29.

Football
CRU
IRFU
Hamilton (0-7) 8 @ Toronto (5-3) 29

WIFU
Calgary (9-0) 3 @ Winnipeg (2-8) 0
Edmonton (3-6) 12 @ Saskatchewan (5-5) 11

ORFU
Sarnia (5-2) 2 @ Hamilton (5-2) 15
Toronto (1-6) 11 @ Windsor (3-4) 7

Bill Stukus scored the winning touchdown for the Eskimos when he took a lateral from Ken Sluman on a kickoff return at the Saskatchewan 35-yard line and went the rest of the way. Don Loucks scored the first Edmonton touchdown; Pat West converted one of the scores, while Chuck Fenenboch missed one convert. Mr. Sluman added a single. 3,000 fans left Taylor Field in Regina at the end of the game wondering how the Roughriders could lose to a team that had managed to get just 2 first downs in the entire game.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): The Three Bells--The Browns (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Forever--Joe Damiano (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Souvenirs--Bill Ramsey

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Only Sixteen--Craig Douglas (7th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin (3rd week at #1)
2 Put Your Head on My Shoulder--Paul Anka
3 Sleep Walk--Santo & Johnny
4 The Three Bells--The Browns
5 ('Til) I Kissed You--The Everly Brothers
6 I'm Gonna Get Married--Lloyd Price
7 Teen Beat--Sandy Nelson
8 Mr. Blue--The Fleetwoods
9 Red River Rock--Johnny and the Hurricanes
10 Poison Ivy--The Coasters

Singles entering the chart were So Many Ways by Brook Benton (#70); There Comes a Time by Jack Scott (#89); First Love, First Tears by Duane Eddy and the Rebels (#93); Heartaches by the Number by Guy Mitchell (#97); If I Give My Heart to You by Kitty Kallen (#99); and Don't Take the Stars by the Mystics (#100).

Defense
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization completed negotiations for construction of a U.S.-supplied missile base and nuclear warhead stockpile on Turkish territory.

Energy
King Olav V of Norway officially opened a new nuclear reactor--the first to use boiling heavy water and uranium to produce heavy water--in Halden, Norway.

Golf
The Professional Golfers' Association reported that Art Wall, Jr. was the tour's leading money winner for 1959, earning $53,142.

Football
CFL
WIFU
Saskatchewan (1-11) 13 @ Calgary (6-7) 53
Edmonton (8-4) 38 @ British Columbia (7-6) 14

ORFU
Kitchener-Waterloo @ Sarnia--postponed to October 17

Jackie Parker scored 2 touchdowns, 4 converts and a field goal to lead the Eskimos to victory at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Joe-Bob Smith caught 2 touchdown passes, and Johnny Bright ran for another Edmonton touchdown.

Canadian university
WCIAU
British Columbia (3-0) 21 @ Alberta (1-2) 19

Bruce McCallum, Gordy Olafson, and Dave Lee scored touchdowns, and Dave Barker kicked a field goal for the Thunderbirds as they took a 21-0 lead and held on to edge the Golden Bears before a small crowd on a snowy Saturday afternoon at Varsity Stadium in Edmonton. Mr. McCallum scored on a 52-yard punt return in the 1st quarter.

40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Saint Paul--Shane (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Bad Moon Rising--Creedence Clearwater Revival

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley
2 Which Way You Goin' Billy?--The Poppy Family
3 Make Believe--Wind
4 Everybody Knows Matilda--Duke Baxter
5 Don't it Make You Want to Go Home--Joe South and the Believers
6 Tracy--The Cuff Links
7 Everybody's Talkin'--Nilsson
8 The Colour of My Love--Jefferson
9 Easy to Be Hard--Three Dog Night
10 Little Woman--Bobby Sherman

Singles entering the chart were Sugar on Sunday by the Clique (#26); Take a Letter Maria by R.B. Greaves (#27); So Good Together by Andy Kim (#28); Wedding Bell Blues by the 5th Dimension (#29); and If There Ever was a Time by Lighthouse (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Which Way You Goin’ Billy?--The Poppy Family (4th week at #1)
2 Don’t it Make You Want to Go Home--Joe South and the Believers
3 Sugar, Sugar--The Archies
4 Honky Tonk Women--The Rolling Stones
5 Something/Come Together--The Beatles
6 Birthday--Underground Sunshine
7 Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley
8 Little Woman--Bobby Sherman
9 Jean--Oliver
10 Reuben James--Kenny Rogers and the First Edition

Died on this date
Robert Winters, 59. Canadian politician. Mr. Winters, a native of Lunenberg, Nova Scotia and a member of the Liberal Party, represented Queens-Lunenberg in the Canadian House of Commons from 1945-1957, and held various posts in the cabinet of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent from 1948-1957. He was defeated in the 1957 federal election but returned to politics in 1965, was elected to the House of Commons from York West and was became Minister of Trade and Commerce under Prime Minister Lester Pearson. Mr. Winters sought the leadership of the Liberal Party when Mr. Pearson announced his retirement in 1968. Next to Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau, Mr. Winters was the leading contender. He may have won if John Turner, in third place and with no chance of winning, hadn't stubbornly decided to remain in the race for the fourth ballot despite repeated pleas for him to withdraw in favour of Mr. Winters. The fourth ballot put Mr. Trudeau over the top with 1,203, 50.9% of the total of 2,365 votes cast. Mr. Winters polled 954 votes (40.3%), and Mr. Turner 195 (8.2%). Mr. Winters decided to withdraw from politics rather than run for re-election in 1968 and serve under Mr. Trudeau. He suffered a heart attack while playing tennis in California, and died in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

War
Former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey met with President Richard Nixon at the White House and then announced that he supported Mr. Nixon’s basic approach toward the Vietnam War, and agreed that the public should support the President in his search for peace. Mr. Humphrey added, though, that "the American people are not going to be hushed" by pleas for silence.

The White House announced that Lieutenant General Lewis Hershey, the 76-year-old director of the Selective Service System, would be relieved of his post as of the following February. He was to be promoted to the rank of four-star general and would serve as an adviser to the President on manpower mobilization.

Diplomacy
After much complaint from Mexico, the United States ordered that Operation Intercept, its anti-marijuana campaign along the Mexican border, be modified into an Operation Cooperation in order to meet Mexican objections. Some U.S. officials said they were "too sick to talk about" the policy reversal, but others said that the State Department prevailed upon the Justice Department to go along with a change that nullified the border drive.

Crime
The British Government accepted the recommendations of the Hunt committee on policing in Northern Ireland which include the abolition of the Ulster Special Constabulary, know as the "B Specials."

Hockey
AHL
Providence 2 @ Montreal 2

About 3,000 fans showed up at the Montreal Forum to watch the Montreal Voyageurs play their first regular season game in the American Hockey League, tying the Reds. Phil Roberto and Robin Burns scored for the Voyageurs.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Message in a Bottle--The Police

Died on this date
Paul Paray, 93. French composer, and conductor. Mr. Paray was an organist who wrote two symphonies and numerous vocal, chamber, and piano works. He was music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952-1963.

Science
It was reported that a cell’s fatal genetic flaw had been cured by the successful injection of a single gene into a defective living cell. A team of scientists at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Rockefeller University injected genes into cells of mice that lacked the ability to make an essential enzyme. The cells that were given the injections of the normal gene survived and multiplied, showing that the foreign gene had in fact become a functioning part of the cell and was producing the needed enzyme. The accomplishment was considered an important early step toward the goal of making the same kind of genetic repairs in human cells.

Economics and finance
Trading on the New York Stock Exchange soared to a record 81.6 million shares due to panic selling by many small investors.

Hockey
NHL
Atlanta 5 @ Quebec 3

Real Cloutier scored all the Nordiques' goals in their first regular season game in the National Hockey League, but they still lost to the Flames at Le Colisee.



Edmonton 2 @ Chicago 4

The Oilers played their first regular season game in the National Hockey League, losing to the Black Hawks at Chicago Stadium. John Marks led the Black Hawks with 2 goals. Kevin Lowe scored the Oilers’ first NHL goal, on a powerplay at 9:49 of the 1st period. Dave Hunter scored the other Edmonton goal 5 minutes and 4 seconds later.



Baseball
World Series
Pittsburgh Pirates 4 @ Baltimore Orioles 5 (Baltimore led best-of-seven series 1-0)

The Orioles scored 5 runs in the 1st inning and held on to beat the Pirates before 53,735 fans at Memorial Stadium. Pittsburgh starting pitcher Bruce Kison lasted just 1/3 of an inning.





25 years ago
1984

Baseball
World Series
Detroit 3 @ San Diego 5 (Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Kurt Bevacqua’s 3-run home run off Dan Petry in the 5th inning enabled the Padres to overcome an early 3-run deficit and defeat the Tigers before 57,911 fans at Jack Murphy-San Diego Stadium. San Diego starting pitcher Ed Whitson lasted just 2/3 inning, but Andy Hawkins relieved him and pitched 5 1/3 innings to get the win, with Craig Lefferts throwing 3 scoreless innings to earn the save.



20 years ago
1989

On television tonight
The Wonder Years, on ABC
Tonight’s episode: Math Class

Diplomacy
Azerbaijani nationalists agreed to end a rail embargo that had prevented fuel and other essential supplies from reaching Armenia.

Oddities
The Soviet news agency Tass insisted that reports of aliens landing in a space vehicle in a park in the Russian city of Voronezh, 300 miles southeast of Moscow, were not a hoax. Tass said that scientists had confirmed the incident, and that a crowd had observed the extraterrestrials. One was described as being 9 feet tall and as having 3 eyes.

10 years ago
1999

Britannica
Thousands assembled to watch a giant Ferris wheel move into position as the new landmark on the London skyline. The Millennium Wheel stood some 400 feet (125 metres) high, surpassing the Big Ben clock tower and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Disasters
An express commuter train from Cheltenham collided with a local train in Britain's worst train accident since 1915. The crash in London killed 127 and injured 160.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (8-6) 43 @ Winnipeg (4-10) 16

Danny McManus threw 4 touchdown passes to Tony Akins and Ronald Williams rushed for 2 more scores to lead the Tiger-Cats to victory before a crowd of 21,915 at Winnipeg Stadium. Mr. McManus completed 19 of 21 passes for 411 yards; his passing percentage equalled a record set by Tom Wilkinson of Edmonton in 1974. Mr. Akins caught 8 passes for 257 yards, while Mr. Williams carried 15 times for 79 yards. Kerwin Bell completed 28 of 41 passes for 281 yards for the Blue Bombers. Robert Gordon led the Winnipeg attack with 10 receptions for 108 yards and a a touchdown. Deland McCullough rushed 16 times for 75 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Bombers.

Baseball
American League Division Series
Cleveland 7 @ Boston 23 (Best-of-five series tied 2-2)

The Red Sox scored at least 2 runs in every inning except the 6th in their rout of the Indians before 33,898 fans at Fenway Park. Each team used 6 pitchers in the debacle. Boston made 24 hits in the contest‚ including 5 by Mike Stanley and 4 each by John Valentin and Jason Varitek. Mr.Valentin hit 2 home runs and drove in 7 runs‚ while Jose Offerman and Trot Nixon batted in 5 runs each.