Thursday 24 December 2009

December 24, 2009

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Hilary Hahn!

375 years ago
1634


Born on this date
Mariana of Austria
. Queen consort of Spain, 1649-1665. Mariana, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and Maria Anna of Spain, was betrothed in 1646 to her cousin and heir to the Spanish throne Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias, but he died before their marriage, so she married her widowed uncle King Felipe IV, who was 30 years her senior. The couple had five children, only two of whom survived to adulthood. Their son Carlos III acceded to the throne upon the death of his father, but he was incapacitated to the extent that Queen Mariana remained as regent until her death, likely the result of breast cancer, on May 16, 1696 at the age of 61.

330 years ago
1679


Born on this date
Domenico Sarro
. Italian composer. Mr. Sarro wrote cantatas and more than 30 operas in a career spanning more than 35 years. His best-known work was the opera Achille in Sciro (1737). Mr. Sarro died on January 25, 1744 at the age of 64.

200 years ago
1809


Born on this date
Kit Carson
. U.S. frontiersman and military officer. Christopher Carson was one of the most famous people in the history of the American West. He was a mountain man in the 1830s, a guide for John C. Frémont in the 1840s, and a U.S. Army officer during the American Civil War in the 1860s, rising to the rank of brevet brigadier general. Mr. Carson was the subject of numerous dime novels and newspaper accounts, often fictitious. He died of an aortic aneurysm on May 23, 1868 at the age of 58, shortly after the death of his third wife.

100 years ago
1909


Born on this date
Mitchell Ayres
. U.S. bandleader and composer. Mr. Ayres, born Mitchell Agress, led an orchestra that backed Perry Como on his television show and recordings. He was musical conductor for the television variety program The Hollywood Palace from 1964 until his death. Among Mr. Ayres’ best-known recordings was Number 7 Theme, the theme from a television commercial for Number 7 cigarettes that was released as a single in 1964. Mr. Ayres was killed on September 5, 1969 at the age of 59 when he and a female companion were run over while crossing a street in Las Vegas.

60 years ago
1949


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)--Burl Ives; Dinah Shore

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard) (Best Seller): Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (5th week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Mule Train--Frankie Laine and the Muleskinners (4th week at #1)
--Bing Crosby
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
--Tennessee Ernie
2 I Can Dream, Can't I?--The Andrews Sisters
3 Slipping Around--Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
4 That Lucky Old Sun--Frankie Laine
--Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra
5 Don't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go, Let Her Go, Let Her Go)--Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra
6 A Dreamer's Holiday--Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters
--Buddy Clark with the Girl Friends
7 Dear Hearts and Gentle People--Dinah Shore
--Bing Crosby
8 Jealous Heart--Al Morgan
9 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Gene Autry and the Pinafores
10 I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts--Freddie Martin and his Orchestra

Singles entering the chart were Echoes by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae (#31); Marta (Rambling Rose Of The Wildwood) (#33)/Bye Bye Baby (#38) by Tony Martin and the Aristokats; A Game of Broken Hearts, with versions by Kay Starr; and Doris Day and the Country Cousins (#36); (It Happened at The) Festival of Roses, with versions by Doris Day; and Bill Lawrence (#37); Bye Bye Baby by Frank Sinatra (#38, charting with the version by Tony Martin and the Aristokats); and Wunderbar by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae (#40).

Defense
The U.S.A. and Yugoslavia signed an air agreement permitting U.S. airlines the use of Yugoslavian air space and landing facilities. Yugoslavian airlines received similar rights in the U.S. zones of Germany and Austria.

Politics and government
The Greek government lifted martial law in Athens, the Peloponnesus, and Aegean Islands.

The French cabinet of Prime Minister Georges Bidault narrowly won a vote of confidence in the National Assembly during the debate over the 1950 budget.

Economics and finance
India suspended coal deliveries to Pakistan, charging that Pakistan had fallen behind in scheduled to jute shipments to Calcutta.

50 years ago
1959


Hit parade
#1 single in Norway (VG-lista): What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?--Emile Ford and the Checkmates

The Untouchables, starring Robert Stack, on ABC
Tonight's episode: You Can't Pick the Number, with guest stars Jay C. Flippen and Darryl Hickman

Died on this date
Slaheddine Baccouche, 76
. Grand Vizier of Tunisia, 1943-1947, 1952-1954. Mr. Baccouche was Grand Vizier under King Muhammad VIII, and was regarded as one of the leading opponents of the Tunisian national movement.

Shah Mahmud Khan, 69. Prime Minister of Afghanistan, 1946-1953. Sardar Khan, an independent, permitted relatively free elections in 1949, but reverted to a policy of strict control by the time of the 1952 elections. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by his nephew Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan.

Politics and government
A congress called by five leading nationalist parties demanded "complete, immediate and unconditional independence" for the Belgian Congo.

Economics and finance
The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S.S.R. had agreed to reopen talks on settling its World War II Lend-Lease debt.

The U.S. Veterans Administration allocated an additional $60 million in direct loan funds for veterans' housing.

40 years ago
1969


On television tonight
Then Came Bronson, starring Michael Parks, on NBC
Tonight's episode: Against a Blank Cold Wall

Died on this date
Clarence Pitt, 73
. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Pitt was an outfielder who played 11 seasons (1918-1928) in the minor leagues, batting approximately .320 with 8 home runs in at least 811 games. He was with the Baltimore Orioles when they won the International League pennant in 1923.

War
Nigerian troops captured the Biafran capital of Umuahia.

World events
Two weeks after a military coup in Dahomey, all political prisoners in the country were freed.

Baseball
Outfielder Curt Flood wrote a letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn saying that his trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies should be voided and that he should be made a free agent. "After 12 years in the major leagues," he said, "I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes."

30 years ago
1979


Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Ihōjin--Sayuri Kume (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sin Amor (Dghingis Khan)--Iván (2nd week at #1)

On television tonight
Family, on ABC
Tonight's episode: 'Tis the Season

Space
The first European-built rocket, Ariane 1, successfully completed its maiden flight. The space launcher finally took off from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana on its third attempt.



Diplomacy
The hostages in the U.S. embassy in Iran had endured 50 days of captivity, and Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini allowed three useful idiots American clergymen to visit the embassy for Christmas. The three were William Sloane Coffin of Riverside Church in New York City; William Howard of the National Council of Churches; and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a Roman Catholic leader from Detroit. All three were known for their liberal views.

Hockey
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded centre and right wing Pat Boutette to the Hartford Whalers for right wing Bob Stephenson. Mr. Boutette, in his fifth season with the Maple Leafs, had no goals and 4 assists in 32 games with Toronto in 1979-80, while Mr. Stephenson had no goals and 1 assist in 4 games with Hartford and 10 goals and 18 assists in 28 games with the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League.

20 years ago
1989


Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Escaping--Margaret Urlich (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Girl I'm Gonna Miss You--Milli Vanilli (4th week at #1)

World events
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega took refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic refuge in Panama City. When this news came, most of the remaining resistance to the U.S. invasion collapsed. The mission had the right to grant Gen. Noriega asylum, and negotiations began among American, Vatican, and Panamanian diplomats as to his future. U.S. officials argued that because Gen. Noriega had been indicted in the United States for drug trafficking, he was not eligible for asylum.

Football
NFL
Detroit (7-9) 31 @ Atlanta (3-13) 24
Chicago (6-10) 0 @ San Francisco (14-2) 26
Green Bay (10-6) 20 @ Dallas (1-15) 10
Denver (11-5) 16 @ San Diego (6-10) 19
Indianapolis (8-8) 6 @ New Orleans (9-7) 41
Kansas City (8-7-1) 27 @ Miami (8-8) 24
Los Angeles Raiders (8-8) 17 @ New York Giants (12-4) 34
Los Angeles Rams (11-5) 24 @ New England (5-11) 20
Phoenix (5-11) 14 @ Philadelphia (11-5) 31
Pittsburgh (9-7) 31 @ Tampa Bay (5-11) 22
Cleveland (9-6-1) 24 @ Houston (9-7) 20

Only 7,092 fans showed up at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to see the Falcons lose to the Lions.

10 years ago
1999


Died on this date
Maurice Couve de Murville, 92
. Prime Minister of France, 1968-1969. Mr. Couve de Murville, a member of Union pour la défense de la République (Union for the Defense of the Republic), was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1958-1968) and Minister of Economy and Finances (May 31-July 10, 1968) before succeeding Georges Pompidou as Prime Minister, serving under President Charles de Gaulle. He then represented Paris's 6th Constituency in the National Assembly (1973-1986) and sat as Senator for Paris (1986-1995).

Bill Bowerman, 88. U.S. running coach and businessman. Mr. Bowerman, a son of Oregon Governor Jay Bowerman, was track coach at the University of Oregon from 1948-1973, and trained numerous distance runners who won national championships and competed in the Olympic Games. He manufactured his first pair of running shoes in 1960, and four years later, co-founded the running shoe company that became known as Nike. Mr. Bowerman wrote the book Jogging (1966), which helped to inspire running as a national craze.

João Figueiredo, 81. 30th President of Brazil, 1979-1985. General Figueiredo was the last President of Brazil to hold the office during the period of military rule following the 1964 coup d'état. He was Chief Minister of the Military Cabinet from 1969-1974 and head of the National Intelligence Service from 1974-1978. Gen. Figueiredo continued the process of redemocratization that his predecessor, General Ernesto Geisel, had pursued, but opposed a direct election for the presidency, in favour of an indirect election by Congress. Opposition candidate Tancredo Neves won the election, and Gen. Figueiredo finished his term and retired.

William C. Schneider, 76. U.S. aerospace engineer. Dr. Schneider joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1963, and served as mission director for Projects Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1969. Dr. Schneider died the day after his 76th birthday.

Terrorism
Indian Airlines Flight 814, a jet with 189 people aboard, was hijacked after it took off from Katmandu, Nepal, and was held for seven days. The five hijackers, whose nationalities were unknown, were armed with rifles, grenades, and knives. The plane, originally bound for New Delhi, landed at Amritsar, India; Lahore, Pakistan; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for refuelling, then at Kandahar, Afghanistan. In Dubai, 27 hostages, mostly women and children, were released, and the body of a man killed by the hijackers (a newlywed whose wife was another passenger on the plane) was taken away. In Kandahar, the plane was surrounded by soldiers of the Taliban, the Islamic militia in control of Afghanistan.

Football
NFL
Dallas (7-8) 24 @ New Orleans (2-13) 31

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