January 10, 2010

580 years ago
1430

Religion
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, established the Order of the Golden Fleece, the most prestigious, exclusive, and expensive order of chivalry in the world.

250 years ago
1760

Born on this date
Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg. German composer and conductor. Mr. Zumsteeg composed lieder, ballads, and operas, and conducted the first Stuttgart performances of the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mr. Zumsteeg died on January 27, 1802, 17 days after his 42nd birthday.

200 years ago
1810

Born on this date
William Haines. U.K.-born Australian politician. Dr. Haines was a surgeon who moved to Victoria in 1841. He was appointed to the Victoria Legislative Council in 1853, and served as the first Premier of Victoria (1855-1858), except for one month in 1857. Dr. Haines was still a member of the Legislative Council when he died on February 3, 1866, 24 days after his 56th birthday.

170 years ago
1840

Died on this date
Elizabeth, 69. U.K. royal family member. Princess Elizabeth, the seventh child and third daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte, was to married Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, from 1818 until his death in 1829.

150 years ago
1860

Born on this date
Charles G. D. Roberts. Canadian poet and author. Sir Charles, a native of Douglas, New Brunswick, was a member of the "Confederation Poets," and has been called the "Father of Canadian Poetry." He published a history of Canada and books of fiction, many of them animal stories. Sir Charles died in Toronto on November 26, 1843 at the age of 83.

140 years ago
1870

Business
John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

130 years ago
1880

Born on this date
Manuel Azaña. 7th President of Spain, 1936-1939. Mr. Azaña, a member of the Republican Action (1930-1934) and Republican Left (1934-1940) parties, was a journalist before entering politics. He was Prime Minister of Spain (1931-1933, February-May 1936), and was the last President of the Republic. The Spanish Civil War took place during his presidency; when Francisco Franco's forces won the war in 1939, Mr. Azaña fled the country, and died in exile in France on November 3, 1940 at the age of 60.

120 years ago
1890

Born on this date
Pina Menichelli. Italian actress. Miss Menichelli was a stage actress before appearing in numerous movies from 1913-1924, becoming one of Italy's most popular stars. Her first major role was in Il Fuoco (The Fire) (1916). Miss Menichelli retired from acting in 1924, and died on August 29, 1984 at the age of 94.

110 years ago
1900

Born on this date
Violette Cordery. U.K. auto racing driver. Miss Cordery set several records for distance driving in the 1920s. She married fellow driver and aviator Johnny Hindmarsh in 1931, and retired from public life after his death in a flight test in 1938. Miss Cordery died on December 30, 1983 at the age of 83.

100 years ago
1910

Born on this date
Jean Martinon. French conductor and composer. Mr. Martinon composed four symphonies as well as choral and chamber works in a career spanning four decades. He conducted various orchestras from 1946 until his death from bone cancer on March 1, 1976 at the age of 66.

Journalism
The newspaper Le Devoir was founded in Montreal by Henri Bourassa.

90 years ago
1920

War
The Treaty of Versailles took effect, officially ending World War I hostilities between Germany and the Allies.

Diplomacy
The League of Nations Covenant went into force; on January 16 the organization held its first council meeting, in Paris.

Hockey
NHL
Toronto 7 @ Montreal 14

Newsy Lalonde set a National Hockey League single-game record with 6 goals as he helped the Canadiens defeat the St. Patricks in their home opener, and the first game at their new home, Mount Royal Arena, which was still unfinished. The 21 total goals was also a league record.

70 years ago
1940

War
A German courier plane crashed in Belgium, and Nazi plans for an invasion of Belgium and France fell into Allied hands, prompting immediate concentrations of troops. Finland claimed that encirclement and freezing weather had trapped Soviet troops at Kokkamo. Japanese Army and Navy officials served notice to French officials in Shanghai that they must halt the shipment of arms supplies to China over the Haiphong-Yunnan railroad.

Diplomacy
There was a celebration in Geneva to mark the 20th anniversary of the League of Nations.

Society
The United States House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate the Gavagan anti-lynching bill.

Politics and government
Indian Viceroy Lord Linlithgow said that feuding between political parties was the only factor deterring Britain from granting dominion status to India.

Protest
Mexican labourers went on strike in several states to register opposition to Manuel Avila Camacho, the government-sponsored Mexican presidential candidate.

Economics and finance
Legal experts in Washington said that Canadian subsidiaries of U.S. corporations could invest in Canadian war loans without violating U.S. neutrality laws.

Business
Associated Gas and Electric, which had become the third-largest producer of electricity in the United States in the 1930s, declared bankruptcy, the day after owner Howard C. Hopson was convicted of 17 counts of mail fraud and two of income tax evasion, and was sentenced to five years in prison.

60 years ago
1950

On the radio
Philo Vance, starring Jackson Beck
Tonight’s episode: The Left-Handed Murder Case

On television tonight
Suspense, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Bomber Command, starring George Reeves, Susan Douglas Rubes, and Joseph Holland



Died on this date
Ernest Poole, 69. U.S. writer. Mr. Poole was a muckraking journalist who wrote sympathetic reports of the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917. He also wrote plays and novels, and won the first Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the novel His Family (1917). Mr. Poole died of pneumonia, 13 days before his 70th birthday.

Diplomacy
At a meeting of Commonwealth nations in Colombo, Ceylon, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa argued against immediate recognition of the People's Republic of China. The United Kingdom, Ceylon, India, and Pakistan had already recognized the Communist Chinese government.

Politics and government
Venezuela resumed immigration after a two-year halt by permitting the entry of 2,000 Europeans per month, mostly peasants from Spain and Italy.

Scandal
The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee released a report clearing the Defense Department and Air Force of "dishonesty and political corruption" in B-36 procurement.

Medicine
Dr. Irving S. Wright of Pittsburgh reported that the Swiss-developed drug Tromexan may prevent heart attacks by restricting clotting activity during a 24-hour period.

Protest
One million Italian workers responded to a Communist strike call, protesting the previous day's deaths of five demonstrators in Modena, who had been killed in clashes with police during a march by 10,000 workers on factories closed by employers as part of a labour dispute.

Labour
Youngstown Steel and Tube Company announced the curtailment of operations because of the coal shortage brought about by work stoppages and the three-day week.

50 years ago
1960

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on CBS
Tonight's episode: The Ikon of Elijah, starring Oscar Homolka and Sam Jaffe

Died on this date
Jack Laviolette, 80. Canadian hockey player, coach, and executive. Mr. Laviolette, a native of Belleville, Ontario, played defence and forward with four teams in five different leagues from 1903-18, but was best known as the first coach and general manager, while also playing, with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey Association (1909-17) and National Hockey League (1917-18). He scored 65 points on 47 goals and 18 assists in 138 regular season NHA games and 2 goals and 1 assist in 18 NHL games, adding 1 goal and 3 assists in 12 Stanley Cup games. Mr. Laviolette helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1916, but his playing career ended two years later when he lost his right foot in a car accident. Mr. Laviolette was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1960, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.

Diplomacy
British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, on a visit to Accra, Ghana, delivered his "Wind of Change" speech, acknowledging the increasing desire of Negro peoples in Africa to govern themselves. The speech went unnoticed at the time, but became a major event when he reiterated it before the South African Parliament in Cape Town on February 3, including a rebuke to South Africa's apartheid system.

40 years ago
1970

Hit parade
#1 single in Rhodesia (Lyons Maid): Abbey Road (LP)--The Beatles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France: Wight is Wight--Michel Delpech (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): Mi ritorni in mente--Lucio Battisti

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Dein schönstes Geschenk--Roy Black (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Two Little Boys--Rolf Harris (4th week at #1)

Australia's Top 10 (Go-Set)
1 Suspicious Minds--Elvis Presley (2nd week at #1)
2 Something/Come Together--The Beatles
3 Penny Arcade--Roy Orbison
4 Picking Up Pebbles--Matt Flinders
5 And When I Die--Blood, Sweat & Tears
6 Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head--Johnny Farnham
7 Take a Letter Maria--R.B. Greaves
8 I'll Never Fall in Love Again--Bobbie Gentry
9 Tracy--The Cuff Links
10 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond

Singles entering the chart were I Thank You by Lionel Rose (#35) and Jam Up Jelly Tight by Tommy Roe (#36).

Netherlands Top 10 (De Nederlandse Top 40)
1 Marian--The Cats (4th week at #1)
2 Mighty Joe--Shocking Blue
3 Tonight Today--DBM & T
4 Another 45 Miles--The Golden Earring
5 Marie Jolie--Aphrodite's Child
6 The Flood--Ginger Ale
7 Thanks--J. Vincent Edward
8 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
9 One Million Years--Robin Gibb
10 Down on the Corner--Creedence Clearwater Revival

Singles entering the chart were Ik Kan Echt Geen Dag Meer Wachten by Tom & Dick (#32); Clap Hands for Baby by Oscar Harris & Twinkle Stars (#33); Jingle Jangle by the Archies (#34); Reflections of My Life by the Marmalade (#38); and Zuster, Oh Zuster by Sjakie Schram (#39).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Billboard)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas (2nd week at #1)
2 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
3 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
4 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
5 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
6 Venus--The Shocking Blue
7 Down on the Corner/Fortunate Son--Creedence Clearwater Revival
8 Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye--Steam
9 La La La (If I Had You)--Bobby Sherman
10 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe

Singles entering the chart were How Can I Forget/Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got by Marvin Gaye (#58); My Honey and Me by Luther Ingram (#74); Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Lenny Welch (#82); How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad by the Lovelites (#86); Barbara, I Love You by the New Colony Six (#91); Compared to What by Les McCann and Eddie Harris (#92); Johnny B. Goode by Johnny Winter (#93); If I Never Knew Your Name by Vic Dana (#95); Mornin' Mornin' by Bobby Goldsboro (#98); Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) by the Delfonics (#99); and Rainy Night in Georgia by Brook Benton (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
2 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
3 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
4 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
5 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
6 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
7 Venus--The Shocking Blue
8 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
9 Don't Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
10 Midnight Cowboy--Ferrante & Teicher

Singles entering the chart were Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn (Part 2) by James Brown (#74); Guess Who by Ruby Winters (#82); To Be Young, Gifted and Black by Nina Simone (#93); Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) by the Delfonics (#97); Kool's Back Again by Kool & The Gang (#98); You are My Sunshine by Dyke and the Blazers (#99); and Bold Soul Sister by Ike and Tina Turner (#100).

U.S.A. Top 10 (Record World)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas (2nd week at #1)
2 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
3 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
4 Venus--The Shocking Blue
5 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
6 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
7 Jingle Jangle--The Archies
8 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
9 La La La (If I Had You)--Bobby Sherman
10 Midnight Cowboy--Ferrante & Teicher

Singles entering the chart were Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got by Marvin Gaye (#63); Is it Because I'm Black by Syl Johnson (#75); Rainy Night in Georgia by Brook Benton (#80); My Honey and Me by Luther Ingram (#81); Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) by the Delfonics (#89); If Walls Could Talk by Little Milton (#93); Won't Find Better by New Hope (#97); You Got Me Hummin' by Cold Blood (#98); I'm Just a Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin’) by Candi Staton (#99); and Lu by Peggy Lipton (#100).

Canada's Top 10 (RPM)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
2 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
3 Leaving on a Jet Plane--Peter, Paul and Mary
4 Someday We'll Be Together--Diana Ross and the Supremes
5 Whole Lotta Love--Led Zeppelin
6 I Want You Back--The Jackson 5
7 Jingle Jangle--The Archies
8 Jam Up Jelly Tight--Tommy Roe
9 Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin'--Elvis Presley
10 Up on Cripple Creek--The Band

Singles entering the chart were Everybody is a Star/Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin by Sly & the Family Stone (#67); Superstar by Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers (#68); What You Gave Me by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#78); Blowing Away by the 5th Dimension (#79); Moon Walk by Joe Simon (#81); She Belongs to Me by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band (#82); That's Where I Went Wrong by the Poppy Family (#85); Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got by Marvin Gaye (#86); The Thrill is Gone by B.B. King (#88); You Got Me Hummin' by Cold Blood (#92); Let's Work Together by Wilbert Harrison (#93); Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Lenny Welch (#97); She's Ready by the Spiral Starecase (#99); and The Last Time by the Buchanan Brothers (#100).

Calgary's Top 10 (Glenn's Music)
1 Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head--B.J. Thomas
2 Cold Turkey--Plastic Ono Band
3 No Time--The Guess Who
4 Something--The Beatles
5 That's Where I Went Wrong--The Poppy Family
6 Don't Cry Daddy--Elvis Presley
7 Holly Holy--Neil Diamond
8 Venus--The Shocking Blue
9 Life is a Song--Gainsborough Gallery
10 Cherry Hill Park--Billy Joe Royal
Pick hit of the week: Fancy--Bobbie Gentry

Died on this date
Pavel Belyayev, 44. U.S.S.R. cosmonaut. Colonel Belyayev joined the cosmonaut corps in 1960, and commanded the Voskhod 2 mission of March 18-19, 1965, in which Alexei Leonov became the first man to walk in space. Col. Belyayev died from peritonitis after an operation for a stomach ulcer.

Boxing
Miguel Angel Paez (45-13-13) defeated Oscar Bonavena (41-6-1) in a heavyweight bout at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires when Mr. Bonavena was disqualified in the 7th round for a low blow.



30 years ago
1980

Hit parade
Edmonton’s Top 20 (CHED)
1 Video Killed the Radio Star--The Buggles
2 I Don’t Like Mondays--The Boomtown Rats
3 Coward of the County--Kenny Rogers
4 Chiquitita--Abba
5 Do That to Me One More Time--Captain & Tennille
6 Babe--Styx
7 Please Don’t Go--KC & the Sunshine Band
8 Rock with You--Michael Jackson
9 Jane--Jefferson Starship
10 Don’t Do Me Like That--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
11 We Don’t Talk Anymore--Cliff Richard
12 The Long Run--Eagles
13 Escape (The Pina Colada Song)--Rupert Holmes
14 Cool Change--Little River Band
15 Say Hello--April Wine
16 No More Tears (Enough is Enough)--Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer
17 Crazy Little Thing Called Love--Queen
18 Heartache Tonight--Eagles
19 Yes I’m Ready--Teri DeSario with K.C.
20 Find Your Way--Surrender

Died on this date
George Meany, 85. U.S. labour leader. Mr. Meany was a union leader for almost 60 years, and was known for his opposition to labour corruption and Communism. He was President of the American Federation of Labor from 1952-1955, and proposed and saw through the AFL's merger with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Mr. Meany then served as the first President of the AFL-CIO from 1955 until his retirement in November 1979, two months before his death from cardiac arrest.

Hugh Critz, 79. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Critz was a second baseman with the Cincinnati Reds (1924-1930) and New York Giants (1930-1935), batting .268 with 38 home runs and 531 runs batted in in 1,478 games. He helped the Giants win the World Series in 1933, but batted only .136 with no home runs or RBIs in the Series.

Bo Rein, 34. U.S. football and baseball player and coach. Mr. Rein was a football halfback and baseball shortstop and left fielder with Ohio State University (1964-1967), helping the Buckeyes win the College World Series in 1966. He played in the Cleveland Indians' organization from 1967-1969, rising as far as the AAA level, batting .263 with 1 home run and 32 runs batted in in 148 games. Hamstring and achilles tendon injuries ended Mr. Rein's baseball career, so he became a football coach. After seven seasons as an assistant coach at various universities, he served as head coach at North Carolina State University, compiling a 27-18-1 record from 1976-1979. Mr. Rein was hired as head coach at Louisiana State University after the 1979 season, but was killed with pilot Louis Benscotter in the crash of a small plane while returning from a scouting trip.

War
The New York Times reported that U.S.S.R. military units in Afghanistan appeared to be concentrating on securing newly established bases and staging areas. Soviet military transports loaded with troops and equipment were reported landing in Kabul at a rated of a dozen a day.

25 years ago
1985

Transportation
The Sinclair C5, an electric tricycle capable of a top speed of 15 miles per hour, drove into a safety row on its first day on the road.

Disasters
Eight people were killed and dozens injured when an explosion demolished Newnham House, a three-storey block of six flats in Putney, south-west London.

20 years ago
1990

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Another Day in Paradise--Phil Collins (3rd week at #1)

Politics and government
Chinese Premier Li Peng announced that martial law would be lifted in Beijing. In a televised speech, he said that order had been restored and "a great victory has been won in checking the turmoil and quelling the counter-revolutionary rebellion." He presumably said this in Chinese.

A party in the ruling coalition of East Germany confirmed that the government was forming a new secret security agency.

10 years ago
2000

Died on this date
Sam Jaffe, 98. U.S. movie producer. Mr. Jaffe, no relation to the actor of the same name, was an agent and studio executive in addition to producing such movies as Diplomaniacs (1933); The Sullivans (1944); and Born Free (1966).

John Newland, 82. U.S. television producer and director. Mr. Newland was best-known as producer, director, and host of Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond, which ran on ABC from 1959-1961.

War
Russian forces resumed a full-scale offensive on Grozny, capital of the rebellious republic of Chechnya.

Diplomacy
A week of peace talks in Shepherdstown, West Virginia between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara ended without any significant breakthrough.

Law
The Miami-Dade Circuit Court granted temporary custody of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to the boy’s Florida relatives, five days after the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services had ordered the boy returned to his father in Cuba.

Politics and government
Russian President Vladimir Putin elevated Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov to Deputy Prime Minister, the number two position in the government. He also demoted two Kremlin officials who had been allied with Mr. Putin’s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.

During a debate in Grand Rapids, Michigan of Republican Party candidates for the 2000 U.S. presidential nomination, U.S. Senator John McCain charged that Texas Governor George W. Bush’s tax-cut plan unduly favoured the wealthy.

Business
America OnLine (AOL) announced that it would buy Time Warner for $165 billion U.S., creating a media and entertainment giant merging old and new media. At the time, 22 million people subscribed to AOL and 130 million read 33 Time Warner magazines. Other components of the two companies included New Line Cinema; Warner Brothers; Cable News Network; Home Box Office and nine other cable television channels; and Warner Music Group. AOL would assume a $17-billion debt. The value of the companies, measured in their stock prices, was $342 billion, though AOL’s stock subsequently declined. AOL’s Steve Case was to become chairman of the board of the new AOL Time Warner, which would be the fourth-biggest company in the world. Shareholders and regulators had yet to approve the merger.