November 28, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Dede Hill and Chris Milner!

180 years ago
1829

Born on this date
Anton Rubinstein. Russian musician, composer, and conductor. Mr. Rubinstein was a pianist who performed a successful series of recitals, toured internationally, and influenced later pianists such as Sergei Rachmaninoff. He wrote 20 operas, 6 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, and other piano works. Mr. Rubinstein is perhaps best known for his opera The Demon and Melody in F. He founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1862, and served as it first director. Mr. Rubinstein spent his later years in Dresden, and died of heart disease on November 20, 1894, eight days before his 65th birthday.

150 years ago
1859

Died on this date
Washington Irving, 76. U.S. writer and diplomat. Mr. Irving wrote short stories, history, and biography, and has been credited as the U.S.A.'s first great man of letters. He is probably best known for the short stories Rip Van Winkle (1819) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820). Mr. Irving completed the five-volume The Life of George Washington (1855-1859) just before his death from a heart attack in his sleep.

120 years ago
1899

War
A British column was engaged by Boer forces at the Battle of Modder River in South Africa; although the Boers withdrew, the British suffered heavy casualties.

90 years ago
1919

Abominations
American-born Lady Astor became the first woman to take a seat in the British Parliament.

80 years ago
1929

At the movies
Show of Shows, a musical directed by John G. Adolfi and starring dozens of actors with Warner Brothers Pictures, opened in theatres.

Football
NFL
New York (9-1-1) 21 @ Staten Island (3-4-3) 7
Green Bay (10-0-1) 0 @ Frankford (9-2-4) 0
Chicago Bears (4-7-1) 6 @ Chicago Cardinals (5-5-1) 40

Ernie Nevers of the Cardinals scored all of his team's points, running for 6 touchdowns and kicking 4 extra points in their rout of the Bears at Comiskey Park. Mr. Nevers' total remains the longest-standing record in the NFL.

70 years ago
1939

Died on this date
James Naismith, 78. Canadian-born U.S. basketball pioneer. Dr. Naismith invented basketball in 1891 while working at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.

60 years ago
1949

On television tonight
Lights Out, on NBC
Tonight's episode: I Dreamt I Died, starring Ross Martin, Karen Stevens, and Philip Truex

At the movies
Port of New York, directed by László Benedek, and starring Scott Brady, K.T. Stevens, Richard Rober, and Yul Brynner, opened in theatres.



Diplomacy
South Africa quit the United Nations Trusteeship Commission for the rest of 1949 when the committee heard an Anglican minister describe alleged mistreatment of natives in South-West Africa.

Politics and government
New York City Council voted unanimously to expel Communist Party leader Benjamin Davis, Jr., recently convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the United States government.

Scandal
The trial of former U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee Chairman J. Parnell Thomas (Republican--New Jersey) on charges of payroll-padding began in Washington.

Education
The New York State Supreme Court voided a law directing the State Board of Regents to dismiss all Communist and other "subversive" teachers from the public school system.

Energy
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission reported the development of a "breeder" reactor which produced more nuclear fuel than it consumed.

Disasters
Heavy winds and flooding continued for the second say in the Pacific Northwestern United States, causing 29 deaths.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Oh Yeah Uh Huh--Col Joye and the Joy Boys (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy: Deguello--Nelson Riddle

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Unter fremden Sternen--Freddy Quinn (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (Record Mirror): Travellin' Light--Cliff Richard and the Shadows (7th week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Mr. Blue--The Fleetwoods (2nd week at #1)
2 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin
3 Don't You Know--Della Reese
4 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
5 Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat--Paul Evans
6 So Many Ways--Brook Benton
7 Danny Boy--Conway Twitty
8 In the Mood--Ernie Fields Orchestra
9 We Got Love--Bobby Rydell
10 Primrose Lane--Jerry Wallace with the Jewels

Singles entering the chart were Way Down Yonder in New Orleans by Freddie Cannon (#78); Pretty Blue Eyes by Steve Lawrence (#79); Honestly and Truly (#81)/(New In) The Ways of Love (#100) by Tommy Edwards; Wheel of Fortune by the Knightsbridge Strings (#98); Mighty Good by Ricky Nelson (#99); and Beyond the Sunset by Pat Boone (also #100). Mighty Good was the B-side of I Wanna Be Loved, charting at #50.

Vancouver's Top 10 (CFUN)
1 Hound Dog Man--Fabian
2 Danny Boy--Conway Twitty
3 First Name Initial--Annette with the Afterbeats
4 Believe Me--The Royal Teens
5 Living Doll--Cliff Richard and the Drifters
6 Woo-Hoo--The Rock-A-Teens
7 Mr. Blue--The Fleetwoods
8 This Friendly World--Fabian
9 In the Mood--Ernie Fields Orchestra
10 We Got Love--Bobby Rydell

Singles entering the chart were That's All Right by Ray Smith (#18); Tear Drop/Long Walk Home by Santo & Johnny (#26); Earthquake/First Love, First Tears by Duane Eddy and the Rebels (#28); The Great Duane by Ritchie Hart (#30); Boom Boom Baby/Don't Destroy Me by Crash Craddock (#36); Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley (#37); Say Man, Back Again by Bo Diddley (#39); It's Time to Cry by Paul Anka (#42); I Wanna Be Loved by Ricky Nelson (#44); Uh! Oh! (Part 1) by the Nutty Squirrels (#48); El Paso by Marty Robbins (#49); and Dance with Me by the Drifters (#50).

Died on this date
Roger Williams, 80. U.S. shipping executive. Mr. Williams was the president of the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company when they built Liberty ships during World War II, and later served as chairman of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation.

Diplomacy
The Shah of Iran warned that a 1937 border agreement giving Iraq sovereignty and toll rights over the Shatt al Arab was "intolerable" and may be abrogated.

Politics and government
U.K. Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell told the party's annual conference in Blackpool that the party's constitution must be revised to eliminate its stress on nationalization and prevent "another election defeat."

U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (Democrat--Massachusetts) said in Denver that "the use of public finds...for birth control in other nations would not be a wise or good public policy."

Football
CFL
Grey Cup @ CNE Stadium, Toronto
Winnipeg 21 Hamilton 7

Muddy field conditions in the first Grey Cup game to be held at Toronto’s new CNE Stadium kept the score low as the Blue Bombers won their second straight Grey Cup over the Tiger-Cats. The Blue Bombers, behind the quarterbacking of Kenny Ploen, marched to the Hamilton 21-yard line in the 1st quarter, settling for a field goal by Gerry James. In the 2nd quarter, Hamilton’s Vince Scott blocked a Charlie Shepard punt and chased the ball into the Winnipeg end zone, but Jack Delveaux of the Blue Bombers beat him to the ball and fell on it. Under the rules in existence at the time, Mr. Scott was credited with a single point, leaving Winnipeg ahead 3-1 at halftime. The Blue Bombers continued to have trouble moving out of their end of the field in the 3rd quarter, but the Tiger-Cats, quarterbacked by Bernie Faloney, were unable to score a touchdown. Steve Oneschuk kicked 2 field goals to give Hamilton a 7-3 lead heading into the 4th quarter. Early in the quarter Mr. Faloney fumbled, and Bud Tinsley recovered for Winnipeg on the Hamilton 43-yard line. Mr. Ploen then threw long for Farrell Funston, who made the catch on the 2-yard line. Mr. Shepard ran for a touchdown from there, and Mr. James’ convert made the score 10-7 for Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers then hemmed the Tiger-Cats’ offense inside their own 35-yard line, and Mr. Shepard punted for 4 singles to increase the lead to 14-7. With less than a minute remaining, the Blue Bombers gained possession of the ball in Hamilton territory, and it looked as though they would just run out the clock. Instead, Mr. Ploen spotted Ernie Pitts open and hit him for a 35-yard touchdown. Mr. James converted to make the final score 21-7. Mr. Shepard became the first player to win an award as the Grey Cup’s most valuable player; his prize was a Triumph TR-6 sports car. Attendance was 33,133, the largest crowd to attend a Grey Cup in eastern Canada to that time.





40 years ago
1969

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Something--The Beatles (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Sugar Sugar--The Archies (3rd week at #1)

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKLG)
1 Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son--Creedence Clearwater Revival (2nd week at #1)
2 Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam
3 The Rainmaker--Tom Northcott
4 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
5 And When I Die--Blood, Sweat & Tears
6 One Tin Soldier--The Original Caste
7 I Still Believe in Tomorrow--John and Anne Ryder
8 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves
9 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
10 Heaven Knows--The Grass Roots

Singles entering the chart were Jam Up Jelly Tight by Tommy Roe (#23); She Belongs to Me by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band (#26); Love Will Find a Way by Jackie DeShannon (#27); Early in the Morning by Vanity Fare (#28); and See Ruby Fall by Johnny Cash (#30).

Edmonton's Top 10 (CJCA)
1 Something/Come Together--The Beatles (4th week at #1)
2 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves
3 Jesus is a Soul Man--Lawrence Reynolds
4 Cherry Hill Park--Billy Joe Royal
5 Echo Park--Keith Barbour
6 Riverboat--Five Man Electrical Band
7 And When I Die--Blood, Sweat & Tears
8 Eli's Coming--Three Dog Night
9 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes--Crosby, Stills & Nash
10 Down on the Corner--Creedence Clearwater Revival

And When I Die and Eli’s Coming were both written by Laura Nyro.

Defense
West Germany signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The treaty was a matter of great controversy in West German politics.

Oil
The Quebec government of Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand announced the creation of the Société québécoise d'iniatives pétrolières (Quebec Society of Petroleum Initiatives) (Soquip); its mandate was to explore, refine and distribute oil and natural gas in Quebec, in hopes that Quebec would eventually be able to reduce its energy dependence.

Football
Six members were elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Dr. Andrew Davies, who played for McGill and Ottawa, was an officer and physician with the Ottawa Rough Riders and Senators from 1915-1948. He and Art Chipman, who was responsible for reviving football in Winnipeg after World War II, were elected as builders. Elected as players were Art Stevenson, a halfback and quarterback with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 1930s and early '40s; Abe Eliowitz, halfback and fullback with Ottawa and Montreal in the 1930s; Sam Etcheverry, the record-setting Montreal Alouettes' quarterback from 1952-1960; and Normie Kwong, fullback with the Calgary Stampeders from 1948-1950 and Edmonton Eskimos from 1951-1960. Mr. Kwong was the first player from the Eskimos to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman--Dr. Hook (3rd week at #1)

Politics and government
Iranian acting Foreign Minister Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, who had been attempting to find an international forum to investigate charges against deposed Shah Mohammed Riza Pahlevi, was dismissed and replaced by Sadegh Ghotbzadeh.

Science
The 100-year-old mystery of colour vision was reported solved by Professor Koji Nakanishi and co-workers at Columbia University. According to the scientists, retinal, the basic substance of vision, attaches itself to cone cells or rod cells in the retina of the eye. The three kinds of cone cells are sensitive to red, blue, or green; the rod cells are sensitive to black and white. All other colours and tones are combinations of these. Each type of cell binds the retinal with a different protein, each of which surrounds the retinal with a different pattern of electrical charges. Retinal’s sensitivity to different wavelengths of light is explained by the number and location of those electrical charges. The wavelength of blue light, for example, disrupts the specific pattern of charges in the blue cone cells and causes the cells to send a signal to the brain. The researchers suggested it was theoretically possible now to find a cure for colour blindness.

Religion
Pope John Paul II flew to Turkey to work toward the reconciliation of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. He arrived in Ankara to begin his tour.

Disasters
Air New Zealand Flight 901, a DC-10 sightseeing flight over Antarctica, crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all 257 people on board.

Hockey
NHL
Edmonton 4 Chicago 2

20 years ago
1989

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

Politics and government
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed a plan for the confederation of West and East Germany.

Czechoslovakian Premier Ladislav Adamec opened talks on sharing power with the opposition group Civic Forum.

Law
Canada’s House of Commons approved in principle new legislation on abortion, but the bill appeared not to satisfy activists on either side of the debate. The bill would amend the Criminal Code to permit abortion at any stage of pregnancy, provided one doctor determined that the physical, mental, or psychological health of the mother was threatened. Canadian Justice Minister Doug Lewis admitted that the legislation, introduced November 3, was a compromise that satisfied neither pro-abortion advocates demanding equal access to abortion in all parts of the country nor pro-lifers who wanted the procedure abolished. However, Mr. Lewis said that it would survive a court challenge because it "balances the rights of the woman with society’s interest in the protection of the fetus." If given final approval, the bill would fill a legal void created by the Supreme Court’s decision of January 28, 1988 that struck down Canada’s existing abortion law.

10 years ago
1999

World events
Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said that Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the father of 5-year-old Elian Gonzalez, one of three survivors who had been rescued when their boat sank on the way to Florida from Cuba several days earlier, was alleging that the boy’s mother, who drowned when the boat sank, had kidnapped Elian.

Diplomacy
Talks were at an impasse over the fate of the Golan Heights; Syria demanded the territory back, and Israel refused to give it up.

Crime
11 people were injured, 4 critically, when a naked man wielding a Samurai sword burst into a church in south London and began indiscriminately attacking parishioners.

Football
CFL
Grey Cup @ B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver
Hamilton 32 Calgary 21

The Tiger-Cats jumped to a 21-0 halftime lead and coasted to victory. Ronald Williams rushed 1 yard for a touchdown in the first quarter, and after Joe Montford hit Calgary quarterback Dave Dickenson and forced a fumble, recovered by Tim Terry, Hamilton quarterback Danny McManus completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Darren Flutie late in the second quarter for another touchdown. Paul Osbaldiston converted both and added 2 field goals and a single off a missed field goal. The Tiger-Cats rolled up 246 yards of net offense in the first half compared to 82 for the Stampeders. Mr. Osbaldiston punted for a 41-yard single in the third quarter to make it 22-0, and then the Stampeders came back with 2 touchdowns before the end of the quarter. Mr. Dickenson threw 7 yards to Vince Danielsen for the first Calgary score (set up by a 57-yard completion to Travis Moore on the previous play), and then Mr. Dickenson connected with Allen Pitts for an 18-yard major score. Mark McLoughlin converted both. Mr. Osbaldiston kicked a 20-yard field goal to give Hamilton a 25-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Mr. McManus hit Mr. Flutie with a 7-yard touchdown pass, converted by Mr. Osbaldiston to make it 32-14, and the Stampeders got a touchdown from fullback Duane Forde on a 1-yard run, converted by Mr. McLoughlin, to make the final score 32-21. Mr. McManus completed 22 of 34 passes for 347 yards. Mr. Dickenson, who played courageously with an injured left shoulder, completed 24 of 38 for 321, but most of Calgary’s yardage came when the Stampeders were playing from well behind. Darren Flutie led the Tiger-Cat receivers with 6 receptions for 109 yards. 7 different Hamilton players caught at least one pass, and many of the receptions were of spectacular quality. Mike Morreale, the game’s outstanding Canadian, caught 3 for 51. Travis Moore led the Stampeders with 3 catches for 101 yards. The win gave Hamilton its first Grey Cup since 1986, and meant that a Hamilton team had won a national championship at least once in every decade of the 20th Century. 45,118 were in attendance at B.C. Place Stadium.