November 30, 2009

310 years ago
1699

Born on this date
Christian VI. King of Denmark and Norway, 1730-1746. Christian VI acceded to the throne upon the death of his father Frederick IV. His reign was peaceful but absolutist, as he attempted to impose his Pietist views upon his subjects. King Christian VI always suffered from poor health, and died on August 6, 1746 at the age of 46. He was succeeded by his son Frederick V.

290 years ago
1719

Born on this date
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Princess of Wales, 1736-1751. Augusta, the daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, married Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1736, but never became queen consort, because Frederick, the eldest son of King George II, died in 1751, nine years before the death of his father. Her second child and eldest son succeeded his grandfather as King George III. Princess Augusta died of throat cancer on February 8, 1772 at the age of 52.

180 years ago
1829

Transportation
The First Welland Canal, connecting Lake Ontario with Lake Erie, opened for a trial run, five years to the day from the ground breaking.

150 years ago
1859

Born on this date
Sergei Lyapunov. Russian musician and composer. Mr. Lyapunov had a successful career as a concert pianist in addition to composing two symphonies and numerous choral works, often incorporating Russian folk songs. He was best known for Douze études d'exécution transcendente, completing Franz Liszt's unfinished Transcendental Études. Mr. Lyapunov was a professor at the Petrograd Conservatory from 1910-1923, and then moved to Paris, where he directed a music school for Russian immigrants, and also acted as a conductor. He died in Paris of a heart attack on November 8, 1924, 22 days before his 65th birthday.

150 years ago
1869

Born on this date
Gustaf Dalén. Swedish physicist and engineer. Dr. Dalén was awarded the 1912 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his invention of automatic valves designed to be used in combination with gas accumulators in lighthouses and buoys," but was unable to travel to Stockholm to accept the prize, as he was recovering from an acetylene explosion that permanently blinded him. He was an engineer with AGA (Gas Accumulator Company), and invented the AGA cooker and the Dalén light, and received over 100 patents. Dr. Dalén died on December 9, 1937, nine days after his 68th birthday.

James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn. U.K. politician. Mr. Hamilton, a member of the Irish Unionist Party, represented Londonderry City in the House of Commons from 1900 until he succeeded his father as Duke of Abercorn in 1913. He served as Governor of Northern Ireland from 1922-1945, and died on September 12, 1953 at the age of 83.

120 years ago
1889

Born on this date
Edgar Adrian. U.K. physiologist. Dr. Adrian shared the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology with Charles Sherrington "for their discoveries regarding the functions of neurons." Dr. Adrian died on August 4, 1977 at the age of 87.

100 years ago
1909

Born on this date
Maurice Smith. U.K.-born Canadian journalist. Mr. Smith, a native of London, moved to Winnipeg with his family in 1913. He worked with the Winnipeg Free Press from 1927-1976, serving as sports editor for the last 32 years of his career with the paper. Mr. Smith was known for his coverage of curling, hockey, and football, and helped to establish the Canadian High School Curling Championships in 1951. His honours included induction into the Football Reporters of Canada section of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982. Mr. Smith died of heart failure at the age of 75 on February 21, 1985, while on vacation in Hawaii.

80 years ago
1929

Football
CRU
Grey Cup @ Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds, Hamilton
Regina 3 @ Hamilton 14

The forward pass, which had been legalized in the west in 1929 but not in the east, was allowed in the Grey Cup game. The Roughriders, led by Jersey Jack Campbell, tried 11 passes and gained about 100 yards, but the only scoring they could manage came on 2 singles by Sol Bloomfield and another by Jerry Erskine. Jimmy Simpson scored a touchdown for the Tigers; Huck Welch punted for 6 singles and Pep Leadlay punted for 3 singles. The Tigers tried one pass late in the game: Huck Welch completed it to Jimmy Simpson for a touchdown, but it was disallowed--forward passes were illegal inside the opposition’s 25-yard line, and umpire Priestley of Winnipeg ruled that the play had taken place inside the 25. The game was played in some of the worst weather in Grey Cup history; attendance was listed at 1,906, but only about 100 were in the stands at the Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds when the game started. Hundreds more huddled under the stands and came up for brief glimpses of the action, and hundreds left the stadium before halftime. The game was played in driving snow and freezing temperatures, and the field was frozen. It was the Roughriders’ second straight loss to the Tigers in the Grey Cup, and the sixth loss for a western team without a win. However, the 3 points scored by Regina was the greatest total yet scored by a western team in a Grey Cup game, and the 11-point margin was the closest yet for an east-west Grey Cup.

70 years ago
1939

War
The Winter War began when Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totaling some 450,000 men, and bombed Helsinki in an attack which violated three different non-aggression pacts: the Treaty of Tartu (signed in 1920); the non-aggression pact between Finland and the Soviet Union signed in 1932 and again in 1934; and also the Charter of the League of Nations, which the Soviet Union signed in 1934. C.G.E. Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces after the Soviet attack. In further reshuffling, the Finnish government named Risto Ryti as the new Prime Minister and Väinö Tanner as Foreign Minister.

60 years ago
1949

On the radio
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Ben Wright and Eric Snowden, on ABC

At the movies
The Rocking Horse Winner, directed by Anthony Pelissier, and starring John Howard Davies, Valerie Hobson, and John Mills, opened in theatres in the United Kingdom.



War
Chinese Communist forces occupied the Nationalist capital of Chungking as Nationalist forces fell back on Chengtu.

World events
The Bulgarian government charged former Deputy Premier Traicho Kostov and 10 other deposed officials with espionage and sabotage on behalf of Yugoslavia and the Western powers.

Politics and government
The National Party, led by Sidney Holland, defeated the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Peter Fraser in the New Zealand general election. The National Party took 46 of 80 seats in the N.Z. Parliament, with Labour taking the remaining 34. The National total was an increase of 8 from the most recent election in 1946, with Labour losing 8.

Crime
Former Time magazine editor Whittaker Chambers completed seven days of testimony at former U.S. State Department employee Alger Hiss's perjury trial, reiterating his claim that Mr. Hiss had given him 47 secret State Department documents for transmission to the U.S.S.R. in 1938.

Scandal
U.S. Representative J. Parnell Thomas (Republican--New Jersey) withdrew his not guilty plea and pled no contest in his Washington trial on charges of payroll-padding. Judge Alexander Holtzoff dismissed charges against Helen Campbell, Rep. Thomas's secretary.

Energy
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission permitted the limited sale of uranium on the commercial market after an eight-year interval.

Labour
400,000 coal miners in the United States renewed their strike after the expiration of a three-week truce without a contract agreement. United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis ordered miners to begin a three-day work week on December 5 while the union sought to settle with individual companies.

The Czechoslovakian government forbade workers to take new jobs in private industry.

50 years ago
1959

Hit parade
#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Mare Nostrum (Ola, Ola, Ola)--Elder Berber (2nd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin (8th week at #1)
2 Don't You Know--Della Reese
3 Mr. Blue--The Fleetwoods
4 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell
5 In the Mood--Ernie Fields Orchestra
6 So Many Ways--Brook Benton
7 Put Your Head on My Shoulder--Paul Anka
8 We Got Love--Bobby Rydell
9 Be My Guest--Fats Domino
10 Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat--Paul Evans

Singles entering the chart were I Wanna Be Loved (#50)/Mighty Good (#86) by Ricky Nelson; Tear Drop by Santo & Johnny (#76); Marina by Willy Alberti (#82); Symphony by Sammy Turner (#90); Shadows by the Five Satins (#95); Beyond the Sunset by Pat Boone (#96); Smokie--Part 2 by Bill Black's Combo (#98); and Teach Me Tiger by April Stevens (#99).

Vancouver's Top 10 (CKWX)
1 Heartaches by the Number--Guy Mitchell (3rd week at #1)
2 Living Doll--Cliff Richard and the Drifters
--David Hill
3 In the Mood--Ernie Fields Orchestra
4 Mack the Knife--Bobby Darin
5 Deck of Cards--Wink Martindale
6 Teen Beat--Sandy Nelson
7 Don't You Know--Della Reese
8 Mr. Blue--The Fleetwoods
9 Just Ask Your Heart--Frankie Avalon
10 Morgen--Ivo Robic and the Song-Masters

Singles entering the chart were You Got What it Takes by Marv Johnson (#45); Way Down Yonder in New Orleans by Freddie Cannon (#46); Pretty Blue Eyes by Steve Lawrence (#48); Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams) by Ray Peterson (#50); Beyond the Sunset by Pat Boone (#51); Ways of Love by Tommy Edwards (#54, charting with its other side, Honestly and Truly); CooCoo-U by the Kingston Trio (#55); The Little Drummer Boy by the Harry Simeone Chorale (#57); and The Happy Reindeer by Dancer, Prancer and Nervous (#58).

Protest
Panamanians celebrating the 138th anniversary of Panamanian independence marched on the Canal Zone border, stoning Panamanian National Guardsmen and U.S. troops.

Economics and finance
Mayor of seven major U.S. cities and the heads of leading commuter railroads urged a program of federal aid to save financially-ailing railroads.

Football
AFL
The American Football League announced in Chicago that former Air National Guard Brigadier General and South Dakota Governor Joe Foss would be the league's first Commissioner.

40 years ago
1969

Music
The Monkees, by now a threesome (Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith) performed at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. It was their last concert during the first run of their existence as a group, and the last appearance in concert by Michael Nesmith as a Monkee until an encore appearance in 1986.

Football
CFL
Grey Cup @ Autostade, Montreal
Ottawa 29 Saskatchewan 11

Ottawa quarterback Russ Jackson, who had announced that 1969 would be his last season, went out in style, completing 13 of 22 passes for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns, while also rushing 5 times for 31 yards. Ron Stewart caught 2 of Mr. Jackson’s passes for 112 yards, scoring touchdowns of 80 and 32 yards. Jay Roberts caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Mr. Jackson, and Jim Mankins, who led all rushers with 10 carries for 72 yards, had a 12-yard touchdown reception among his 5 catches for 56 yards. Don Sutherin converted all 4 Rough Rider touchdowns and added a single on a missed field goal with 26 seconds remaining in the game. Saskatchewan jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the 1st quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ron Lancaster to Alan Ford, converted by Jack Abendschan, and a safety touch. The only points scored by the Roughriders after that came in the 3rd quarter on a 37-yard single off a missed field goal by Mr. Abendschan and a 67-yard punt by Mr. Ford. The Saskatchewan offense was hurt by the absence of receivers Gord Barwell, who had suffered a shoulder injury in the first game of the western finals, and Jim Worden, who dressed for what turned out to be his last game, but was unable to play. The game also marked the end of the line for Saskatchewan’s Hugh Campbell, who caught 4 passes for 57 yards. The Ottawa defense held Saskatchewan’s great fullback George Reed to 28 yards on 11 carries, although Mr. Reed was able to gain 55 yards on his only pass reception. Mr. Ford, who punted 9 times for a 39.8-yard average, was probably Saskatchewan’s best player. In addition to his punting, he caught 2 passes for 44 yards and returned 2 kickoffs for 101, including a then-Grey Cup record 78-yard return. Mr. Lancaster completed 15 of 30 passes for 239 yards. One oddity was the lack of production from Ottawa’s dynamic receiving duo of Margene Adkins and Whit Tucker, who had combined for 2,257 yards on 93 receptions in 14 regular season games. Mr. Adkins had led the CFL in receiving yardage during the regular season, but in his final CFL game before going to the NFL, he didn’t catch a pass. Mr. Tucker caught 1 for 34 yards. 33,172, including Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, were in attendance at the first Grey Cup played in Montreal since 1931 and the only Grey Cup played at Autostade. Ottawa head coach Frank Clair, who retired after this game to become the Rough Riders’ general manager, tied Lew Hayman’s record with his fifth Grey Cup win as a head coach.



NFL
Philadelphia (4-6-1) 20 @ New Orleans (4-7) 26
Atlanta (3-8) 6 @ Baltimore (7-4) 13
Los Angeles (11-0) 24 @ Washington (5-4-2) 13
Pittsburgh (1-10) 10 @ St. Louis (4-6-1) 47
Cleveland (8-2-1) 28 @ Chicago (1-10) 24
New York (3-8) 10 @ Green Bay (6-5) 20

AFL
Boston (4-8) 38 @ Miami (2-9-1) 23
Cincinnati (4-7-1) 13 @ Buffalo (4-8) 16
Oakland (10-1-1) 27 @ New York (8-4) 14

30 years ago
1979

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Oh! Susie--Secret Service (7th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Maybe--Thom Pace (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Zeppo Marx, 78. U.S. comedian, actor, and inventor. Herbert Marx was the youngest of the Marx Brothers comedy team. He joined their stage act in 1918, replacing Gummo, who was drafted into the U.S. Army and preferred a role behind the scenes in show business. Zeppo was reportedly as funny as any of the other brothers when required to replace one, but otherwise played the role of a bland romantic lead and comic foil. He appeared in their first five films, but left after Duck Soup (1933), and, like Gummo, became a theatrical agent. Zeppo also invented several devices, including a wristwatch that monitored the pulse rate of cardiac patients and gave off an alarm if the heartbeat became irregular. He was the last surviving Marx brother, and died of lung cancer.

Music
The album The Wall by Pink Floyd was released on Harvest Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in North America.

Diplomacy
The United States announced that the deposed Shah of Iran was expected to leave the country when his medical treatment was completed, and a behind-the-scenes search was begun to find him another refuge.

Religion
Pope John Paul II, concluded his visit to Turkey for the purpose of working toward the reconciliation of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, beginning the day in Istanbul and continuing to Izmir and Ephesus. He celebrated the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Orthodox Church, with Dimitrios I, the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch. The two men announced the formation of a joint commission consisting of prelates and theologians of the two churches to discuss the remaining theological disagreements between them. The pope also made an appeal to Christians for greater understanding of Islam as a monotheistic religion that shared many beliefs and moral values with Christianity.

25 years ago
1984

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): I Just Called to Say I Love You--Stevie Wonder (8th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): When the Rain Begins to Fall--Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): The Never Ending Story--Limahl (2nd week at #1)

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (3rd week at #1)

Diplomacy
The United States flew 282 embassy officials and dependents out of El Salvador, where fighting had renewed between the government and FMLN rebels.

10 years ago
1999

Protest
20,000 people participated in a labour-organized march in Seattle to protest the 135-nation ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Protesters linked arms or laid down in the street to block traffic, and delegates were trapped in their hotels. Fires burned in the streets, and police used tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets. Seattle Mayor Paul Schell declared a state of emergency. That night, Washington Governor Gary Locke called in the National Guard.

Health
The British government announced that the country’s beef-on-the-bone ban would be lifted, with T-bone steaks and ribs likely available by December 17. The ban had been imposed by the European Union in 1996 because of the risk of the beef being infected with BSE, which can cause brain disease in humans.

Business
The Exxon and Mobil oil corporations signed a U.S.$73.7-billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world's largest company.

British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merged to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.