December 11, 2009

1,040 years ago
969

Died on this date
Nikephoros II, 57 (?). Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 963-969. Nikephoros II was a military officer who led numerous successful campaigns from the 940s through the early 960s. He was proclaimed Emperor five months after the death of Romanos II, and achieved military success in the eastern part of his empire while having less success in the west. Nikephoros II's forces conquered Cilicia and retook Cyprus, but lost to Muslim forces in Sicily. Emperor Nikephoros was assassinated in his apartment by his nephew John Tzimiskes, who succeeded him as Emperor.

220 years ago
1789

Academia
The University of North Carolina was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly.

110 years ago
1899

Born on this date
Julio de Caro. Argentine musician. Mr. de Caro was a violinist who wrote numerous works that have become standards in the tango repertoire. He performed in various dance bands before leading his own band from the 1920s to the 1950s. Mr. de Caro died on March 11, 1980 at the age of 80.

War
In the Battle of Magersfontein in South Africa, Boer forces commanded by General Piet Cronjé defeated British Empire forces commanded by Lord Methuen trying to relieve the Siege of Kimberley.

90 years ago
1919

Americana
The citizens of Enterprise, Alabama erected a monument to the boll weevil, the insect that destroyed cotton crops and forced residents to end their dependence on cotton and pursue mixed farming and manufacturing.

70 years ago
1939

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, on NBC
Tonight’s episode: The Musgrave Ritual

60 years ago
1949

Died on this date
Clifford Berryman, 80. U.S. cartoonist. Mr. Berryman was the editorial cartoonist for The Washington Post (1891-1907) and Washington Star (1907-1949). He was awarded the 1944 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, but is perhaps best known for his cartoon Drawing the Line in Mississippi (1902), which inspired the creation of the teddy bear. Mr. Berryman's son Jim also became an editorial cartoonist, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1950.

Literature
The New York Herald Tribune listed Mary by Sholem Asch as the best-selling fiction book, and White Collar Zoo by Clare Barnes as the best-selling non-fiction book. For the latter, it was the third straight month occupying the number one position.

Diplomacy
North Korean authorities released two U.S. Economic Cooperation Administration to American representatives on the demarcation line, after an 81-day imprisonment.

Football
AAFC
Championship
San Francisco 7 @ Cleveland 21

Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones, Marion Motley, and Dub Jones rushed for touchdowns, all converted by Lou Groza, as the Browns won their fourth All-America Football Conference title in as many years. Special Delivery Jones scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, and that was all the scoring until Mr. Motley ran 63 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The 49ers came back on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Paul Salata, converted by Joe Vetrano, 14 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Browns came back with a 4-yard touchdown run by Dub Jones 6 minutes later. Mr. Motley finished with 75 yards on 8 carries, while Special Delivery Jones had 63 yards on 16 carries. Cleveland quarterback Otto Graham completed 7 of 17 passes for 128 yards, and rushed 9 times for 62. San Francisco quarterback Frankie Albert completed 9 of 24 passes for 108 yards, and led the 49ers with 41 yards rushing on 5 carries. Only 22,550 showed up at Municipal Stadium to see the last game in the 4-year history of the AAFC. The Browns, 49ers, and Baltimore Colts had been admitted to the newly-renamed National-American Football League on December 9.

NFL
New York Giants (6-6) 3 @ Philadelphia (11-1) 17
Pittsburgh (6-5-1) 27 @ New York Bulldogs (1-10-1) 0
Washington (4-7-1) 27 @ Los Angeles (8-2-2) 53
Chicago Cardinals (6-5-1) 21 @ Chicago Bears (9-3) 52
Green Bay (2-10) 7 @ Detroit (4-8) 21

Buddy Parker, in his first season as head coach of the Cardinals, announced his resignation after their loss to the Bears. The Packers' loss to the Tigers at Briggs Stadium was their final game in blue and gold uniforms. The Packers began wearing green and gold uniforms in 1950.

50 years ago
1959

On television tonight
The Twilight Zone, on CBS
Tonight’s episode: And When the Sky Was Opened, starring Rod Taylor, Charles Aidman, and Jim Hutton

Died on this date
Jim Bottomley, 59. U.S. baseball player and manager. "Sunny Jim" was a first baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals (1922-1932); Cincinnati Reds (1933-1935); and St. Louis Browns (1936-1937), batting .310 with 219 home runs and 1,422 runs batted in in 1,9991 games. He helped the Cardinals win World Series championships in 1926 and 1931, as well as National League pennants in 1928 and 1930, but batted only .200 with 1 homer and 10 RBIs in 24 World Series games. Mr. Bottomley led the NL in games played (153) and hits (227) and tied for the lead in doubles (44) in 1925, while batting .367. In 1926 he led the league in doubles (40) and RBIs (120), and in 1928 led the NL in triples (20) and RBIs (136), while tying for the lead in home runs (31). Mr. Bottomley is probably best known as the first major league player to drive in 12 runs in a game, which he did against the Brooklyn Robins on September 16, 1924. He managed the Browns for the last half of the 1937 season, posting a 21-56-1 record, and managed briefly in the minor leagues. Mr. Bottomley died of a heart attack. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee; his selection was one of several cited by critics who accused the Veterans Committee of cronyism in their selections in the early-mid 1970s.

Politics and government
C.R. Swart took office as Governor-General of South Africa. A republican, he declined to take the oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II or to wear the ceremonial uniform.

Labour
Minnesota Governor Orville Freeman invoked martial law in the town of Albert Lea, sending 200 National Guardsmen to restore order after three days of picketing violence outside the strike-bound Wilson and Company meat-packing plant.

Bowling
Don Carter, the pre-eminent bowler of his day, won his second world invitation tournament at the Chicago Coliseum. Mr. Carter, 33, rolled clutch double strikes in the tenth frame of the third game to overtake Billy Golembiewski of Detroit for the tournament title.

Basketball
NBA
St. Louis 99 @ Boston 122
Syracuse 121 @ New York 152

Richie Guerin scored 57 points, making 18 of 31 field goal attempts and 21 of 26 free throws, to lead the Knickerbockers over the Nationals at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Guerin's total was a single-game record for the building.

Baseball
The Kansas City Athletics traded outfielder Roger Maris, shortstop Joe DeMaestri, and first baseman Kent Hadley to the New York Yankees for outfielders Hank Bauer and Norm Siebern, first baseman-outfielder Marv Throneberry, and pitcher Don Larsen. Mr. Maris batted .273 with 16 home runs and 72 runs batted in in 122 games with Kansas City in 1959, while Mr. DeMaestri hit .244 with 6 homers and 34 RBIs in 118 games, and Mr. Hadley hit .253 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs in 95 games. Mr. Bauer batted .238 with 9 homers and 39 RBIs in 114 games with New York in 1959, while Mr. Siebern hit .271 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs in 120 games, and Mr. Throneberry hit .240 with 8 homes and 22 RBIs in 80 games. Mr. Larsen posted a record of 6-7 with an earned run average of 4.32 in 25 games with the Yankees in 1959. The trade was the 15th and most notorious between the two clubs in the past five years, with Mr. Maris the key ingredient in helping to make the Yankees younger. Kansas City owner Arnold Johnson had past connections with the Yankees, and the Yankees were often accused of using the Athletics as a virtual farm team.

40 years ago
1969

On television tonight
Dragnet 1970, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Bunco: $9,000



War
Defense of Saigon was turned over entirely to South Vietnam with the withdrawal of the last 60,000 Americans scheduled to leave under President Richard Nixon's pullout plan.

Diplomacy
Egypt’s authoritative newspaper, El Ahram, charged that the Middle East peace proposal announced two days earlier by U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers was obviously favourable to Israel, and was therefore unacceptable to Egypt.

Politics and government
Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir presented her new cabinet to President Zalman Shazar. All major portfolios were retained by her Labour Party.

Academia
Harvard University suspended 75 Negro students who had occupied the dean’s office, the faculty club, and a building site to demand that 20% of construction workers be Negroes.

30 years ago
1979

Died on this date
James J. Gibson, 75. U.S. psychologist. Dr. Gibson was a cognitive psychologist who specialized in visual perception. He promoted ecological psychology, in which the mind directly perceives environmental stimuli without additional cognitive construction or processing.

Abominations
The Parliament of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia voted itself out of office and handed power back to Britain until democratic elections could take place. Both the House of Assembly and the Senate unanimously approved the Constitution of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Bill. The country was to be renamed Zimbabwe after the elections. The new law effectively revoked the 1965 unilateral declaration of independence, or UDI, which led to 14 years of white minority rule under Prime Minister Ian Smith.

Diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance flew to Europe for two days of visits to various capital cities to ask allies to take joint economic action against Iran.

Politics and government
A Gallup Poll reported that for the first time in two years, President Jimmy Carter led Senator Ted Kennedy in a nationwide survey of Democrats. Out of the sample of 530 Democrats, 48% favoured President Carter and 40% favoured Senator Kennedy as the party's 1980 presidential candidate.

Hockey
NHL
New York Islanders 4 Montreal 1

25 years ago
1984

Died on this date
George Waggner, 90. U.S. film and television director. Mr. Waggner, born George Waggoner, acted in films such as The Sheik (1921) and The Iron Horse (1924), but eventually moved into directing. He was known for directing Western, horror, and war films, including The Wolf Man (1941); The Fighting Kentuckian (1949); and Red Nightmare (1957). Mr. Waggner directed episodes of numerous television programs in the 1950s and '60s, with his name usually appearing in the credits as "george waGGner." He wrote screenplays and songs for many of his films and television programs.

20 years ago
1989

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): If I Could Turn Back Time--Cher (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Pump Up the Jam--Technotronic featuring Felly

Protest
200,000 people in Leipzig, East Germany demonstrated in support of German reunification.

10 years ago
1999

Abominations
European Union leaders, meeting in Finland, wrapped up a successful summit by endowing the EU with new military powers, preparing a move eastward that would almost double its membership and heal relations with Turkey by acknowledging the possibility of its one day joining the EU.

Terrorism
The U.S. State Department warned Americans outside the country to beware of large crowds during celebrations bringing in the year 2000 because of the possibility of terrorist acts.

Hockey
NHL
Philadelphia 4 @ Toronto 6